Youth flag up 300 political concerns

Parliamentarian Christian Imark meets two youth delegates to talk about political issues as part of last year's campaign Keystone

Young people from all over Switzerland have handed in almost 300 policy change requests as part of a national campaign to raise youth political awareness. Fourteen of them will be chosen for a closer look by parliamentarians.

The “change Switzerland” campaign run by the Umbrella Organsation of Swiss Youth Parliaments will end on Sunday, the organisation said on Friday. So far, almost 300 concerns have been handed in via the online platform www.engage.ch since the launch of the campaign on February 19.

They include calls for longer paternity leave, compulsory military service for women and equal pay for men and women.

Easy

In a recent article for swissinfo.ch in German, Maurus Blumenthal, head of the organisation, said it was easy for young people to get involved because all they had to do was type their idea into a form on the online platform. In past years, a letter would have had to be written to a parliamentarian instead.

When the current campaign has ended, the 14 youngest parliamentarians will each choose a proposal. They will then meet the young people concerned to discuss their proposals on June 11, during the three-week summer session of parliament.

The 2017 campaign brought in almost 700 proposals.

+Read more about what young people want here

The Umbrella Organisation of Swiss Youth Parliaments has 48 members from Switzerland and neighbouring Liechtenstein. It has in the past called for a national youth parliament to boost young people’s voices in politics and encourage budding politicians.