Many young people feel that they are not sufficiently involved in politics and society. This is one of the key findings of the current children and youth report, on which the Federal Cabinet commented on Wednesday. Children and young people are at risk of “falling behind” in an ageing society and have the feeling of not being present in key areas, said Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens), who presented the report in Berlin.
Her department is therefore working on a national action plan that is intended to promote “binding and effective participation” of young people. “Young people must be able to rely on their rights and voices being taken into account in political and social decisions,” explained Paus. Anything else is a problem for democracy.
The report commissioned by the Federal Government shows that young people, in addition to participation also wanted security and orientation. The Confidence in a good future has been partly lostexplained the minister. There are currently around 22 million children, adolescents and young adults living in Germany who deserve significantly more attention, Paus emphasized.
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Around 5,400 young people between the ages of 5 and 27 were involved in the creation of the report. Their voices and experiences were incorporated through workshops and other participation formats. Apart from that, the authors did not collect any data of their own, as the co-chair of the commission, Karin Böllert from the University of Münster, emphasized at the presentation. Existing findings were analyzed and processed. Past reports on children and young people were also used for comparison in the analysis.
Children and young people suffered greatly from the pandemic
One aspect that Böllert highlighted is the experiences that young people have had during the Corona pandemic. Especially during this phase, many felt that they were not sufficiently taken into account and now that the pandemic is over, struggling with psychological consequencesexplained the expert in the field of child and youth welfare. Loneliness is a major problem. “We have never had so many young people feeling lonely.” This problem must be addressed. Child and youth welfare services can make a contribution here, but cannot solve all the problems, stressed Böllert.
On Wednesday, the SPD also called for a different approach to dealing with young people than before. SPD parliamentary manager Katja Mast told the dpa: “It is extremely important to me that we involve young people even more – even in crisis situations – listen to them and include them in strategic considerations.” This strengthens political resilience to crises and trust in the state, Mast stressed. (dpa)
