The Commonwealth and Young People
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Youth parliaments
Can young people really affect what their national governments do? The whole democratic process of elections, political parties, parliamentary procedures and debates can be a real turn-off for young people. There are many countries in the Commonwealth where the turnout of young people at general elections is very low. One way to tackle this is to promote a better understanding of the democratic system among young people - and one way of doing that is to hold youth parliaments.
Several youth parliaments have been held in various countries and regions of the Commonwealth. Pan-Commonwealth Youth Parliaments, bringing together yong people from all over the Commonwealth, have also been held in 1997 and 2000.
Kari Austin is a Maori from a small town in Aotearea/New Zealand:
"When I had the opportunity of being a part of the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP), and a Regional Youth Forum (RYF) Representative for New Zealand, I jumped at the chance. Because I recognised all the issues that not only Maori youth were faced with, but all youth collectively, and not only in New Zealand, or the South Pacific, but all over the Commonwealth and the world. And I wanted to be a part of that. I wanted to be a part of something that was so committed to working together, for the well-being of our young people."
Youth for the future
In 2002, at the Heads of Government Meeting at Coolum, Australia, the Commonwealth made a commitment to its young people in the 'Youth for the Future' initiative. This encourages Commonwealth co-operation in youth enterprise development, youth volunteering, youth mentoring and youth leadership. Secretary- General Don McKinnon said: 'My single and most important message to young people and civil society is this: all Commonwealth member governments have agreed that young people should be at the core of our development agenda in order to sustain the future of the Commonwealth and its people'.
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