We are happy to announce that following an online consultation with young people across Europe in September 2024, we are finally launching a policy paper on increasing youth political participation, with a focus on voting in the 2024 European Elections.
Throughout the project, we met so many young voters and we had the opportunity to listen to their views. Every opinion voiced and every desire to change their community and represent issues relevant to them towards policy-makers made us understand how important youth participation is.
We often hear that young people don’t vote, because they are not interested in politics. On the other hand, many young people express that they feel underrepresented by political institutions and believe their voices are rarely reflected in decision-making processes.
Every opinion voiced during events, and every desire to change their community and represent issues relevant to them towards policy-makers made us understand how important youth participation is. While voting is recognised as one of the most effective means of political participation, many young people often pursue alternative avenues for civic engagement that extend beyond formal electoral processes. They also experience barriers when casting the ballot, which can often result in a lack of participation.
For these reasons, we realised it is important to understand what drives young individuals to vote, as well as the barriers they encounter when interacting with formal mechanisms of participation. Furthermore, it is essential to explore how youth-led initiatives can serve to bridge the gap between traditional political frameworks and the interests of young people. By examining these dynamics, we can better understand the complexities of youth political participation and develop strategies to enhance their engagement.
In September 2024, as this edition was coming to an end, we launched an online survey, among AEGEE members, youth-led partner organisations and other young people on our Social Media channels. A total of 250 young individuals completed the online questionnaire, which was also featured in the online newsletter of The European Correspondent. By using other published reports and surveys on youth political participation, commissioned by institutions of the European Union and the Council of Europe, and our experience throughout the project, we wrote a policy paper which was approved by the General Assembly of AEGEE-Europe at the end of October 2024.
The paper begins by giving a short introduction to the concept of youth political participation and its various forms. The analysis then delves into the main motivations that drive youth engagement in electoral processes, as well as the barriers they face when participating in elections. The European Elections serve as the case study for this analysis since they often act as a barometer for national and sub-national political processes. Additionally, the paper looks into the Y Vote Project of AEGEE-Europe as a good case practice used to enhance youth political participation in elections. It aims to analyse how youth-led initiatives and the active participation of young people through non-traditional avenues can bridge the gap between formal electoral processes and the interests of younger generations.
Florina is originally from Romania and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law, a Master’s Degree in European Studies, and an Erasmus Mundus MA in Human Rights Policy and Practice. She voted for the first time in the European Elections in 2014. In 2019, while she was an Erasmus+ exchange student in Prague, she waited 7 hours in line to vote at the Embassy of Romania. She was impressed back then by the commitment of hundreds of people to wait for hours to vote for the European Elections. She joined AEGEE in October 2018 and one week later, she participated as a helper in her first-ever event, the Y Vote Convention in Cluj-Napoca. She believes Y Vote is the reason why she remained in the organization and years later, she is now committed to giving something back to the project that made her fall in love with AEGEE.