Six candidates fight for places in the Friesland youth parliament

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In the district of Friesland, the elections to the youth parliament are just around the corner. From Monday, September 9th to Saturday, September 28th, pupils and trainees between the ages of 12 and 21 are called to give their votes. The aim of this choice is to determine new members of the youth parliament that represent the interests and opinions of the young people in the district. The first district councilor Silke Vogelbusch is convinced of the importance of this initiative and calls for active participation in the votes. "It is an important thing. The youth parliamentarians represent the opinions and interests of young people in the Friesland district," said Vogelbusch.

Special electoral offices are set up in schools in schools to facilitate the vote. The first election date takes place in the Lothar-Meyer-Gymnasium in Varel, followed by other options in the district service center in Varel and in the district office in Jever. The election will be monitored by an election committee on Wednesday, October 2, to publish the results on Friday, October 4th

an unfortunate trend

At first glance,

The situation for the six candidates who compete for the seats in the youth parliament may seem gratifying. However, it is important to mention that only six of a total of nine applicants meet the requirements. This raises questions about the general attention and awareness of the youth parliament. All candidates come to one from the south side of the district, which harbors the possibility that the regional differences in youth participation are not sufficiently taken into account.

Karina Pik, an incumbent youth parliamentarian, sees the lack of awareness as a central problem. She expresses: "My impression is that the youth parliament is simply not known enough. Many young people do not know that we have and what options we have." These words show that a rethink is necessary to make the opportunities and possibilities of the youth parliament known in the broad youth public.

Promotion of youth participation

Youth welfare manager Birgit Renken underlines the importance of participating young people in political decisions beyond their immediate area of ​​life. "The young people not only have to work for their own areas of life, but also think and learn the structures and design options of local politics across the district," says Renken. The advisory members of the youth parliament play a key role here because they actively participate in committees and have a budget of over 40,000 euros to design projects and events in the district.

The candidates include Karina Pik from Varel, Johanna von Zabiensky from Zetel, Lena Tabea Kummer from Bockhorn, Jonas Osewold from Bockhorn-Grabstede, Timo Tholen by Wangerooge and Rania Wichner from Zetel. The youth parliament has already implemented significant projects in the past, such as the organization of a bar camp in the southern district and democracy workshops in youth centers that have remained in the memory of the participants.