young people

OSCE Mission to Moldova strengthens professional skills and civic engagement among young people from both banks

The OSCE Mission to Moldova held a training event on essential debate techniques for 37 high-school students and 7 teachers from both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River on 1 to 3 July 2016 in Vadul-lui-Vodă, a town by the river. The event, which gathered students from Balti, Bender, Cahul, Ceadir-Lunga, Comrat, Parcani, Tiraspol and Vulcanesti, aimed to enhance youth engagement in civic processes at the local and national levels.

“This event has equipped me with skills that will be vital for both my professional and private life,” said Daria Bogdanova, a student from Tiraspol. “Engaging in debates is an excellent way to help us convey our thoughts more convincingly, search for compromise and exercise objectivity.”

The training event introduced students to the Karl Popper debate format that teaches students how to conduct and participate in academic debates, demonstrate leadership, make public speeches, co-operate in teams and apply critical thinking. The aim of the event was to develop students’ analytical and debate skills in order to strengthen their professional opportunities and civic engagement.

The students attending the training will apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills in a series of two debate tournaments to be held in the autumn. The training sessions and tournaments are organized as part of a one-year project implemented jointly by the OSCE Mission to Moldova and the Comrat-based NGO Piligrim-Demo that aims to actively engage young people, including those representing national minorities, in civic process at the local and national levels by developing their debate skills.

 

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Point: Young people aren’t joining the military — Sky-high military spending is to blame | Commentary

Americans under 30 are the only age group where a majority think the military has a negative effect on the country. Younger Americans are also likelier to say the military doesn’t make the world safer. And fewer than one in five of us under 35 say they’re “extremely proud” to be American — compared to half of those 55 and over.




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Depression was rising among young people in Southern California. COVID made it worse

New data from Southern California children, teens and young adults show that rising rates of depression and anxiety increased further during the pandemic.




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Social media platforms engaged in 'vast surveillance' and failed to protect young people, FTC finds

The Federal Trade Commission released a report Thursday slamming social media platforms including Facebook's parent company, Meta, as well as TikTok, Google-owned YouTube, Snap and other online services over privacy and youth safety concerns.




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Young people creating belonging

The Sight and Sound Project used creative sensory methods to explore how young people who are looked after feel that they belong, or do not belong, in the places that they live. In this project the concept of belonging, which is often used in relation to faith or ethnic groups is applied to home spaces. Research suggests that ‘sensory experience can provide a strong sense of belonging’ and that sounds, textures and what people see in the places they live are important in terms of making a person feel “at home’. This briefing focuses primarily on the relationship between the senses (visual, audial and touch) and participants’ feelings of belonging (or not) while looked after and leaving care. It also outlines other key issues raised by the young people, including their relationships with various agencies, notably the police as well as further detail on the creative and sensory methods employed.




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The Outdoors - A Natural Place for Young People with Autism, End of Project Report

This End of Project Report describes an innovative Transition to Work Programme for young people with autistic spectrum diagnoses and is the result of a pilot programme developed by Lothian Autistic Society (LAS) and Scottish Outdoor Education Centres (SOEC) and made possible through funding from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The pilot had the twin aims of developing employability skills and exploring the therapeutic value of the outdoors. 




young people

How can young people in MENA thrive despite economic and political insecurity?

How can young people in MENA thrive despite economic and political insecurity? 24 September 2024 — 2:00PM TO 3:00PM Anonymous (not verified) Online

Experts share insights on how young people navigate challenges and find opportunities in a changing domestic and regional landscape.

Across the Middle East and North Africa young people between the ages of 15 and 29 comprise around 24 per cent of the population in the region. As the complex regional geopolitical developments unfold, the majority of these young people are living in a time of economic and political insecurity, with many, such as Iraqis and Libyans, also growing up during conflict and uncertainty.

Enhanced education and employment programs are key opportunities for development and stability in the region. Despite this, limited resources and competing priorities have meant that governments often struggle to deliver competitive educational and employment opportunities and lack the capacity and funding for education reform and active labour market policy development. Key tensions that pit modernity and autonomy against tradition and control continue to frame the education and skills development landscape.

