Youth Participation

 

Approved at the General Assembly of ENL

17.11.2007

Youth Policy Standpoints of ENL

Youth Participation

The document defines the standpoints of the Estonian National Youth Council in the area if youth participation. ENL proceeds from these standpoints in its future work and commenting on legislation, and it will attempt to realise them in cooperation with state agencies and other partners.

ENL organised a roundtable, group work and a consultations round for its members to formulate its standpoints. The standpoints were approved by the general assembly of ENL.

Formulation of the standpoints was coordinated by the Youth Policy Specialist of ENL Marit Valge.

Introduction

Youth participation means the active or passive involvement of young people in social processes and their impact on the resolutions adopted in society. Young people will make and offer resolutions themselves in the case of active participation whilst in the case of passive participation, they take part in the activities offered by society.

The area of youth participation is regulated by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the European White Book on Youth Policy (2001) and Common Goals (2003) and the Estonian Youth Work Strategy from 2006 to 2013.

Estonian youth can participate in influencing resolutions by being active in local youth councils, county youth councils and the different advisory councils on the level of the state and local governments (e.g. Youth Policy Council, Tallinn Youth Council, Student Council, etc.), guardianship organisations (e.g. ENYC, Estonian Association of Student Bodies, Estonian School Student Councils Union), school student and student councils, youth organisations and elsewhere.

It is also possible to submit queries, organise events, campaigns and demonstrations and express their opinions publicly. Adult youth can participate in elections both by voting and as candidates (local government councils, the Riigikogu, the European Parliament). See osale.enl.ee for more information about the opportunities of participation.

Youth participation council means all institutions where young people can have their say in decision-making (e.g. local youth council, county youth council, advisory council, school student and student council, etc.). Youth council is the youth participation council created by the local government whose goal is to have a say in the resolutions made by the local government. County youth councils deal with taking the opinions of the young people in the relevant county to the decision-makers (county government, local government association).

SWOT Analysis

ENL sees the following as the strengths of the current situation in youth participation:

  • The existence of structures (school student council, student council, youth councils, youth associations, umbrella organisations, etc.)
  • The support of the state to youth participation (youth work strategies and other legislation)
  • Financing opportunities (activities that promote participation are financed)
  • Young people have better career opportunities in Estonia when compared to old democracies
  • The existence of foreign experience from which to learn how to build the youth participation system
  • Positive attitude towards the subject of participation and involvement
  • The principle of involvement has spread in society (e.g. the good involvement practice of officials)
  • The emerging interest of local governments in involving young people

The weaknesses, however, are:

  • Insufficient support network
  • Young people are not always taken seriously
  • Young people have little experience in participation
  • Young people cannot see the direct benefits of participation
  • Young people are afraid to assume obligations and responsibility
  • Lack of motivation
  • Young people do not acknowledge participation opportunities sufficiently
  • The small number of organised young people
  • The lack of traditions of participating in associations or initiatives
  • The multitude of alternative activities
  • Financing does not take into account the current growth in needs
  • Lack of consistency on the part of young people
  • The limited skills of decision-makers and officials in involving young people
  • Most young people have little interest in politics
  • The weak position of social theory in formal education
  • Formal education is relatively discouraging of youth participation

The following is certainly possible on the basis of the current system:

  • Influencing decisions is simple
  • Joining organisations is simple
  • Communication between young people and decision-makers is improving
  • The opinion of large (umbrella) organisations is considered
  • There are more young leaders in Estonia
  • Young politicians are active
  • Developing a functioning involvement system on the basis of foreign experience
  • The involvement process is becoming suitable for young people
  • The interests and opinions of young people are considered when decisions are made
  • The goals of the youth work strategy are implemented
  • Youth councils work to achieve their objectives

However, we also see the following threats:

  • Involvement does not reach young people
  • Opportunities are not realised
  • Lack of quality information
  • Overabundance of low quality information
  • The decisions that concern young people are made by others - they cannot have their say
  • Youth centres and youth organisations disappear
  • Weakening of the third sector
  • Alienation from the state
  • Active and talented young people leaving Estonia
  • People do not understand the meaning of participation, which creates a negative attitude

Standpoints

In Estonia, young people can participate in different types of participation councils created by the government and by young people themselves. Estonia is a democratic state where people have the freedom of speech and freedom of association and where democratic elections are held. At first glance, young people have many opportunities to influence decisions - all they need to do is use them. However, it is not done often enough and when it is done, the opinions of young people often have no impact or results.

Structures and opportunities have developed unevenly in different regions. Large local governments offer many opportunities for participation and other activities that interest young people, but small ones often offer nothing. The objectives and tasks of structures are often unclear for both the decision-makers and young people themselves. Young people are not involved in a manner that is attractive and suitable for them, which means that participation opportunities remain distant. On one hand, decision-makers do not know how to involve young people and on the other hand, young people do not see any direct benefits in expressing their opinions.

