A thematic debate was held on 22 March 2023 in the Chamber of Local Authorities on strengthening Europe’s democratic institutions through youth engagement at local level. From lowering the voting age to getting young people properly involved in the decision-making process at local level, several possible means of meeting the urgent need for democratic renewal were evoked. The young delegates provided further evidence of the maturity and originality of their political commitment to the work of the Congress..
“To be 20 in 2020 was to project yourself forward to 2050, to a world where the temperature will be 2°C higher, where famine and tempest may be the norm and all our dreams will have evaporated”. This truth, according to Hugo Biolley, the youngest mayor of France, elected in 2020 at the age of 18 in the village of Vinzieux, brings a definitive end to all our illusions and calls for the immediate mobilisation of our entire society.
The climate crisis, the health crisis, and the social, economic and political crises which have swept Europe in recent years have impacted young people the most. How should we be addressing these problems, which have plunged them into an unprecedented existential crisis? “Help young people who seek some hope and feel so alone in such a disembodied institutional world! Muster their energy which could otherwise transform into destructive anger! Continue to safeguard local democracy and become its trusted conveyors!”, implored Hugo Biolley. In his view, it was at local level, where politics could be gauged through tangible everyday actions, that young people should be trusted as soon as possible and involved in the work of political institutions. The proof lay in his own story, which had taken root in a special relationship with his elders. “Democracy is a living flame which is sustained through placing a little trust in somebody who wishes to make themselves useful”, he said. His speech was listened to very attentively and gave rise to a series of comments during the debate, in which it was asserted how urgent it was to take action to open up local institutions to young people.
In this connection, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, which since 2014, has systematically involved young delegates in its statutory activities, has drawn up and introduced a series of useful standard-setting instruments such as the Revised European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life. However, in the view of the young delegate, Despoina Panteli (Greece), these excellent tools are not sufficiently exploited, and she called for systematic joint management by local authorities and youth councils of matters relating to young people and for increased institutionalisation of youth participation in municipal councils through specific time slots and formats. Setting up a dedicated co-ordinating body and providing rooms and facilities for youth organisations was also a major issue, particularly in eastern European countries, where infrastructure for young people was inadequate.
In 2015, the Congress called for the right to vote to be granted from 16 on at local level, but this has not yet become a universal practice in all the member States. Yet, according to Kerry Hoppe, representing the Vote 16 initiative, this would be a major step forward for society, which could reduce voter abstention and make elected representatives more accountable to young people. With 37 partner organisations comprising over two million members, or about a sixth of the population of Bavaria, the Vote 16 initiative was hoping to organise a public vote on this issue within the State of Bavaria at the autumn 2023 elections.
In all the very many statements by youth delegates and the members of the Chamber of Local Authorities, the idea of lowering the local voting age was saluted and the high standards of youth engagement were highlighted. The Spanish youth delegate, Andres Rodriguez Perez, emphasised the key role of associations in combating hardship and discrimination by getting all categories of young people involved in public life.
Others pointed to the need to address the issue of unemployment (Fabio Travaglini, Italy, EPP/CCE) and to pass on the memory of democratic conquests (Pascale Pfeiffer, France, ILDG) in order to promote involvement by young people in public life. Cemal Bas (Türkiye, EPP/CCE) called on the youth delegates to develop their capacity to negotiate with local, national and international institutions so as to be fully integrated into the decision-making process.
Statement by Hugo BIOLLEY (only in French)
Mediabox interview with Kerry HOPPE
Mediabox interview with Hugo BIOLLEY
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44th Session
Agenda – Web file – Multimedia (Live webcasts, interviews, videos and photo)
