Are the young involved in social and public activities to better their environment? Or are they a passive and, perhaps, entitled audience? The answer is never simple or obvious. As part of the conference "The future of the civic participation of the young" in Iława, we discussed the subject versus the object nature of the inclusion of young people in decision-making processes – whether the young are users, or those being used, in the ongoing trend of their presence as a political topic. Finally, together with practitioners from the fields of education and local government, we wondered how to make the dialogue between young people and adults real and sensible.
“Meddling is the only way to stay realistic." This, the motto of Nobel Prize winner Heinrich Böll, is a great expression of the essence and meaning of any civic activity. It’s about being human, in the full meaning of the word – about being an active member of one’s society, one who is taken into account, while at the same time taking into account the needs of one’s fellow citizens.
For such a system of inspirational, safe cooperation to become possible, the values personified by Heinrich Böll, whose 100th birthday we celebrate this year, are an essential condition: civil courage, tolerance and openness in debates, and appreciation of the value of art and culture as independent areas for thought and for action. We must also be ready for inter-generational dialogue on a shared vision for our communities.
The conference "The future of the civic participation of the young" took place on November 24 and 25, 2017 in Iława. The event’s objective was to increase the significant, real, personal and appropriate civic participation of young people in public life. A civic participation which creates a change for the common good, which involves young people through participation in making decisions of importance to their local communities.
One of the strengths of the event was that we managed to bring together three groups of audience (youth, local government, educators/experts) and engage them in a genuine dialogue on the future of youth involvement in public life. The event was attended by 134 people, including 54 Youth Councillors, 28 local government representatives, 22 representatives of non-governmental organisations and those with an interest in the topic.
We involved young people in both preparing and conducting the conference. Young people co-hosted the opening panel and led a strong closing panel. All sessions were impressive for the diversity (a criterion that is still broadly undervalued) of the people involved in what were very informed debates. Thus, we ensured a plurality of political circles and affiliations (local government, non-governmental organisations, universities, schools) among the speakers and those leading workshops and discussions (Download programme [in Polish]).
“The active participation of the young is needed in decisions and undertakings at the local and regional level if we want to build more democratic, more supportive and more prosperous societies.” – Joanna Pietrasik, president of the Civis Polonus Foundation
We took on the difficult and risky task of discussing the politicality of young people in Poland. We led a constructive discussion, one of the conclusions of which was an appreciation of changes “for the better” in Poland in terms of the increasing inclusion of young people in decision-making processes. At the level of the municipality (Municipal Youth Councils), regionally (the development of the youth policies of Marshals’ Offices) and nationwide (the creation and functioning of the Polish Council of Youth Organisations and the Polish Council of Children and Youth).
The conference "The future of the civic participation of the young” was organised by the Civis Polonus Foundation in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Warsaw, the City of Iława and the Youth Council of the City of Iława.
The project was conducted with the financial support of the European Commission, the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Warsaw, the City of Iława and the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Office.
The event was held under the honorary patronage of the Office of the Marshal of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, the Office of the Marshal of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, the Office of the Marshal of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, the Association of Polish Cities and the Union of Polish Towns. Media patrons included: Forum Samorządowe, Gazeta Iławska, infoilawa.pl, and Meloradio.
The organisers would like to thank the members of the advisory team devoted to the organisation of this event, who spent the last 12 months as co-creators of the conference: Barbara Zamożniewicz, plenipotentiary for youth at the Office of the Marshal of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship; Krystian Ulbin, plenipotentiary for youth at the Office of the Marshal of the Lower Silesia Voivodeship; Kuba Radzewicz, member of the Civis Polonus Foundation coaching team; the Szkoła Liderów Foundation; Robert Waraksa, guardian of the Youth City Council of Olsztynek and Olsztynek City Councillor; Magdalena Lenartowicz from the SemperAvanti Association, Wrocław, Opole; and Paweł Skibiński, chairman of the Youth City Council of Zielona Góra.
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