Pushing for Change: Youth and Political Participation Available evidence suggests that countries with a compulsory-voting policy in place tend to have higher voter turnout than those where voting is a voluntary choice.83 Although evidence of the impact of compulsory voting on youth political participation is less robust, it nevertheless suggests it has a positive impact on youth voter turnout.84 Compulsory voting also reduces socio-economic disparities in voter turnouts, thus ameliorating inequalities in youth participation to some extent.85 However, the impact of compulsory voting on broader political engagement, interest and knowledge is not clear, implying that compulsory voting may increase voter turnout but not necessarily lead to meaningful participation.86 In an effort to increase youth representation in national parliaments, some countries have also lowered minimum age requirements for parliamentary elections and introduced youth quotas – reserved seats for young people in parliament or made it mandatory for political parties to nominate a certain percentage of young candidates. Data compiled by the InterParliamentary Union show that while a lower minimum age has not resulted in a significant increase in the share of young people in parliaments, introducing youth quotas has led to an increase in the number of young parliamentarians. Currently, at least four countries – Rwanda, Morocco, Kenya and Uganda – have reserved seats for young people and six have rules requiring parties to nominate a certain proportion of young candidates.87 In many countries, school curricula have also been revised to incorporate citizenship lessons to educate young people about political structures, political philosophy and the importance of participating in democratic processes. Citizenship education has sometimes been seen as promoting ‘apolitical forms of citizenship’ rather than encouraging ‘political activism and the development of political agency’.88 Evidence on the impact of civics lessons is mixed, however. A systematic review found little evidence that citizenship education has a clear and significant impact on formal political participation such as voting or registering to vote.89 Nevertheless, there is evidence that citizenship education has a modestly positive effect on young people’s personal social development and their participation in more individualised and informal forms of engagement.90 In an attempt to promote active citizenship among young people, many countries have established youth councils and youth parliaments that provide opportunities to young people to engage formally with legislative and policy processes. In theory, these platforms can play a vital role in linking governments, parliaments and young people.91 But such youth-led platforms, often dependent on the patronage of governments, can be susceptible to manipulation by powerful interest groups. In recent years, much energy has been exerted at the international level on empowering young people and enhancing their participation in decisionmaking processes. For instance, Commonwealth countries mandated the establishment of the Commonwealth Youth Council in 2012 (see Box 3.3), and the Commonwealth has also established several other youth networks focused on thematic issues such as climate change, human rights, entrepreneurship and peace-building. The first UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth was appointed in 2013. Events such as the World Youth Conference, the First Global Forum on Youth Policies, and the Commonwealth Youth Forum have emerged as influential platforms for informed and united young people to advocate and engage at international and intergovernmental levels. Importantly, youth workers play a critical role in engaging and supporting young people to contribute as positive and constructive citizens. The Commonwealth’s pioneering work over 40 years to educate and train youth workers, and ensure youth work is recognised and valued as a profession, underpins successful advances in youth development and participation in many member countries. The Commonwealth’s Diploma and Bachelor’s Degree in Youth Development Work are now being made available to higher education institutions across the world as an Open Education Resource. The World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY),92 which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2015, outlines the ways in which UN member states should work to ‘incorporate the contribution and responsibility of youth in the building and designing of the future’. Numerous regional and intergovernmental instruments, such as the Iberoamerican Convention on Youth Rights,93 the African Youth Charter,94 the Council of Europe’s Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life,95 and the Commonwealth Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment,96 also strive to promote the participation of young people. Such high-level political commitment sends out a clear signal about the importance of promoting the \ 79