Young people call for involvement in decision making

Today’s youngsters believe in a quality of life. They believe that we could all contribute towards this goal. It is most encouraging that junior citizens feel and act like adults, especially when it comes to their participation in society. They themselves believe that while they still have a lot to learn from adults, grown-ups should also accept the fact that there is much to learn from today’s youth.

This was one of the salient points in a declaration that youngsters themselves made during a summit of EkoSkola earlier this year. EkoSkola is not just about the environment and the awareness thereof. The points raised by these youngsters highlight the importance of this exercise, which gives students the opportunity to develop citizenship skills.

Late last month, 76 students from 38 schools in Malta and Gozo were the focus of a full parliamentary sitting during which they presented a declaration of the principal points that were decided upon during their end of March summit. At the beginning of the sitting, they presented a motion before the House calling for Members of Parliament to take heed of the issues and topics that they had discussed. I was proud to be able to see, first hand, how very forward these school children were in airing their concerns.

There was an old saying that “children should be seen but not heard”. This is medieval and it definitely no longer applies. It is in fact the complete opposite and the contribution of these students at the parliamentary sitting bears witness to the importance of hearing out the concerns of our younger generation and of taking the necessary measures to ensure their full participation in society.

Very often, we Parliamentarians, teachers, parents and adults in general, believe that we have a monopoly on setting the rules. But today’s youth has an important part to play in drawing up these rules. During this session they raised several topics which included education, democracy and the environment. They rightly feel that they should be involved in decision making processes and that participation in society should start at an early age.

The students spoke about inclusion in its various types, about their involvement in class and in family life and about the contribution that they feel they can make to community life and in their respective local council. The workload, of both parents and children, has become strenuous and it is being felt that this has an impingement on family life. This is a serious concern to children, who are feeling insecure about a future family life and about the resultant responsibilities.

Students acknowledge the fact that school provides a family atmosphere and as such they spoke about the concerns related to bullying and racism. They welcomed organised extra curricular activities and they made it clear that they relished participation in the organisation of ‘special’ days and events.

EkoSkola children spoke at length about the environment. They dwelt on serious topics such as waste management, energy saving, alternative energy and the students encouraged the government to support and create initiatives for families on overall energy management. On recycling, they put forward a number of recommendations and encouraged an increase for bring-in sites.

Students also researched the problems related to water resources and proposed a review and an increase in water catchment areas. They also recommended an increase in fines and penalties for those who fall foul of the law in this respect.

Obviously, we all want the best for our children. We want them to be better and we work hard to ensure that they get a better education that will help them in future life. We strive to give them an improved quality of life but sometimes, we tend to overlook the obvious.

There are instances when we need prodding and by listening to our youngsters we are in a better position to tackle tomorrow’s problems today.  This dialogue is most important. It is an extension of the ‘open door’ policy and we should encourage similar occasions that will surely contribute to a meaningful improvement in the quality of life for future Maltese generations.