This webinar will address:

  • The challenges young people within the MENA region face in different contexts;
  • The role education and employment play in developing skills for 21st century challenges;
  • Spaces for young people to practice citizenship and participate in political processes;
  • Youth’s economic prospects while navigating the tumultuous backdrop of enduring conflict and authoritarianism. 




young people

Saturday Club introduces young people to international affairs

Saturday Club introduces young people to international affairs News release jon.wallace 24 February 2022

Clubs will help 13-16 year-olds learn more about the forces that are shaping the world and discover how young people can influence the future.

National Saturday Club and Chatham House are delighted to announce the launch of the Society&Change Saturday Club. This new programme creates opportunities for UK 13–16-year-olds to develop a global mindset and build awareness of trends that will shape the world in the coming decades.

Three pilot Society&Change Clubs will be hosted by the University of Sussex, Manchester Metropolitan University, and the University of Huddersfield. Chatham House will provide speakers and generate ideas for the clubs.

National Saturday Club gives 13–16-year-olds across the country the opportunity to study subjects they love at their local university, college or cultural institution, for free.

Society&Change Club members will be introduced to a wide range of careers including policy making and diplomacy, advocacy, media and journalism, international trade and business, and the international development and humanitarian sector.

Weekly classes will be led by led by professional tutors from the host institutions. Club members will also take part in masterclasses with industry professionals, as well as an end of year summer show and graduation ceremonies.

Lucy Kennedy, Chief Executive of the Saturday Club Trust said:

‘We are delighted to be partnering with Chatham House to launch the Society&Change Saturday Club, the sixth subject within the National Saturday Club programme. Over the past 12 years, working nationally with 13–16-year-olds, we have seen that young people are eager to share their hopes and ideas for the future and address the issues the world faces.

‘We hope this new Saturday Club will empower them to shape their own futures and will bring the urgent voice of young people to international debate.’

Rose Abdollahzadeh, Managing Director for Research Partnerships at Chatham House said:

‘We are really excited about the potential for this partnership to encourage young people across the UK to explore their role in the world. The National Saturday Club network will also give Chatham House opportunities to harness the energy, ideas and passion of young people towards positive change.

‘By introducing Club members to contemporary debates on global issues and a range of professions in foreign policy and international relations, our hope is that some Club members will choose to follow a career path into this sector.’

Learn more about the Society&Change Saturday Club.

 




young people

Formal Representation for Young People Enhances Politics for All

10 September 2020

Ben Horton

Communications Manager, Communications and Publishing

Michel Alimasi

Member, Common Futures Conversations, Italy

Gift Jedida

Member, Common Futures Conversations, Kenya

Sanne Thijssen

Member, Common Futures Conversations, Netherlands

Mondher Tounsi

Member, Common Futures Conversations, Tunisia
Despite grassroots associations, community organizing and online groups offering pathways for political engagement, the room for youth representation in international politics remains narrow, with many young people still left feeling they are passive participants in policymaking.

CFC Youth Participation EC_10092020.png

Youth protests at Parliament square against a new exam rating system which has been introduced in British education system - London, England on August 16, 2020. Photo by Dominika Zarzycka/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

According to UN Youth, people aged 15-24 make up one-sixth of the world’s population but, in roughly one-third of countries, the eligibility for parliamentarians begins at 25 years old and only 1.6% of parliamentarians are in their twenties. Young people are largely being excluded and overlooked, both as political candidates and even as participants in political processes, giving them limited political control over their own futures. 

If politics continues to be regarded as a space for older, more politically experienced individuals from particular backgrounds, young people will continue to be left systematically marginalized, and overall disengagement with politics within societies will continue to grow. Global leaders may increasingly point out the importance of youth representation in national and international fora, but the reality is their real policymaking impact still comes mainly from self-organized and informal activities.

And yet, despite this continued exclusion, huge numbers of young people are interested in political and civic engagement, and they have been driven to create new spaces. Youth networks, movements, and constituencies have emerged which provide the opportunity for younger voices to express political stances, and thus enhance the diversity and inclusivity of political debate. 

