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Teens for Democracy was co-founded successful 2021 by Ines Saltiel, present a student astatine Brown University, and Alexia Papageorgiou, present astatine Stanford, with the purpose of expanding youth information successful antiauthoritarian processes. Noting that astir governmental systems are dominated by older generations, they wanted to code the property imbalance successful argumentation making and beforehand aboriginal civic engagement.
“We saw that authorities was being tally astir wholly by radical implicit 55 oregon 60,” Saltiel said. “Decisions were being made astir our future, without our beingness successful that future.”
Under the auspices of the Democracy and Culture Foundation, Teens for Democracy launched with three pillars: information astatine the Athens Democracy Forum, governmental acquisition programs, and world probe connected youth successful governance. Their extremity is to some empower young radical to speak and guarantee they are politically informed when they do.
The radical has participated successful the Athens Democracy Forum each year since its creation. In 2021, lone the founders took part. By 2022, astir 40 teenagers attended with support from UNICEF. In 2023, Teens for Democracy members began moderating sheet discussions. Their information successful the 2024 forum, held from September 30 to October 3 astatine the Athens Conservatoire, was the largest, with 42 teens taking portion successful workshops and argumentation sessions. The aforesaid fig was recorded astatine this year’s.
This year, participants focused connected however youth tin defy extremism and projected factual recommendations crossed 5 areas: education, online spaces, assemblage inclusion, youth governmental participation, and intelligence health. Their proposals included introducing civic acquisition successful schools, expanding transparency successful κοινωνικά media algorithms, expanding intelligence wellness services for youth, and encouraging stronger collaboration betwixt students and section governments.
Michaela Karathanasi discusses the conclusions of Teens for Democracy during a sheet astatine the Athens Democracy Forum.At the forum’s closing session, moderated by Kathimerini, the radical presented their conclusions and affirmed their committedness to continuing their work. “We are an important portion of defending ideology – tomorrow, and today,” 1 typical said.
The organization’s 2nd pillar, education, included a collaboration with Israeli startup AcadeMe+, which developed K-12 governmental acquisition lessons utilizing documentaries and films. In 2023, these were presented to the Education Ministry. The third pillar, research, focuses connected youth information successful section decision-making. One study, supported by the University of the Peloponnese, examined youth engagement successful climate-related argumentation and recovered it had a measurable interaction when young radical were included successful section discussions.
Among those attending this year’s forum was Vicky Tsoukala, main of the 4th Gymnasium of the Galatsi country of Athens, who accompanied students participating successful the program. Speaking to Kathimerini, she said, “Even a nationalist schoolhouse tin lend to change.”
“When you springiness opportunities to students – an flight from their regular and the accidental to broaden their horizons – they are incredibly susceptible and willing,” she added. “Events such arsenic the Athens Democracy Forum being unfastened to groups of this property scope is crucial, arsenic it allows them to speech views from a young age.” Most importantly, she said, “public schools are besides energetic successful these efforts and tin marque a quality if they take to.”
As Teens for Democracy expands its efforts, the radical continues to advocator for policies that bring young radical into the governmental speech – earlier, much often, and connected their ain terms.
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