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Publication
Education
Youth

The Children and Youth Participation in Politics: Case Study of the Project “Youth Voice: Empowering Positive Change (Youth4Change)”

Author
Eglė Celiešienė , Viktorija Stasytytė , Auksė Petruškevičiūtė , Bent Noerby Bonde
Publisher
Socialinis ugdymas / Social education Vol. 59, No. 1, pp. 68–79, 2023
Year of Publication
2023
Abstract

This paper examines the effectiveness of children and youth participation in politics through the case study of the “Youth4Change” project. The study uses a Participatory Action Research and “Project Citizen” methodologies to explore the impact of the project on youth empowerment and political engagement. The project aims to add to a model empowering young people to participate in local decision-making processes and promote best practices for youth participation in local and municipal politics. The article highlights the importance of youth participation in politics for building a more inclusive and democratic society and presents the findings of the study as the impact of the “Youth4Change” project. The hypothesis of the project is that the chosen methodological approach will have a positive impact on youth empowerment, political engagement and increased participation and influence on local policymaking. This is particularly tested for a group aged 15–19 years and in relation to its potential influence on a local municipality. Inspired by several models for engagement of vulnerable and general youth in local and regional policymaking, the “Youth4Change” trains the youth to influence and advises a local municipality partner on models to seek advice from youth in the rural region.

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