Youth councils or parliaments, are a form of youth voice engaged in community decision-making. Youth councils are appointed bodies that exist on local, state, provincial, regional, national, and international levels among governments, non governmental organisations (NGOs), schools, and other entities. Groups that include children (typically starting at age 5) often call themselves children's parliaments and are paired with youth parliaments of older kids.
Youth councils have many purposes. Many are consultative bodies for more representative political bodies at all levels of government. How they are composed varies, with some youth councils being elected by young people in the community, while others are handpicked by political officials or elected by youth NGOs.
Article 12 of the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child is also widely credited with promoting youth councils. [1] Youth councils have also seen growth in Western Europe with help from the European Youth Forum, and in the United States and Canada thanks to groups such as The Freechild Project and Points of Light Foundation.
The National Youth Council of Nigeria was formed in 1964. [2] [ circular reference ]
In India, the Youth Parliament Program is an integral part of the Swatantrata Center [3] and Foundation for Democratic Reforms [4] under the leadership of Raghavendar Askani, Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, where youth can come together, think, discuss and debate on various issues such as Education and Health, Electoral and Political Reforms, Judicial & Police Reforms, Local Governments & Citizen-centered governance, Governance Reforms, Instruments of Accountability, and Public Policy Reforms of India.
In Israel there is a National Youth Council whose members are elected from 7 Regional Youth Councils, which are elected from Municipal councils, formed from representatives of School Student Councils and Youth Movements.
In Malaysia, the Youth Parliament of Malaysia is the main national youth parliament under supervisions by Parliament of Malaysia. The Youth Parliament has members of the Youth Parliament elected by registered voters between 15-40 ages. Any citizen not less than 18 years of age and not older than 30 years of age can become a candidate and be elected to the Youth Parliament.
In the Philippines, the Sangguniang Kabataan , formerly known as Kabataang Barangay (KB), is the main national youth council. It has a chairman and members of the council who are elected by registered voters in each barangay. [5] Each chairman are entitled to become part as members of the Federation which will serve as member (ex-officio) in the local legislative bodies except for the National Federation. It has indirect supervision by NYC Philippines. Under the 2016 reform, a new Local Youth Development Council was formed to support the SK programs and to be composed of representatives from different youth organisations in the community including student councils, church and youth faith groups, youth-serving organisations, and community-based youth groups. "The LYDC aims to harmonize, broaden and strengthen all programs and initiatives of the local government and non-governmental organisations for the youth sector," said Senator Bam Aquino, then chairman of the Senate Committee on Youth and co-author of the reform act. [6]
In South Korea, the National Youth Council(청소년특별회의) is a pan-governmental youth policy organization established under the "Basic Youth Act" and supported by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. [7] It is installed in the central and all metropolitan local governments like province and metropolitan city, and youths aged 9 to 25 are selected and operated on a yearly basis, by government(s). The developed policy is directly transmitted to the executive branch and accepted or rejected. Currently, there are about 70 people in the center and 430 people in metropolitan local governments. Central Council established in 2004 by the presidential pledge, [8] takes a form closer to a policy advisory body belonging to the government. On the other hand, such youth participation organizations are established in the form of "Youth Council" or "Youth Participation Committee" in local governments at the basic level like city, county, autonomous district; as a legally mandated matter also.
In Europe there is a consolidated tradition of representative youth platforms at pan-regional, national, and local levels. At European level, the European Youth Forum constitutes the platforms which gathers more than 93 National Youth Council and International Non-Governmental youth organisations. It is a non-governmental structure which serves its members and applies the principles of democratic representation and transparency through its internal democratic system (election of the board and the president). At the institutional level, the Council of Europe has a specific co-managed system to run its youth sector. Governmental and non-Governmental representative co-decide upon the priorities of the youth program of the institution and they also co-manage activities which are run in two youth centres in Strasbourg and Budapest. The Youth Constituency is called "Advisory Council on Youth" (AC) beside the co-decision mechanism internal to the Directorate for Youth and Sport has the possibility to advise the Institution on any matter which affect young people and which is tackled by Council of Europe.
At national level there are National Youth Councils many of which have similar structures to the European Youth Forum. For over a decade, the UK's British Youth Council has operated the UK Youth Parliament. Notable for being the only other organisation able to meet in the House of Commons, all young people between the ages of 11-18 can vote for their local Member of Youth Parliament. Additionally, the Council also operate the UK Young Mayor's Network, NHS Youth Forum and the House of Commons' Youth Select Committee.
