25.5.2023
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 184/15
3.3.
Although the role of young people in building a more sustainable, inclusive and greener world is increasingly recognised, and despite the proclamation of a year dedicated to them, it is clear that in reality young people still find it hard to participate actively in decision-making bodies. 3.4.
In recent years, despite a high degree of youth activism on the issue of climate change, we have also been witnessing an increasing disaffection and loss of trust among young people with respect to political institutions, which translates into a decrease in their active participation in political parties and a growing abstentionism in political elections, both as voters and as candidates.
This represents a threat to the democratic system and an obstacle to the development of forward-looking policies, starting with those needed to meet the challenges of the climate transition, and capable of responding to different sensitivities and needs.
In this regard, the EESC believes that promoting youth participation in politics and other decision-making processes should be a priority and that all options should be explored to make it feasible and effective at all levels. 3.5.
As a starting point, it would be important to identify and overcome social, economic and cultural obstacles to the full participation of young people, which may also be due to a lack of awareness or difficult accessing information concerning youth participation and representation mechanisms.
Another aspect that should be emphasised concerns the new, often informal ways in which young people today engage and dialogue, often through the use of technology and social media, and which should be taken into due consideration as they are capable of mobilising entire generations. 3.6.
Sustainability is deeply embedded in young people’s view of the world and their decision-making processes, but with much pragmatism.
Youth organisations, which represent the interests and sensitivities of millions of young people in Europe, can therefore play an important role in ensuring that the younger generation not only has a voice in institutions and in civil society, but also the opportunity to make a meaningful and qualified contribution to the decision-making process at local, regional, national and European level (1). 3.7.
For these reasons, the EESC emphasises the importance of creating opportunities for all the most representative youth organisations, starting with those representing the most vulnerable young people and those living in the most peripheral and rural areas, to be involved in policy-making and in developing ideas on sustainability issues. 3.8.
Youth organisations can fulfil many functions and play a crucial role in disseminating and implementing projects relating to the environment and sustainability.
For this reason, the EESC calls on the EU institutions to provide these associations with structural financial support through adequate and specific resources, so that youth organisations have the right conditions to ensure and develop young people’s engagement in the green transition. 3.9.
Involvement alone, however, is not enough.
All public policies must take into account the impact they will have on young people and their expectations, including those of future generations.
Therefore, an ex ante, in itinere and ex post evaluation of all investments, including those relating to the green transition, must be carried out in order to establish, with certainty, through the use of indicators, the economic, political and social impacts these will have on young generations. 3.10.
The EESC encourages the EU institutions and the Member States to implement measures and mechanisms to ensure that the youth perspective is taken into account in all policy areas, while creating a space for young people to make a coherent and competency-based contribution to the challenges they face through the full adoption of the EU Youth Test (2). 3.11.
What is needed, both for the planet and for the advanced development of our Member States, is the empowerment of young people across four pillars: involvement in the processes of change; the possibility of playing an active role by exercising responsibility in individual and collective choices; the improvement of knowledge about the transformations taking place and the inevitable consequences of the green and digital transition; and the development of skills in order to intervene in a qualified manner.
4.
The green transition in education and the labour market 4.1.
The year 2023 has been declared the European Year of Skills.
The EESC considers it crucial to link the initiatives and policies that will be adopted in this context to the theme of the green transition, sustainable development, and the challenges that young people face in a rapidly changing world.
(1) (2)
EESC opinion Towards structured youth engagement on climate and sustainability in the EU decision-making process (OJ C 429, 11.12.2020, p. 44).
EESC opinion on The EU Youth Test (OJ C 486, 21.12.2022, p. 46).