1.5 Youth information leads participation in democratic life

1.5

Youth information leads to participation in democratic life

An important link between youth information and youth participation is that having access to quality youth information enables young people’s participation in democratic life and promotes their active citizenship. Information and young people’s ability to assess and use it is a prerequisite for their active participation in society and their responsible citizenship6. Having equal access to quality and free information enables young people to make use of their rights, to make responsible decisions and to participate in society in all its social, economic, civic and political dimensions. Young people also need the skills and media literacy to make sense of this information and to use it effectively.

According to the European Youth Information Charter, quality youth information is empowering. This means:

→ Youth information services empower young people and foster their autonomy. → Youth information services provide young people with media and information literacy skills to act in a safe and responsible way. → Youth information services promote active citizenship and participation.

Access to quality youth information can enable them to:

→ Be informed and aware of their human rights and rights to participate. → Understand what opportunities and possibilities they have available to them to make their voices heard. → Be aware of how political processes occur and how political decisions are made. → Know how to responsibly participate in political and civic decision making, such as through voting.

This guide is about how young people can participate IN youth information services. This is a separate topic to the role that youth information plays in enabling young people to participate in democratic life. For more about how access to youth information services can enable youth participation in democratic life, you can read the Council of Europe and ERYICA kit ‘Young people’s access to rights through youth information and counselling’.

6 Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)8 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on youth information available at https://rm.coe.int/09000016805b251a