Young people have become increasingly disillusioned with British democracy, as illustrated by low levels of trust and political participation. This is especially the case for youth from less well-off groups.
While young people are sceptical about parties and elections, they are interested in political issues, involved in social movements, and volunteer as much as previous generations.
The challenge is to build bridges between younger generations and democratic institutions between elections. This is best achieved at the local level.
Hansard Society data shows that just under half of all 18 to 24-year-olds – and more than half of those from less well-off backgrounds – want to be more involved in local decision-making.
In my new book, I present the findings of a five-year research project on how local and civic authorities can turn youth voice into sustainable public policy.
Drawing on in-depth research with young Londoners and the Greater London Authority and other examples from the UK and overseas, the study explores the opportunities and pitfalls for youth engagement initiatives.
I introduce the concept of ‘civic mentoring’ to explain how best practice has the potential to increase trust and participation, build stronger communities, and increase the quality of public policy.
The research also shows how enhanced youth engagement can bring economic benefits through volunteering, improving the job prospects of young participants and reducing the risks of young people becoming unemployed or involved in crime.
Most local and civic authorities run youth engagement programmes, but research shows that – despite the best of intentions – many of these initiatives are not meaningful and inclusive, and are liable to become tokenistic box-ticking exercises.
Inclusive youth engagement means avoiding the over-selection of youth from higher socio-economic groups – in other words, considering who participates.
Meaningful youth engagement entails careful consideration of when and how young people are brought into the policy-making process.
The civic mentoring model identifies three key stages for effective youth engagement over a sustained period of time.
First, officials in charge of youth engagement initiatives should focus on overseeing the personal development of those who take part (Stage 1), providing pastoral support and developing transferable skills that can help with obtaining employment and in engaging with policy-makers – for example, by practising public speaking, making films, and managing events.
Second, youth voice initiatives should offer a variety of opportunities for horizontal civic engagement (Stage 2). That means opportunities for young participants to run outreach projects for their peers, such as deliberative events on environmental policy, as an effective way of reaching out into their communities.
Third, the young people involved in these initiatives should be given the opportunity to work with and influence policy-makers on issues that have meaning for their everyday lives at an early stage in the decision-making process (Stage 3).
Turning youth voice into public policy is an ambitious, but ultimately beneficial agenda with democratic, social and economic benefits over a sustained period of time.
This requires the institutionalisation of youth engagement by local and civic authorities, working with the youth sector to recruit and support the participation of youth from low-income or traditionally marginalised groups.
It also requires provision by local authorities of core training for policy teams’ civic mentoring, for working with children and young people as partners.
- Readers can access the introduction to ‘Turning Youth Voice into Sustainable Public Policy’ for free. Royalties from the book will be donated to good causes suggested by the Mayor of London’s Peer Outreach Team