10. Empowering Young people

One of the principles of self-determination is to empower people so they can take action by themselves. That is why the emancipation of our countries should start with the emancipation of our citizens, and most particularly youngsters.

As those at the forefront of our future society, young people must play prominent roles as both the targets and the decision-makers of political policies. This is why the European Free Alliance, through its youth branch, EFAy, is highly committed to ensuring full opportunities for young people and to increasing their participation in society.

To guarantee equal opportunities for everyone, the EFA will promote policies to tackle youth unemployment, brain drain and poverty, paying special attention to the deprived and peripheral regions of Europe where young people struggle to pursue their own future. To do that, we will work on measures to improve education and employment for young people. In particular, we want to promote initiatives aimed at strengthening local and regional economies and creating stable, safe and respectable jobs. The precarious situation of youth employment, including the proliferation of unpaid internships and temporary jobs, calls for immediate action on the protection of labour rights and decent income, so as to encourage the development of a fair professional life.

We will also table policies to address the youth brain drain from the peripheries of Europe to more prosperous areas. We want to create a successful environment at home and encourage young people to bring the skills they learn abroad back to their local communities.

Education is one of the key pillars for any policy aimed at youth. A high-quality education at all levels (primary, secondary and higher) guarantees not only good professional development, but also cultural interests, open-mindedness, critical perspective and other skills that can help enrich lives.

To increase the role of young people in society, we will also work to create more relevant spaces for participation. The goal is to train young people in democratic processes and transmit their views and opinions to decision-makers. To that end, we want to strengthen youth civil society by promoting youth NGOs, student unions, young workers’ unions, youth councils, informal education organisations, etc. A virtuous citizenship is an organised one.

New generations are particularly responsible for ensuring that the world is free of hate speech, intolerance and xenophobia. This is even more true for young people from stateless nations. As usual targets of cultural discrimination, they have to be champions of integration and diversity. That is why the EFA and EFAy promote intercultural dialogue between people and minorities from every corner of the world, particularly those who live together in the European continent.