Identifying the needs of the youth community and formulating solutions for support in decision-making processes Cristina Stan

Needs of young people – mature point of view

Needs of young people from their point of view

INFORMATION = POWER Young people should know: What politics involves; How the voting process works; What the views are of young people from the other community; How we can communicate our views; That politics doesn’t have to be boring; We all have rights and what we think does matter; and The responsibility to engage is a two way process between politicians and young people.

Solutions Solutions councils have adopted to create an environment where young people can become engaged in democracy include: Establishing youth forums and councils; Consultations with groups of young people, along with youth conferences; Peer based research techniques such as training young people in a range of research skills and using them to conduct research to determine young people’s views on their area.

Making politics more interesting - Making it easier to understand and more accessible; - Making politicians more responsive to the needs and concerns of young people; - Finding new opportunities and routes for young people to enter the political process.

Recommendations: 1. More education for young people on politics, elections and voting through various mediums such as schools and youth groups. 2. The Electoral Commission to engage in a programme for schools providing information workshops.