From the global Extinction Rebellion protests, to the student-led Rhodes Must Fall movement in South Africa and the UK, there are numerous examples of the power of informal youth networks and movements pushing for change. In certain cases, such as Sudan’s political revolution in 2019, we can see how direct action by young people creates major impact, but unfortunately these successes are few as most informal initiatives remain overlooked and undervalued. 

Putting youth representation into government

Creating diverse representation requires the linking of vital informal networks to formal political processes. In response to a recent Common Futures Conversations challenge, one mechanism with the potential to achieve this aim that emerged is creating dedicated youth representatives within government departments, so that qualified young people with relevant expertise are formally appointed to act as the link between government and informal youth movements. 

These individuals should be hired as employees rather than volunteers and take up the responsibilities of a government employee, supported by a large network of youth-led movements and initiatives as well as a smaller, voluntary advisory board of young people. 

This network then acts as a sounding board for the representative, gathering the opinions in their local communities and bringing forward crucial concerns so the youth representatives can confidently feed into policymaking processes with a clear sense of the substance of youth opinion. Alongside the network, a voluntary board of young people could provide additional support to the representatives when required to consult a broader range of youth organizations.

Both in the youth network and the board, a key priority is to involve different movements and initiatives reflecting diversities such as geographic spread, people who are marginalized due to ethnicity, gender or sexuality, educational and professional backgrounds, and other factors. 

Implementing such a structure would ensure more diversity in youth representation, something which is missing in many existing youth participation and formal political structures. Representation needs to move away from only highly-educated youth living in cities to ensure more influence for those young people usually left on the sidelines. 

Youth involvement in politics leads to better civic engagement overall. It improves the influence and access of young people, and supports governments becoming more inclusive and responsive to the plurality of voices they are representing. It also has the potential of encouraging millions more people to become properly engaged with politics. 

In order to gain support from parliamentarians and policymakers, it is crucial to highlight these benefits and demonstrate how the support of young people helps shift the political landscape for the better. All the necessary parties already exist in most countries, so all that is required is to drive a collective initiative and for both governments and the youth to take responsibility for making it work.

As the former president of Ireland Mary Robinson said during a recent Chatham House Centenary event: ‘We need to make space for young people so we can hear their voices, their imagination, their commitment to question and speak truth to power. We need young people to feel that they are part of the solution.’ 

Building formal structures is a necessary step to achieving this vision, as it provides practical solutions to realize a more diverse, inclusive and meaningful participation of the youth in politics, and also creates more representative and responsive governments.




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Launch of a series of Activity Books for young people

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A 350-voice youth choir aims to make remembrance relevant to young people

Shallaway Youth Choir is bringing a program of music to the Basilica in downtown St. John’s on Remembrance Day. Artistic director Kellie Walsh says the choir will sing about such topics as the Unknown Soldier and schoolchildren who care for Newfoundland graves in London. Where Once They Stood will be performed at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday.




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13 Young People, 4 Emerging Leaders, 2 Groups to Be Honored with Governor’s Youth Volunteer Service Award

NEW CASTLE (April 25, 2022) – Governor John Carney will present the Governor’s Youth Volunteer Service Awards to 13 young people, four emerging leaders and two groups during a May 17 ceremony to recognize their service to Delaware. “I am honored to celebrate the young people across our state who continue to serve our communities […]



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11 Young People, 5 Emerging Leaders, 4 Groups to receive Governor’s Youth Volunteer Service Award at June 21 Ceremony

NEW CASTLE (May 30, 2023) – Governor John Carney will present the 2023 Governor’s Youth Volunteer Service Awards to 11 individuals, four groups, and five emerging leaders during a June 21 ceremony to recognize their remarkable service to Delaware. These prestigious awards acknowledge the significant impact that young volunteers make in their communities, inspiring others […]



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The truth about social media and screen time's impact on young people

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Rectal Cancer on the Rise in Young People

Title: Rectal Cancer on the Rise in Young People
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young people

Brits warned as spreading condition affecting young people earning above minimum wage



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More young people are surviving cancer. Then they face a life altered by it

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Exploring the Effects of Likes on Young People's Mood

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What’s Really in Your Tap Water? It’s Chemicals Said To Be Causing A Health Crisis In Young People

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young people

Seriality and texts for young people : the compulsion to repeat [Electronic book] / edited by Mavis Reimer, Nyala Ali, Deanna England and Melanie Dennis Unra.

