ENGAGEMENT FOR GLARUS!

Democracy

Engaging young people: encouraging civic and political engagement of children and adolescents through an online platform.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child by the United Nations states that “parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child”. Although the convention came into force almost thirty years ago, the possibilities for children and adolescents to participate, especially on the community level, are still slim. The canton of Glarus in Switzerland is addressing this issue with the new project “Engagement for Glarus”. The politicians of the canton provide a wide range of participation possibilities for children and adolescents living there: they can post their ideas online, discuss them directly with politicians, develop the ideas into projects, and even participate during implementation. The project supports young people to participate in politics, and thereby to get to know and appreciate the concept of democracy.