When we talk about young people’s participation and active citizenship education, it is also worth looking at their attitudes, their concerns and the obstacles that might prevent them from participating. Last year, several workshops on active citizenship and participation using non-formal learning methods were held in Hungary with high schoolers from mixed backgrounds. The events aimed to find out what they think young people need to know about citizenship and participation, what issues and problems they are concerned about, what opportunities they see to get actively involved in changing a situation, and how their environment influences their participation. For each theme, we have tried to understand participation at different levels: local, national, international or global.
First, we talked about what civic or participation-related skills young people think are important for their age group to know. Although there was mention of different knowledge that they often learn at school (such as who the President is, how local elections are held, etc.), these were not the main focus. Knowing who to contact to ask questions, knowing about national and international scholarship opportunities, making informed choices about further education and having a deeper knowledge of how to manage their finances were considered more important.
The next topic was related to attitudes: What are the issues, and problems that young people are concerned about? Are there any? This is where the miracle happened, as there were many issues that young people care about and are concerned about. In their own environment, of course, there was a strong emphasis on relationships, self-awareness, financial literacy, and further education. At a local level, the difficulties of public transport, local corruption, and lack of leisure activities and opportunities were highlighted. At the national level, education and health were highlighted. While at the international/global level, environmental protection and sustainability, as well as acceptance and inclusion were highlighted. Everyone had a different level of awareness of each issue, but it was also striking that everyone was concerned about a topic or issue that moved them to care more.
Our third topic was activity. What can a young person do to promote the situations listed above? What tools and opportunities do they see to get involved? Here we had some fascinating and often emotional discussions on some of the issues. It turned out that it is common for young people to be interested in a topic and to know what informal group or organisation they could join to actively take action, but these communities seem very closed from the outside and they do not necessarily have the courage to reach out to them. There was also frequent frustration with certain participatory methods, as they know they have the right to sign petitions, demonstrate, etc. but often do not see these activities producing results. It was also an interesting experience that the tone of the discussion was quite different for groups who belong to some kind of local youth community and even organise events for their own age group with the support of a youth worker, compared to those who are not active in such a group. The former had a much more confident mood, feeling that they had someone to turn to for support, and are able to do something together, while the others, whether at the school or community level, were taking initiatives that hit a wall and the impact of this was strongly felt in their motivation.
The fourth theme was environmental impact. We wanted to know to what extent young people are influenced in their participation or active citizenship by who they are surrounded by, what they bring from home, what celebrities they follow, etc. Both core values from family and school were mentioned, but the most important thing was to make something a matter of their own heart because that is when they become really engaged in the issue. Both the social media platforms, celebrities, YouTubers they follow can be interesting but were seen as having little influence, often their opinions on an issue can seem rather discredited. Of course, some people they started following because they also express their opinions on a subject that is close to their heart, it started from their own interest.
The workshop series has enriched our experience. On the one hand, young people, often described as “uninterested” or “frivolous”, showed a depth of thought and a range of interests that belies previous labels. On the other hand, we received feedback from the young people saying how good it was that we had asked them and that they had been able to express their opinions, which we listened to carefully.
This is perhaps one of the most important things when working with or for young people. Remember that we cannot know what is best for them without asking their opinion. We can decide over their heads, but in this case, we are likely to develop a tool/method/practice that is not right for them. Involve them, empower them to change and be open and flexible, that’s how their participation starts.