Houndmills, Basingstoke ; New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.




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Canadian climate lawsuit by young people could sway global cases

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‘Train our young people!’

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young people

Missions weekend stirs young people

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Brazil should continue efforts to boost education and improve young people’s job prospects

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Latvia should expand work-based vocational training to boost young people’s job prospects

Latvia should step up its efforts to improve the employment prospects of young people by continuing to reform its vocational education system and pursuing the commitments made as part of the Youth Guarantee to further reduce the share of young people under 30 who are not in employment, education or training.




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Japan should do more to help young people take part in the labour market

Japan should step up efforts to improve young people’s job prospects and reduce the share of 15-29 year-olds who are not in employment, education or training (the “NEETs”), according to a new OECD report.




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Italy: no country for young people?

Years after the start of the recession the situation of youth in the Italian labour market remains quite bleak. Nearly one in four young people in Italy are neither in employment, education, or training (NEETs) and many young people lack the right skills. Within this context, the government is introducing promising reforms to give young people a better start in the world of work.




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Integrity and the crisis: How to earn back the trust of young people?

How can we earn back the trust of young people? Improving openness, transparency, accountability, and access to information is essential. On the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day and Transparency International’s 20th Anniversary, the OECD and Transparency International are inviting young people for a discussion about how to push the integrity agenda forward together.




young people

Brazil should continue efforts to boost education and improve young people’s job prospects

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Education Indicators in Focus No. 28 - Are Young People Attaining Higher Levels of Education than their Parents?

Between 2000 and 2012, the proportion of young adults (25-34 year-olds) with a tertiary qualification has grown by more than 3% per year on average in OECD countries. On average across 24 national and sub-national entities participating in the OECD Survey of Adult Skills, 39% of adults have achieved a higher level of education than their parents.




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Young people are our future: invest in their skills (OECD Education Today Blog)

More than 35 million 16-29 year-olds across OECD countries are neither employed nor in education or training (NEET) – and around half of all NEETs are out of school and not looking for work. These young people are likely to have dropped off the radar of their country’s education, social and labour market systems.




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The suicide rate is increasing for young people — but why?

Psychologists and scientists are concerned about the rising rates of suicide among children, and what the shrinking gender gap might mean.



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People over 65 share 7 times as much fake news as young people

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2020 may be the year that young people finally decide who wins elections

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Hospice launches poetry competition for young people

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‘My perspective is of a teenager, interrupted’: 8 young people share how coronavirus pandemic is changing them


From feeling scared to feeling resolved to see change, eight young people, ages 10 to 15, share how they're coping with the pandemic, in their own words.




young people

‘My perspective is of a teenager, interrupted’: 8 young people share how coronavirus pandemic is changing them


From feeling scared to feeling resolved to see change, eight young people, ages 10 to 15, share how they're coping with the pandemic, in their own words.




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Outback adventures and opportunities lure young people from across Australia to the middle of nowhere

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Police arrest dozens of young people across Melbourne over high-impact crimes

Police arrest dozens of young suspects in crimes such as carjackings and aggravated burglaries as they admit street gangs have "absolutely" become a problem in Melbourne.




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Big buzz about bees: More young people turn to backyard beekeeping

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LGBTQI Indigenous young people urged to be true to who they are

Australia's reigning Indigenous Drag Queen says it's tough being Indigenous, gay, and drag but it's important to be true to who you are.



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Online mental health monitoring trial keeps track of young people's progress in real time

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These drought-hit young people feel forgotten, but they're speaking up with their ideas on dealing with the dry

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