Ensuring policy is youth-friendly
Young people are to be more closely involved in politics – the most important questions and answers on the Federal Government’s Youth Strategy.
There are nearly 16 million people under the age of 20 living in Germany. But young people are less well represented in politics than other age groups. People aged under 18 are not allowed to vote in elections in Germany, although there are some exceptions at the municipal level. Young adults can vote, but since they are less likely than older people to be involved in political parties, there are not many of them in parliament.
What is the aim of the strategy?
The Federal Government’s Youth Strategy seeks to ensure that the interests of young people and young adults are taken into account in the political decision-making process. They will be much be much more affected by climate change in the course of their lifetime than today’s adults, for example. This is why it is so important to be aware of their preferences in terms of climate policy. What is more, young people usually have their own perceptions and needs when it comes to issues such as education, digitalisation, housing andwork.
How is the strategy put into practice?
All federal ministries are involved in the Youth Strategy. They invite adolescents and young adults to express their opinion on key issues. For this purpose they organise youth policy events and national youth conferences. The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development has set up a Youth Advisory Council, for example. In addition, an analysis is carried out to assess the impact of each legislative proposal on young people. The Federal Government also supports children and youth parliaments at local level, since this is where many of their concerns can be directly addressed.
What else is being done to involve young people more effectively?
By 2025, the Youth Strategy is to be developed into a National Action Plan for Child and Youth Participation. The aim is to make youth participation a permanent feature of political life. A youth editorial team reports on the process, also enabling young people to engage in dialogue with politicians and producing podcasts on political issues that are important to young people.
