Better understanding of the needs and potential of young people in public life focus of OSCE expert event

Better understanding of the needs and potential of young people in public life focus of OSCE expert event

The importance of promoting youth political participation was the focus of a joint online event ‘Advancing Political Participation of Young People across the OSCE region’, hosted by the 2020 Albanian OSCE Chairmanship and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). Participants discussed the necessity to better understand the needs and contributions of young people to political and public life across the OSCE region.

The Chairperson in Office Special Representative on Youth and Security Keisi Seferi in her welcoming remarks, highlighted the fact that “Building strong democratic institutions, for as long as it´s a process, really needs the boost of young person’s participation”. Seferi also recognized that the belief in the power of voting as a driving force for democratic societies should be harnessed.

″For a democratic society to be genuinely inclusive, all segments of society must be engaged. ″ said the Chairperson of the Permanent Council, Permanent Representative of Albania to the OSCE Ambassador Igli Hasani. In acknowledging inclusivity and participation at the core of democratic rights, Ambassador Hasani recognized that stable and peaceful societies should support the needs and interests of young people. This prepares them for leadership and representation responsibilities.

“In periods of crisis, the traditional reflex is to resort to old solutions instead of having the courage the try new ideas. But there is growing frustration with this approach, and recent research shows that globally, youth satisfaction with democracy is declining,” said ODIHR’s First Deputy Director Katarzyna Gardapkhadze. “In their response to today’s crisis, institutions have a unique opportunity to build more inclusive and responsive democracies – and we must seize this opportunity.”

Augusta Featherston, ODIHR’s Youth Focal Point and Associate Democratic Governance Officer, said: “Too often, the conversation around youth political participation fails to address the responsibility democratic institutions have to be more genuinely inclusive for young people. Today’s event began to identify those institutional gaps among OSCE participating States, with the aim of supporting a more meaningful political engagement of youth across the OSCE region.”

Representatives from the participating States, OSCE Executive Structures and OSCE institutions, youth representatives, academics and representatives of international and civil society organizations attended the event.