YOUTH CIVIC

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POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT GLOBALLY, youth participation and representation in institutional political processes and policy-making is relatively low. As a group, young people are not adequately represented within formal political structures, as evidenced by the low rates of parliamentary involvement, political party participation and electoral activity among youth worldwide. One aspect of the problem is the lack of regulatory mechanisms facilitating youth participation; in many countries, for example, only individuals aged 25 years or above are eligible to run for parliament. 100 100 United Nations Development Programme. Enhancing Youth Political Participation throughout the Electoral Cycle: A Good Practice Guide (New York, 2013), p. 11. Available from http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/ home/librarypage/democratic-governance/electoral_systemsandprocesses/enhancing-youth-political-participation-throughout-the-electoral.html.
3CHAPTER With the global youth population standing at 1.2 billion, the exclusion of young people from formal political processes threatens the legitimacy of political systems and structures, as a huge cohort remains unrepresented or underrepresented—which in many cases leads young people to find alternative means of political engagement. This chapter examines the reasons behind the changing trends in youth participation in political and electoral processes (James Sloam) and explores the role young people now play in defining emerging political landscapes (Nur Laiq), in particular through digital activism (Erhardt Graeff), as well as through engagement in negative or extremist activities (Akil N. Awan) ELECTORAL PARTICIPATION The past several decades have been marked by declining levels of youth participation in electoral processes. Voter turnout tends to be significantly lower among youth than among the older population, and young people are less likely to become members of political parties. 101 Exacerbating the situation is the fact that in many of these structures, young people are not visible; typically, for example, individuals under the age of 35 are minimally represented in top political leadership positions. 102 The lingering impact of the global financial and economic crisis—in particular high unemployment and its disproportionate effect on youth—has intensified the feeling among many young people that traditional institutions of governance and electoral participation provide ineffective tools for meaningful political engagement. This feeling of disconnection has led to disengagement from institutionalized processes and widespread apathy among young voters, 103 with the result that many have turned to alternative methods of political participation. THE POWER OF PROTEST One avenue of political expression has been protests and demonstrations, through which young people have found a vehicle to voice their dissatisfaction with and grievances against the political establishment. While protest and demonstration are not new phenomena, through the advance of newer ICTs and social media more young people are becoming mobilised to actively engage. 101 Ibid 102 Ibid 103 Ibid. Discontent with the status quo has been articulated—via both traditional and contemporary protest formats—across the Middle East and North 64
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YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
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World Youth Report Published by the
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Peace Bell Ceremony to commemorate
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CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 10
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EXPLANATORY NOTES The terms “coun
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CHAPTER 1
Page 13 and 14: CHAPTER 1 SITUATION OF YOUTH The tr
Page 15 and 16: CHAPTER 1 YOUNG PEOPLE TAKING ACTIO
Page 17 and 18: CHAPTER 1 Introduction (chapter one
Page 19 and 20: ENGAGED CITIZENSHIP The discourse o
Page 21 and 22: Interaction theory posits that the
Page 23 and 24: social actors. It has been argued t
Page 25 and 26: eal, substantial, and significant.
Page 27 and 28: 2CHAPTER Teenagers at Instituto Rec
Page 29 and 30: 2CHAPTER Young people typically exp
Page 31 and 32: 2CHAPTER Meanwhile, developed econo
Page 33 and 34: BOX 2.3. TRAINING AND SKILLS DEVELO
Page 35 and 36: 2CHAPTER vulnerable position than t
Page 37 and 38: IN SEARCH OF BENCHMARKS FOR QUALITY
Page 39 and 40: Internships linked to educational p
Page 41 and 42: and create more detailed guidelines
Page 43 and 44: Duration. The duration of an intern
Page 45 and 46: of the global jobs crisis on young
Page 47 and 48: Lain, David, and others. Evaluating
Page 49 and 50: BOX 2.5. YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN
Page 51 and 52: Of equal importance are those assoc
Page 53 and 54: need to work together to improve en
Page 55 and 56: Schoof, Ulrich, and Amina Semlali.
Page 57 and 58: LABOUR MARKET TRENDS AMONG YOUNG WO
Page 59 and 60: membership for young workers is sim
Page 61 and 62: if they are to participate fully in
Page 63: 3 CHAPTER © UN Photo/ Paulo Filgue
Page 67 and 68: 3CHAPTER NEGATIVE ENGAGEMENT When y
Page 69 and 70: YOUTH ELECTORAL PARTICIPATION James
Page 71 and 72: TABLE 3.1. POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
Page 73 and 74: FIGURE 3.2. PARTICIPATION IN ELECTO
Page 75 and 76: circumscribed political action have
Page 77 and 78: FIGURE 3.4. PARTICIPATION IN ISSUE-
Page 79 and 80: While many highly educated, relativ
Page 81 and 82: Blais, André. Political participat
Page 83 and 84: TRANSITIONS IN POWER: YOUNG PEOPLE'
Page 85 and 86: Young people in both Egypt and Tuni
Page 87 and 88: Five-Year Action Agenda. As the int
Page 89 and 90: concept remain cognizant of the his
Page 91 and 92: fraternity of believers, or of Neo-
Page 93 and 94: demagogues, gangs and violent crimi
Page 95 and 96: Address socioeconomic inequality. G
Page 97 and 98: crowdsourcing or peer production—
Page 99 and 100: and use an array of media activism
Page 101 and 102: against them. Several lampooning me
Page 103 and 104: it can pose risks to participants t
Page 105 and 106: Technologies and communities that o
Page 107 and 108: It is essential to look to the futu
Page 109 and 110: 4CHAPTER
Page 111 and 112: 4CHAPTER Involving youth—as colla
Page 113 and 114: 4CHAPTER helping those “without
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BOX 4.2. BENEFITS OF YOUTH ENGAGEME
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CHAPTER BOX 4.3. APPROACHES TO PEAC
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4CHAPTER emotional development and
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RECONCEPTUALIZING YOUTH VOLUNTARISM
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Girl Guides. Youth volunteering pro
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young women and men. 233 Below is a
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KEY CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES So
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themselves, their families and comm
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violence—structural, 249 cultural
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• Financial and material support
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other youth to engage civically thr
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Policymakers: • Policymakers shou
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YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN SPORT FOR DE
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BOX 4.6. SPORT AND THE ENGAGEMENT O
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Provide Funding and Infrastructure.
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5CHAPTER
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5CHAPTER YOUTH POLICYMAKING: LESSON
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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ECONOMIC ENGAGE
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CHALLENGE POLITICAL APATHY AND EMPO
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TRANSITIONS IN POWER OPEN CHANNELS
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Youth should be developing digital
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PEACEBUILDING DEEPEN UNDERSTANDING
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ANNEX AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES Chapter On
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Perceptions and Behaviours of Young
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A volunteer paints a fresco on a wa
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YOUTH CIVIC

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