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This workshop examined the major challenges faced in bringing youth into democracy and human rights movements and instilling democratic values in the next generation. It considered new methodologies for engaging youth more effectively.
CHALLENGES:
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Lack of democratic spaces and experiences - Even when a country's schools include the concepts of democracy in their curriculum, young people rarely, if ever, experience democracy. Many modern cities, in which increasingly large percentages of populations are concentrated, lack true public spaces where diverse young people can gather and exchange ideas. Many societies have lost the traditional spaces and structures in which young people used to interact with each other and with community leaders, developing their sense of community and social responsibility. Furthermore, most of the institutions that children experience, such as school and family, are not democratic. Standard education in most countries focuses more on technical skills than critical thought. Exclusion has made many youth into consumers of pop culture, goods, and ideas rather than producers, into objects rather than subjects .
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Aversion to "politics" - For a variety of reasons, many young people reject politics and activism. Many prioritize financial security and/or personal gain over social or civic responsibility. Some young people do participate in activism or student government, yet do so to develop their own careers rather than to improve their communities. Other young people do not participate in activism at all because it does not offer the promise of high salaries or prestige and might even result in blacklisting or exclusion from government positions. The very word "politics" is dirty in some countries, as it is strongly associated with corruption and deception. In many countries, violent secessionist or extremist groups, corrupt governments, or the military offer more money, power, and privilege to young people than do peace and democracy movements .
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Generational divide - Irrationality, short-sightedness, naiveté, and political apathy, traits intensified by political exclusion, are frequently seen as natural characteristics of youth. This perception leaves many older activists and professionals unwilling to work closely with young people, and those who do often see the relationship as one-way: teaching values to youth rather than engaging in dialogue. Such attitudes are a major barrier to the sustainability of democracy movements; the younger generation very much needs the wisdom and mentorship of experienced activists to develop their own skills and consciousness, and established activists need the fresh perspectives of youth to adapt their movements to new realities .
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Social divisions - Though it is often easier to access and organize children and youth enrolled in formal education, it is crucial to reach out to those outside of these institutions as well. Socially and economically excluded youth can be a great obstacle or great asset in citizen movements, depending on their opportunities and incentives .
RECOMMENDED METHODOLOGIES :
Working with young people requires focus on the paradigms of today's youth. Experienced activists cannot expect the younger generation to be motivated by the same concerns that motivated them when they were young, or see the priorities and meaning of political action in the same way. The workshop explored ways to create spaces and incentives for youth to set their own priorities and develop their own agency.
Serdar Degirmencioglu of Turkey presented the Public Achievement model used in his work, which builds civil consciousness in young people by stimulating them to draw connections between their personal concerns and larger issues in their countries and set their own priorities for taking action, then provides them with the skills and opportunity to design and execute their own community service projects:
- Youth participants identify real-life issues and concerns that are important to them.
- Volunteers form teams around the selected issues.
- With guidance from a college student or adult coach, the teams meet regularly to design non-violent, legal projects towards a common good .
- The coach facilitates the group dynamic and helps the young people develop the social and public skills they need to implement their project.
- The teams execute their projects.
Other participants described similar projects that empower youth and develop their civic consciousness through stimulating discussion on the linkages between personal and public concerns, encouraging youth to identify issues important to them, and providing opportunities for young people to take action on the issues that they determine to be important.
In addition to building skills for political action, group work among diverse young people can stimulate their concern for the problems of others, respect for diverse opinions, and ability to find common ground - necessary skills for the citizens of functional democracies. Such solidarity may be built more easily at the local level, where common ground is more obvious.
Such methodologies are useful even with younger children who might not yet have the capacity to understand abstract concepts such as human rights, but can internalize democratic values by practicing them. Some participants also noted that such programs teach young people to be politically active without "politics," which can be useful where participation in politics is unpopular. However, others noted that extremist movements are very successful in recruiting young people for explicitly political aims, and peace movements should not be afraid of being political. The real trick is to provide the proper skills, knowledge, and incentives for young people to use democratic means to achieve their goals
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES:
- Contests (essays, flash animation, art, etc.) attract youth with the promise of a prize and recognition, while stimulating them to reflect on democracy issues. The contest entries, designed by youth, may be more engaging for other youth than adult-designed materials.
- Community service--when voluntary, not forced--develops concepts of civic responsibility and community engagement, particularly among younger children.
- Developing groups of young professionals to combine career development assistance with broader discussions of the role of young people as members of society.
- Youth parliaments give young people space to debate policy and opportunities to directly engage with official parliaments.
- Democracy fairs can provide young people with opportunities to express their feelings about issues and rights through dance, art, poetry, or other diverse forms.
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