Young people in the district are calling for more say in democracy!

Young people in the district are calling for more say in democracy!

In a lively exchange, over 40 players from various areas came together last Tuesday to discuss the importance of youth participation in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district. At the opening event of the partnership for democracy and the youth education center, the focus was on strengthening young people. The event was opened by the first district of Dirk Noll, which highlighted the necessary exchange as the key to youth participation in rural areas. Together with Daniela Langgut from the partnership for democracy, the need for comprehensive cooperation was emphasized in order to consolidate the participation of young people.

The participants came from different areas of youth work, including two mayors, which underlines the importance of the topic. Leah Koch from the Youth Education Center and Scheerer Alou from the Adam von Trott Foundation took over the content of the event. At the beginning, those present were asked to make existing participation formats visible on maps in order to improve the clarity of the structures. Pulse lectures, including Prof. Dr. Umut Akkus from the Fulda University of Applied Sciences and Lena Groß-Trautmann from the youth participation service point, provided interesting insights and motivation for further discussion.

legal foundations of child and youth participation

But why is the say of children and adolescents so important? Hefrof explains that the child and youth participation is a fixed fundamental right. In the UN Convention on the Rights of the Children, Article 12, children have the right to freely express their opinion and be heard in matters that affect them. These principles continue in various legal framework conditions, including the EU fundamental rights charta and the Basic Law, the Hessian constitution and specific regulations in the Hessian Child and Youth Welfare Act.

A central goal of these legal provisions is to promote the participation of young people at the community and district level. According to the Hessian municipal code and the Hessian district regulations, municipalities and counties are obliged to include children and adolescents in relevant planning processes. Initiatives such as the "Hessen prevention chains" and the "Partnership for Democracy" help to make the voices of young people louder.

The way to a youth forum

As part of the discussion, the concept of a youth forum was brought into play that should offer young people a platform to express their interests and ideas. This should not only help to strengthen your voice in democratic processes, but also to promote your positive experiences with informal and non-formal learning in your free time.

The event ended with an intensive discussion about the challenges in front of which rural areas are facing, but also about which actors are necessary to sustainably establish youth participation. The creation of a youth forum could thus be a decisive step in the right direction. It's a good thing that the exchange of the young generation is so much more than just about words - here the future will be designed!