Youth Councils in Other Contexts (A European Commentary)

Abstract

Formal forms of youth participation, like youth councils and student committees, are often criticised for being too affiliated with adult-led power structures, giving young people little space for their own initiative and agenda. The general conclusion from the PARTISPACE project confirms this picture, though there is also a considerable variation in how these institutions are organised and led. This complexity is illustrated in a comparison between the Youth Council of Gothenburg (YCG) in Sweden, the Greater Manchester Youth Combined Authority (GMYCA) and the Manchester Young Researchers (MYR). The YCG and the GMYCA both have strong ties to the political assemblies in their cities and this has great influence over their work process. In this respect, the MYR represents an effort where the young members can make their own choices, take on much more personal responsibility, and learn a lot from this practice. At the same time, both YCG and GMYCA deal with important issues for young people and have succeeded in making substantial changes, for example, when it comes to youth access to public transport. The young people who are engaged in the different participatory efforts all want to contribute to an advanced position for their peers. To some, formal participation appears to be a feasible way to accomplish this. The experiences from the YCG and the GMYCA show that this choice is associated with limitations in room for manoeuvre. However, many of the young members see through this and maintain a critical perspective on the contemporary conditions for young people’s participation in society, and their capacity to change them through formal means.

Citation

Andersson, B. (2022), "Youth Councils in Other Contexts (A European Commentary)", McMahon, G., Rowley, H. and Batsleer, J. (Ed.) Reshaping Youth Participation: Manchester in a European Gaze, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 51-63. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80043-358-820221003