ENL believes it is important to harmonise participation opportunities and to explain the operating principles of different structures more efficiently. A dialogue must be created between the decision-makers and young people as their common goal is to make better decisions and thereby improve the quality of life.

The analysis conducted by ENL shows that the main problems in the area of youth participation are as follows:

  • Young people do not have sufficient positive experience in participation
  • Young people are not used to participating from an early age
  • There is a lack of attractive and suitable opportunities for participation
  • The weakness of support structures
  • Insufficient presence of youth councils in local governments
  • Participation councils have little impact and they are unnoticeable

We see the following possible solutions:

  • To legalise the obligation to involve young people in making decisions that concern them both on the level of state and local governments
  • To tie youth involvement with funding the youth work of local governments (incl. development of infrastructure), young people must be involved when the funds of the area are used
  • To guarantee sufficient funding for participation councils both on the level of state and local governments, to support the development of structures and activities that promote cooperation
  • Participation opportunities must be made real, local and attractive for young people
  • The first participation experience should be positive and yield visible results
  • Young people must be involved in a manner that is suitable for them - explaining, making the subject simple, involving youth in areas where they are already present
  • Participation opportunities must be expanded and diversified, there must be more opportunities for youth in rural areas, Russian-speaking youth and other young people with less opportunities
  • To offer participation and involvement training to youth, youth organisations, youth workers and decision-makers
  • To highlight the best models for involvement and participation (incl. materials)
  • To create a youth council development unit
  • To allow young people from 16 years of age to vote in local government elections

Youth participation must be the underlying principle in making any decisions that concern young people regardless of whether the decision is made on the level of a school, local government, county, the state, Europe or any other level. The solutions in which young people have been consulted consider their opinions and are therefore more suitable for them and they are also easier to implement. Young people must be able to influence the decisions that concern their lives from the earliest age possible in order to become active citizens and they must be involved in a format that is suitable for them.

Listening to the opinions of young people is insufficient for their involvement as they must be given feedback and their opinions must be considered. The threat of disappointment, especially at a young age, is considerable. Young people can be efficiently involved and their motivation to participate also in the future can only be preserved if a dialogue is used. If young people become disappointed in their attempts to influence decisions, they will no longer be interested in having a say in social life when adults and they will not become active citizens.

In order to guarantee youth participation in decision-making processes on all levels, we must legalise it. Both the state and local governments must develop suitable mechanisms for youth involvement, whether by contributing to the creation of youth councils, supporting the activities of youth organisations, etc. Youth participation in making decisions that concern them must be tied to funding the area - youth involvement must be an important premise when funding decisions are made.

It is more likely that young people will stay in their home regions if they have sufficient opportunities for self-realisation. Therefore it is particularly important that opportunities are created for young people and their activities are supported and that their opinions are taken on board.

A nationwide development unit that acts as a guardian for all youth participation councils must be created in order to support them. Its goal would be to promote cooperation between youth councils, supporting the creation of youth councils and offering them training and exchange of experience.

ENL supports granting people aged 16 the right to vote in local elections after the obligation to involve youth has been legalised by the state and local governments and the creation of a youth council development unit. In Europe, Austria, some lands in Germany and local governments in Switzerland have already started reducing the age at which people can participate in elections on the national level. Many youth guardianship organisations in Europe are demanding reduction of the voting age, including the Youth Forum in its Rome Declaration.

We believe that young people must be given the right to have a say in the decisions and matters of their home regions. The percentage of young people voting in elections has never been considerably below the average in regions where this step has been taken. Moreover, surveys shows that voting activity among people aged 18 to 25 years is higher than among those aged 25 to 30 years. It shows that young people are more interested in influencing decisions at an earlier age.

However, grating the right to vote at elections to people aged 16 means that the role of social theory must be increased in schools and it creates a good opportunity to explain both in school and at home why it is important to participate actively in decision-making. If people get into the habit of voting in elections when still in secondary school, it will be easier for them in the future. Another circumstance in favour of reducing the voting age is that young people aged 16 are more closely connected to their home regions than 18-year-olds, who often move to other towns and universities.

Reducing the voting age in local government elections is a positive example of taking participation opportunities to young people in the exact place where they are - their home regions. Allowing young people to play a more active role in the development of society as a whole is essential when we consider general demographic developments.

Granting voting rights in local elections to people aged 16 must be implemented in confluence with the other youth participation standpoints of ENL, such as strengthening social theory in schools, improving youth participation opportunities and making them more suitable for young people and offering young people positive experience in participation.

ENL fully supports the goals set in the youth work strategy from 2006 to 2013 for the development of the area of youth participation. We believe it is important to implement the operational programme and to guarantee sufficient funding for achievement of the goals.