This book is concerned with the contexts, nature and quality of the participation of young people in European democratic life. The authors understand democracy broadly as both institutional politics and civic cultures, and a wide range of methods are used to analyse and assess youth participation and attitudes.

The 2021 edition includes input indicators on public finance and employment; process indicators include data on institutions, budgeting practices, human resources management, regulatory governance, public procurement, governance of infrastructure, public sector integrity, open government and digital government. Outcome indicators cover core government results (e.g. trust, political efficacy, inequality reduction) and indicators on access, responsiveness, quality and satisfaction for the education, health and justice sectors.

Youth an Politics How do young people in Europe perceive politics? How do they engage in the political realm? Which groups of young people are actively involved? And which learning environments and opportunity structures can foster parti - cipation? Furthermore methodological problems of comparative participation research are discussed and the measurement instrument that was developed in this European research project, and is certainly useful for similar studies is presented. From the Contents: Reingard Spannring, The meaning of and relationship with politics Wolfgang Gaiser, Johann de Rijke, Forms of political participation among young Europeans Sabine Westphal and Natalia Waechter, Learning for participation: family, peers, schools, voluntary organisations Ruth Picker, Gender: a female way of participation/ young women and politics Günther Ogris, The measurement instrument Johann de Rijke, Wolfgang Gaiser and Franziska Waechter, Stability of political behaviour Reingard Spannring, Günther Ogris, Wolfgang Gaiser, Conclusion

The myth of generations of disengaged youth has been shattered by increases in youth turnout in the 2004, 2006, and 2008 primaries. Young Americans are responsive to effective outreach efforts, and this collection addresses how to best provide opportunities for enhancing civic learning and forming lasting civic identities. The thirteen original essays are based on research in schools and in settings beyond the schoolyard where civic life is experienced. One focus is on programs for those schools in poor communities that tend to overlook civic education. Another chapter reports on how two city governments--Hampton, Virginia, and San Francisco--have invited youth to participate on boards and in agencies. A cluster of chapters focuses on the civic education programs in Canada and Western Europe, where, as in the United States, immigration and income inequality raise challenges to civic life.

What exactly is civic and political participation? What factors influence young people’s participation? How can we encourage youth to actively participate in their own democracies? Youth Civic and Political Engagement takes a multidisciplinary approach to answering these key questions, incorporating research in the fields of psychology, sociology, political science and education to explore the issues affecting youth civic and political engagement. Drawing on evidence that has been obtained in many different national contexts, and through multinational studies, this book provides a theoretical synthesis of this large and diverse body of research, using an integrative multi-level ecological model of youth engagement to do so. It identifies unresolved issues in the field and offers numerous suggestions for future research. Youth Civic and Political Engagement is an invaluable resource for researchers, teachers, youth workers, civil society activists, policymakers and politicians who wish to acquire an up-to-date understanding of the factors and processes that influence young people’s civic and political engagement, and how to promote youth engagement.

Youth participation is not an end in itself, but a means of achieving positive changes in young people’s lives and of building better democratic societies. Participation is a fundamental human right recognised, among others, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Participation is also a core principle of human rights and is a condition for effective democratic citizenship for all people. The aim of the Council of Europe’s youth policy is to provide young people with equal opportunities and experience which enable them to develop the knowledge, skills and competencies to play a full part in all aspects of society. Youth participation is at the core of youth policy in the Council of Europe, which includes co-management as a form of sharing power with youth representatives. Youth participation is promoted across the various sectors of the Council of Europe. The revised European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life, adopted in May 2003 by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, is a standard-setting instrument for youth participation. It supports young people, youth workers, youth organisations and local authorities in promoting and enhancing meaningful youth participation at local and regional level across Europe. The manual “Have your say!” was produced to support local and regional authorities, youth organisations and young people who want to give young people a real say for a meaningful democratic youth participation. According to the Charter, participation is about having the right, the means, the space and the opportunity and, where necessary, the support to participate in and influence decisions and engage in actions and activities so as to contribute to building of a better society. The manual “Have your say!” is an educational and practical tool to support all those committed to making that right a reality for more young people in the Council of Europe member states.