The first IPU Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians
The first IPU Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians will bring together young members of parliaments, youth leaders from other walks of life and experts from across the world in a bid to “take democracy to task”. The Conference will focus on youth participation in politics. Although young people have been at the forefront of many recent mass movements for democracy and respect for freedoms and socio-economic rights, studies and surveys show that they are increasingly disillusioned with conventional politics. This poses a challenge to democracy in many parts of the world.
The Conference aims to find ways and means of stimulating youth engagement and help define the youth agenda in politics. It will tackle key questions, such as:
- Why are so few young people members of parliament today?
- What barriers do young people face when it comes to entering politics and how can they be overcome?
- Are young women doubly discriminated against because of their age and sex?
- How many young people are members of parliament today?
- How can politics and parliament be opened up to young people?
- How can youth movements be transformed into parliamentary programmes and political parties?
The Conference will take place on 10 and 11 October 2014 at the Centre International des Conférences de Genève, on the eve of the 131st IPU Assembly. The working languages will be English, French, Arabic and Spanish. The Conference is made possible thanks to the generous support of Worldwide Support for Development (WSD).