Often there are regional and local council which adopts various kind of constituencies and organisations case by case. An example of this is the Scottish Youth Parliament. Some youth councils are for each constituency such as the Dartford Youth Council in the United Kingdom. Another example is the PAL-TIN, which is a national alliance of local youth councils in Romania. Additionally, some youth councils, for example the Greek Youth Parliament allows for the participation not only of youth from within the country, but also from countries with large Greek communities such as Germany and Australia. Among 1800 local youth and children's councils exist in France. 500 of these are members of an umbrella organisation created in 1991 called Anacej [9] (National Association of Youth and Children Councils).
In Germany they have Youth and parliament (Jugend und Parlament) at the Bundestag. [10]
In the United States and Canada, youth councils have been formed by non-profit organisations and at all levels of government. Many cities, including Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Seattle, and San Jose, California, have active youth councils that inform city government decision-making. For instance, the Los Angeles Youth Council is sponsored by the Commission for Children Youth and their Families. Prior to being established as a program of this commission, it was operated as Mayor Tom Bradley's Youth Advisory Board. This Youth Council is currently working on creating a citywide Youth Policy. Several state-level government agencies and legislatures have created youth councils, including Washington, Minnesota, Maine, Arizona, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, New Mexico, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Maine's council was the first statewide youth council created in the US, and the others were created soon after that.
In the United States there are several forms of youth councils. They include youth advisory councils, which provide input and feedback regarding adult-driven decision-making; youth research councils that are responsible for assessment and evaluation of youth and community programs, and; youth action councils which are designed to either be youth/adult partnerships or youth-led activities that are youth-driven and generally, youth-focused. A new breed of Youth Council also exists that include a perspective on "leadership", which is not always interpreted in the same way from one generation to the next. This form of Youth Council embraces all of the above-mentioned qualities; advisory, assessment & evaluation skills & the importance of partnering etc., as well as the traditional consideration of gaining access to what timeless knowledge that may still be of value and, in theory, the effect of "the path of leadership on our current leaders" and what kind of examples there are to study (if any) and capitalize/maximize of what is worthy and ongoing. As in all generations, Youth have the same responsibilities/concerns in: learning to work together, creating stability/sustainability, a future for their children etc. This generation's challenges will need all the skills of leadership on top of returning to what it is to be a true Human Being.
In New Zealand, some city council local boards have set up youth equivalents, an example being Howick Youth Council in Howick, Auckland.
In Córdoba, Argentina, since the year 2013 exists the Alumni Youth Council. It was created by a group of Alumni of the English Access Micro-scholarship Program, and it is a non-profit and pluralistic organization of young volunteers that promotes education and youth participation in society, and that works for human development.
The Council of Europe is an international organisation established in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, as of 2023 it brings together 46 member states, with a population of approximately 675 million; it operates with an annual budget of approximately 500 million euros.
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or national level are not considered councils. At such levels, there may be no separate executive branch, and the council may effectively represent the entire government. A board of directors might also be denoted as a council. A committee might also be denoted as a council, though a committee is generally a subordinate body composed of members of a larger body, while a council may not be. Because many schools have a student council, the council is the form of governance with which many people are likely to have their first experience as electors or participants.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) is the governing body of the UK Labour Party, setting the overall strategic direction of the party and policy development. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affiliated trade unions, the Parliamentary Labour Party, constituency Labour parties (CLP), and socialist societies, as well as ex officio members such as the party Leader and Deputy Leader and several of their appointees.
The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is the fisheries policy of the European Union (EU). It sets quotas for which member states are allowed to catch each type of fish, as well as encouraging the fishing industry by various market interventions. In 2004 it had a budget of €931 million, approximately 0.75% of the EU budget.
Kent County Council is a county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Kent in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes the unitary authority of Medway. Kent County Council is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council has 81 elected councillors. It is one of the largest local authorities in England in terms of population served and the largest local authority of its type.
The political structure of the European Union (EU) is similar to a confederation, where many policy areas are federalised into common institutions capable of making law; the competences to control foreign policy, defence policy, or the majority of direct taxation policies are mostly reserved for the twenty-seven state governments. These areas are primarily under the control of the EU's member states although a certain amount of structured co-operation and coordination takes place in these areas. For the EU to take substantial actions in these areas, all Member States must give their consent. Union laws that override State laws are more numerous than in historical confederations; however, the EU is legally restricted from making law outside its remit or where it is no more appropriate to do so at a state or local level (subsidiarity) when acting outside its exclusive competences. The principle of subsidiarity does not apply to areas of exclusive competence.
Youth empowerment is a process where children and young people are encouraged to take charge of their lives. They do this by addressing their situation and then take action in order to improve their access to resources and transform their consciousness through their beliefs, values, and attitudes. Youth empowerment aims to improve quality of life. Youth empowerment is achieved through participation in youth empowerment programs. However scholars argue that children's rights implementation should go beyond learning about formal rights and procedures to give birth to a concrete experience of rights. There are numerous models that youth empowerment programs use that help youth achieve empowerment. A variety of youth empowerment initiatives are underway around the world. These programs can be through non-profit organizations, government organizations, schools or private organizations.
