NRW Youth Parliament debates politics as a compulsory subject
For three days, young people once again have the political sceptre in their hands in the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia. Until Saturday, 191 young people aged 16 to 20 will be taking the seats of MPs from the CDU, Greens, SPD, FDP and AfD at the 13th Youth State Parliament. They will also be making concrete policy. In motions, the youth parliamentarians are calling for politics to be a compulsory subject up to tenth grade and for apprenticeships to be made more attractive in order to combat the shortage of skilled workers. The highlight is a plenary session on Saturday.
The resolutions of the Youth Parliament do not disappear into a drawer, but are forwarded to the main committee of the state parliament. There they will be discussed and, if necessary, referred to the specialist committees.
State Parliament President André Kuper called democracy "a guarantor of peace" in times of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine and the war in Gaza on Thursday. However, democracy is also "a challenging, exhausting form of government". This makes it all the more important "to have as much contact as possible with young people in our country as early as possible". The state parliament has developed a variety of programs and formats for this purpose.
Julia Wimmelmeier (20), a real estate student from Rietberg, is this year's President of the State Youth Parliament. "For me, the most valuable thing about our democracy is that we have the opportunity to help shape it and be involved," said Wimmelmeier. "I therefore very much hope that the members of the actual state parliament will discuss the resolutions passed here with appropriate seriousness and listen to our voices."
More than 2,500 young people have taken part in the Youth Parliament since 2008. The young parliamentarians are selected by the members of parliament. Around 80 percent of this year's participants are high school students, while 20 percent come from other schools, according to the state parliament. Around 45 percent of the participants are female.
The Youth State Parliament, comprising young individuals from various political parties, is discussing the necessity of making politics a mandatory subject up to tenth grade. Julia Wimmelmeier, the President of the Youth Parliament, emphasizes the importance of young people having a voice in shaping democracy and hopes that the decisions made by the Youth Parliament are taken seriously by the members of the Parliament.
Source: www.dpa.com
