To fulfil the role of young people as active citizens, a fundamental right is missing for many young people: the right to vote in elections.
The European Youth Forum (YFJ) undertook a further step in the promotion of the lowering of the voting age to 16, gathering 25 young representatives of its Member Organisations experienced on such issues or willing to get into the debate, for a seminar on the issue. This event took place on 7-10 December and was hosted by the Danish Youth Council, one of the principal stakeholders working on this topic in Europe .
The number of European countries that are debating the lowering of the voting age to 16 is increasing, notably in Great Britain , Denmark and Switzerland . Austria is the first country in Europe that has given their 16 year olds the right to vote; and in Germany , 16 and 17 year olds can vote in a number of constituent states.
The European Youth Forum, as the umbrella platform of organised youth in Europe , supports lowering the voting age to 16 in all European countries following a resolution adopted by its Council of Members in April 2006. The seminar gave the opportunity to share experiences from different campaigns that have been or are still running across Europe . The young representatives spent lots of energy in developing arguments regarding this issue, and also produced a quiz, to be used as part of a toolkit to be developed as a follow up. The event also provided the YFJ with concrete proposals for a pan-European coordination mechanism.
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