The European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS) is a pluralistic, inclusive and non-partisan umbrella organisation. EUJS supports Jewish student unions throughout Europe and represents its members to European institutions, the OSCE, the UNHRC, as well as to other major Jewish and non-Jewish organisations. Founded in 1978, EUJS currently has 36 member organisations, spanning from Russia to Scandinavia to the United Kingdom. EUJS is led by a president, an executive director, and eight board members who are elected by EUJS member organizations at the EUJS General Assembly. The EUJS headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium.
The British Youth Council, known informally as BYC, is a UK charity that works to empower young people and promote their interests. The national charity, run by young people, exists to represent the views of young people to government and decision-makers at a local, national, European and international level; and to promote the increased participation of young people in society and public life. It is partly funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and UK Parliament.
The European Youth Forum is an international non-profit association that serves as an umbrella organisation and advocacy group of the national youth councils and international non-governmental youth organisations in Europe. It works on youth rights in international institutions such as the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the United Nations.
Youth politics is a category of issues which distinctly involve, affect or otherwise impact youth. It encompasses youth policy that specifically has an impact on young people and how young people engage in politics including in institutional politics, youth organisations and lifestyle.
Pavee Point (PP) is a government-funded non-governmental organisation based in Dublin, Ireland that was formed to improve the human rights of Irish Travellers and to bridge the economic and social inequalities between Travellers and settled people. Irish Travellers are an ethnic minority group that originated from nomadic tradespeople.
The Sangguniang Kabataan Open University is an open online learning platform based in the Philippines, that aims to make learning materials and courses available to Sangguniang Kabataan officers.
The North–South Centre, officially the European Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity, is a Partial Agreement of the Council of Europe, the oldest political organisation of European states.
The youth rights movement seeks to grant the rights to young people that are traditionally reserved for adults, due to having reached a specific age or sufficient maturity. This is closely akin to the notion of evolving capacities within the children's rights movement, but the youth rights movement differs from the children's rights movement in that the latter places emphasis on the welfare and protection of children through the actions and decisions of adults, while the youth rights movement seeks to grant youth the liberty to make their own decisions autonomously in the ways adults are permitted to, or to lower the legal minimum ages at which such rights are acquired, such as the age of majority and the voting age.
A Sangguniang Kabataan is a community council that represents youth in a barangay in the Philippines. They were put "on hold", but not abolished, prior to the 2013 barangay elections. In January 2016, the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act was signed into law, which made changes to the SK and initially scheduled new elections for October 2016. In March 2017, the elections were postponed to May 2018.
The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) was a membership network of over 200 voluntary and community organisations, as well as local and regional networks, that work with and for young people across England. The organisation closed in 2016. For 80 years, NCVYS acted as an independent voice of the voluntary and community youth sector, working to inform and influence public policy, supporting members to improve the quality of their work, and also raising the profile of the voluntary and community sector's work with young people.
MIJARC Europe is the European continental branch of MIJARC. It is the platform or umbrella organization, representing the catholic, agricultural and rural youth movements in Europe. It has member movements and contact movements in Portugal (JARC), Spain, France (MRJC), Belgium (KLJ), Germany (KLJB), Hungary (KIM), Austria (KJÖ), Poland (EiR), Bulgaria (YMDRAB), Armenia (FYCA), Georgia (Umbrella), Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovakia (ADEL) and Romania, representing around 150 000 rural young people aged from 12 to 35 years old. At world level, MIJARC represents more than two million young people from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe.
João Diogo Pinto, ComIH is an activist, advocate, and expert in International Relations and Politics of the European Union. Having served two terms as the youngest ever Secretary General of the European Movement International, he served as Director of European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA), an International NGO seeking to build bridges between Armenia and the EU between 2016 and 2018, and as Political Advisor to Maria João Rodrigues, Vice-President of the S&D Group in the European Parliament, from April 2018 to July 2019. Since February 2020, he works as Policy Director of the FIA Region I. Diogo Pinto was awarded the class “Commander” of the Order of Prince Henry for services in the expansion of the Portuguese culture, its history and its values. He lives in Brussels, and he often speaks at public events, gives interviews and publishes opinions.
The Advisory Council on Youth is a non-governmental youth constituency of the Council of Europe. It is a crucial part of the unique co-management structure, a living example of participatory democracy, where young Europeans together with the European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ), the body of the representatives of Youth ministries from the 50 States Parties to the European Cultural Convention, equally decide on the standards and work priorities of the Council of Europe's youth sector in the Joint Council on Youth (CMJ).