Young people must feel their futures matter
WE WERE delighted to showcase the achievements of dozens of our young people in sport and the arts in yesterday’s newspaper.
And particularly to showcase another younger voice in our Open Lines pages, who was critical of the age profile of the States and concerned that it fails to properly reflect our community.
As far as that argument goes, well, plus ca change.
Accurate reflection of our community within our government can only be reflected from the choice of candidates available. On a quick assessment of the candidates in October 2020, is it any surprise we ended up with a States of 30 over-50s and just eight under that age bracket? Particularly when roughly just a quarter of all candidates were under 50. On that basis the age representation achieved in the elected States was just a slight under-achievement.
Do elected demographics restrict the opportunity for fresh ideas to break through? That might be overstating or simplifying the situation. Do good ideas solely flow from younger minds? Is local politics the place where those good ideas can bear fruit? Often not. As a shortage of cash forces consideration of priorities, someone’s good idea can be someone else’s vanity project.
Our correspondent says that there is the passion among our young people to engage in politics, which was again demonstrated at last weekend's Youth States meeting, where 18 teenagers took part.
There have been some notable instances where young people have engaged with hot ‘political’ issues – Black Lives Matter, the reform of Secondary Education, and gendered violence have all seen significant public demonstrations recently.
However the concern that politics, and by extension Guernsey, becomes all too real when our young people start to feel that, despite everything that Guernsey can offer, it will not work for them.
‘Apathetic politics’ mixed with an ‘impregnable housing market’ leading to our young people walking away from the island, equals economic and social gloom for Guernsey.
The solution may not be found simply at the ballot box, but we do agree that young people being seen as ‘genuine stakeholders in local democracy’ is crucial for the island’s future.