Vote from the age of 16, ban unpaid work practices, or push for mental health from youth’s first bars to be an option. Maria Rodriguez He is from Beniel, a small municipality of 10,000 inhabitants of Murcia, but his voice and suggestions are already resonating all over Europe. 26 years old, he was just The first Hispanic woman in history to be elected president of the European Youth Forumand during his two-year tenure, he says he will try to represent a generation that has already had to deal with several economic crises and one epidemic while trying to figure out its own future.
“We’ve always been ignored, but they’re apparently starting to realize that we need to be part of the decisions made since Covid. Employment, housing, democratic representation, the climate emergency… We have a lot to say”, explains Ghent in an interview with EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA from the group Prensa Ibérica from Belgium and a PhD in International Relations, which is funded by the Fundación La Caixa.
But the voice of vigilant youth may be less and less heard in different parliaments if measures are not taken. this aging European societies He says this causes population pyramids to thicken at the top and weaken at the bottom, so political programs often ignore the claims of his generation.
“One of our most important proposals to solve this problem is, lowering the voting age to 16. In this way, we will include more of the young votes in the elections and more attention will be paid to our problems,” Rodríguez says, emphasizing that steps have already been taken in countries such as Austria, Malta or Germany. in this direction
The consequences of not listening to them were felt even in the center of the European Union. not done, for example, United Kingdomthe option to leave (option) where the majority of the young population voted to stay in the European Union (75% of 18-24 year olds) and eventually the older parts of the country wanted Brexit It was the majority from the age of 45).
“There have been parties that haven’t even mentioned something as obvious as youth unemployment,” complains the young Murcian, who will have to coordinate the communication and suggestions of not only community organizations but all European youth organizations in their dialogue with the European Union. , the Council of Europe and the United Nations.
3.7 million young people are unemployed
According to the latest EU youth employment report published in 2021, youth unemployment has risen to 16.8%, which is now about 3.7 million youth unemployed within the 27 countries that make up the bloc. Among them are the countries of Southern Europe, including Spainare still significantly above the EU average, some above 30%, and weighed down by the economic incidence of the coronavirus.
In addition, the new head of the European Youth Forum emphasizes that one in four people at risk of poverty in the European Union are young people.
“They are creating my generation. a generation dependent on their parents. The average age to become emancipated is already 29, in practice when one stops being young and most of the time it’s not even real emancipation because it means leaving a rental home knowing you have a job and an uncertain salary to get you back to work. starter box,” says Murcian.
Over the last few decades, house prices have risen “much faster than our salaries,” and that eventuallywe can’t have the life our parents had at our age in terms of “owning a home” or having a stable job.
To start solving this, one of the measures proposed by the European Youth Forum, for example, free study apps.
“We’re talking about the principle of equality. It’s not just for justice, because a person has to get paid for their work, for equal opportunity. Maybe there are people who can work without being paid for their work. Parents but and who doesn’t? blocked“defends Rodríguez, citing as an example the fact that in 2023 the Scholarship Regulation will come into effect in Spain.
In addition, to protect young people from danger European Youth Forum Expanding the scope and accessibility of mental health services is recommended, but they acknowledge that in this case it is more difficult for them to get “more than just the commitments” because their health qualifications are not community-based.
“We’re talking about feelings like disappointment, for example. Frustration because of the anxiety of not knowing if they will be able to achieve an independent life, whether they will find stable employment or when they will be able to have an independent life. It is very important to support our youth in this regard, and even though it is something we realized as a result of the pandemic, we should not forget it,” says the young woman from Murcia.