This article is part of our Youth Engagement series. It will focus on the role of young people in engagement processes and their place in the present and future of deliberative democracy. Look out for more content on this topic over the next few months.
Young people are dichotomous. On the one hand, glued to our phones and immersed in a narcissistic, materialist culture dominated by social media. On the other, we are turning out in the streets in huge numbers to protest global injustices and generate reform for the most pressing issues of our time.
global movements
This duality of young people today and our commitment to public participation is complex. It is, however, hard to argue that there is not a passion for action and engagement.
In the last few years, this has manifested in multiple global protest movements, primarily led by young people:
The March for our Lives movement in 2018 had over 2 million people in the United States protest for gun law reform.
In 2019, School Strike for Climate protests brought millions of young people into the streets across the globe demanding action against the climate emergency. 300,000 of those young people were marching in the streets of Australia.
Throughout 2020, despite the pandemic, upwards of 15 million people (the majority under 35) protested for the Black Lives Matter movement in the US, as well as thousands across Australia.
These protests were large, grandiose events that featured prominently both in mainstream and social media, creating a global ‘moment’, which you couldn’t miss.
youth involvement on a local level
What is less visible however, is the involvement of youth in matters that are local. In the places where young people can engender a large amount of change for the better - the local - they appear to be more absent.
Perhaps the reasons for this are historic - we traditionally have not involved young people in local decision-making or community engagement around ‘adult matters’, and so we continue down this path. Or it could be because communities and institutions do not know how to make opportunities for involvement accessible to the young, or they do not know how to engage with youth on important local matters.
Regardless of the reason, it begs the question:
How can - and should - young people be involved in creating change on a local scale, as well as participating in actions for change at a larger level?
Why we should be engaging more with youth
The future belongs to the young - decisions made now will likely impact them more profoundly than the current older decision-makers. That reason alone should be enough to justify involving young people more in community engagement and decision-making around local matters.
In addition, young people demonstrably have the time and energy to commit to bettering their communities and sharing their visions for the future. This presents an exciting opportunity for communities to channel that energy, enthusiasm and creativity locally, and for institutions to commit to ensuring young people are both seen and heard in the processes shaping the future of our communities.
There should be a genuine desire to seek out the voices of the youth, and their input should be integrated with that of the wider community. This should include even the youngest of citizens, from primary school all the way to young adults. After all, every person - regardless of age - deserves to be heard, and have the opportunity to contribute meaningfully and participate fully in the shaping of their community.
This series of articles explores the importance of involving young people meaningfully in community engagement.
Please follow us while we ruminate on this topic – unpacking case studies, exploring options and understanding this form of engagement better - over 2021.
Noa is the youngest member of the MosaicLab team at 23. She has spent many years involved in youth organisations, working with her peers to cultivate strong youth leadership and advocacy with a focus on informal education.
More about Noa
Learn more about Noa and read her bio here.ENJOYED THIS POST?
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