The voices of young people may be strong and often co-ordinated, yet we are still living in times where young people are not taken seriously enough. The mission of the European Youth Forum, comprising over 100 member organisations, to advocate youth empowerment and youth rights, remains as relevant as ever. In 2024, the Forum spearheaded initiatives focused on youth participation in elections, lowering the voting age to 16 and getting more young candidates into the next European Parliament. We’ve also partnered with the United Nations (UN) on their “Be Seen Be Heard” campaign.
Be Seen Be Heard
The UN and The Body Shop launched the campaign in 2022. They recognise that young people are missing from politics and public life and are trying to change that. In their report, the UN Youth Office found that the average age of a world leader is 62, while less than 3% of parliamentarians in the world are under 30. Yet most people surveyed admit that they think our democracies would be stronger if more young people were involved. There is a clear gap between young people’s interest and engagement, and the space they are given in public life – and we’ve got some ideas on how to solve that…
Lowering the voting age to 16: removing barriers for Europe’s youth/strong
One of the key campaigns for the European Youth Forum is our advocacy to lower the voting age to 16 across Europe. In June 2024, two million 16 and 17 year olds, from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece and Malta will vote in the European Parliament elections. This is great news for ensuring that young voices are heard and actively contribute to shaping the future of our communities and societies. However, seven million 16 and 17 year olds who aren’t lucky enough to live in one of these five member states will be locked out of voting, creating huge levels of discrimination based on place of residence. With the proportion of young people in Europe getting smaller and smaller (both in real numbers and in percentages), parties have little incentive to put youth issues at the centre of these elections and we want to change that.
No Say Day 2024: getting more young candidates into parliament
It’s not just about getting young people to turn up to the ballot box. We also need more young people in the parliamentary chamber itself. In collaboration with the political party youth organisations, the European Youth Forum acknowledges the importance of amplifying youth voices at the heart of political decision-making processes.
To mark the UN’s “No Say Day 2024”, political party youth organisations across the political spectrum united in their call for increased recognition of young candidates and a lowering of the voting age to 16. We want young politicians placed in electable spots on the list, not pushed to the bottom in a checkbox exercise. To foster young talent, political parties should also invest more in youth wings and provide training for their younger members. Mapped onto 365 days a year, “No Say Day” is the last day when youth voices are represented in parliaments around the world. In 2024, that day was already on 10 January!
Preparing young activists to get out to vote in June 2024
In April 2024, the European Youth Forum hosted the second edition of “LevelUP!”, a two-day event in the European Parliament bringing together 1 300 youth activists to boost their skills ahead of the elections. This edition carries the motto “I care, I vote”. Through a series of workshops, training sessions and capacity-building activities, LevelUP! equipped young people with the necessary knowledge, skills and resources to become informed and proactive participants in the electoral arena.
However, we know from the last EU elections that persuading people about the importance of voting is only one half of the task. Some 68% of those young people who didn’t vote in 2019 said they didn’t vote due to practical reasons, not ideological ones. We still have a long way to go to make sure that registration processes are clear and simple, polling booths are easy to access and postal voting – and even e-voting – are available to facilitate young people’s participation in elections. It doesn’t make sense that some young people have to buy expensive plane or train tickets back to their home towns or far-away consulates to be able to vote. The recent recommendations from the European Commission on inclusive elections go some way towards this, and we need to see those implemented across countries in Europe. We should bear this in mind for all elections across our continent.
Conclusion
Through initiatives promoting youth participation in elections, advocating a lower voting age and fostering the emergence of young candidates in politics, we strive to bridge the gap between young people’s aspirations and their representation in public life. To highlight these issues to policy makers, we’ve also been actively engaging with European political parties and MEP candidates through our work on the EU Youth Manifesto and our checklist for politicians on engaging young people in electoral processes. As for the next steps, we are committed to ensuring that youth participation remains a priority, for all elections across our continent, empowering young people to shape the future of Europe.
Be Seen Be Heard
