“Young people deserve a seat at the table and they deserve to be heard.”
This sentence is often heard from political decision-makers – but just as often, young people are not given this seat at the table. Especially considering that young people are the largest population group in some countries, this does not correspond to our understanding of democracy. While children and young people are heard in selected subject areas, peace and security policy issues, for example, are usually only discussed among older adults. This means that the perspectives and ideas that young people can contribute are not taken into account. The potential to create sustainable and intergenerational peace remains untapped. But that is exactly what we want – because: For us, the political participation of children and young people is not an end in itself, but a significant building block not only of any functioning democracy, but above all in peace processes. We see democracy as a way of life – and are therefore committed to youth participation that has an impact!
- We want to ensure youth participation in peace and democracy processes and promote the implementation and mainstreaming of youth, peace and security in Germany and worldwide
- We stand for inclusive, diverse and barrier-free youth participation that ensures that all young people are heard and recognized in peace and democracy processes.
- We advocate the implementation of the Youth, Peace & Security Agenda (UN Security Council Resolutions 2250 (2015), 2419 (2018) and 2535 (2020))
- We call for measures to recognize and enable the contributions of young people to the resilience of democracies, societies and peace.