Youth participation: Halle relies on strong voices of the future!

Youth participation: Halle relies on strong voices of the future!

Halle (Saale), Deutschland - The importance of child and youth participation recently gained new attention from a specialist day in Halle (Saale). Under the motto "Youth. Change. Community. - Sure on site", 80 participants gathered from local administrations, politics and youth work in order to exchange ideas about the valuable advantages of participation in young people. The child and youth representative Holger Paech opened the event and emphasized that the active inclusion of children and adolescents not only strengthens their voice, but also benefits the municipalities. Send this ms.sachsen-anhalt.de expressly.

A ray of hope are the pilot municipalities Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, district of Stendal, Welterbestadt Quedlinburg and the municipality of Wethautal. These communities have already taken valuable steps to actively participate in young people in decision -making processes. For example, the Altmark district of Salzwedel integrated around 350 young people in children's and youth conferences. In contrast, a survey with around 1,000 participants was carried out in the Stendal district. The results flow directly into the regional conferences. At the same time, the World Heritage City of Quedlinburg has been involved in a barcamp, and the Wethautal community has established an active youth council with 14 members who appeals to important issues and is taken seriously by the local government.

Financial support for participation

In order to further promote this development, the State Center Youth + municipality provides financial resources. Up to EUR 21,400 can be requested per pilot community to specifically promote child and youth participation. The application period ends on February 28, 2024, and interested municipalities, counties and independent cities are invited to develop innovative participation methods. Further information can be queried on the website of youth-kommune.de. The funding period for the selected projects ranges from April 15, 2024 to December 31, 2024.

An open ear for questions about project ideas offers digital advice on January 23, 2024. Contact options are ready to clarify the application conditions and to concretize potential ideas.

national strategies and initiatives

The local initiative follows the higher-level National Action Plan for Children's and Youth Participation (NAP), which will be funded by the Federal Ministry of Youth by 2025. The aim of the NAP is the effective participation of young people and the direct integration into decision -making processes. Various formats such as dialogue forums and youth audits were developed for this. Detailed recommendations for better participation are recorded in a final documentation, which will also result in consequences at the political level.

The youth politics days and the Federal Youth Conference, which promote the exchange between young people and politics, are particularly noteworthy and show how important it is that the voices of our young people are heard. These initiatives play a central role in strengthening the quality of democratic participation and offering young people a platform.

Overall, it can be seen that the participation of children and adolescents is increasingly moving into the spotlight. As the various examples from Saxony-Anhalt prove, there are already many projects that show what a strong participation can look like. And this is not only an advantage for the target group itself, but also for society as a whole.