NDI Civic Update on Youth Programming. July 2004

Many people in Hong Kong are at a loss to explain why our youth have suddenly become so discontent with life and why so many young activists have suddenly emerged to express their discontent, often in violent ways.

The answer to this is simple, if somewhat uncomfortable – Hong Kong has been the target of a comprehensive program, funded by the US Government, with funds allocated by the US Congress to the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which are being used by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) to implement that program.

Youth Programming

According to the NDI’s own publications, youth are a key component of NDI programs and programs targeting young people have been the sole subject of comment in three NDI Civic Updates/NDI Reports:

·         2004. Civic Update entitled: Young People, not the problem, part of the solution,

·         2007. NDI Report on Youth, Women, Technology.

·         2012. Civic Update on Youth Programming.

Note: Civic Updates are quarterly publications prepared by the NDI’s Civic Participation Team to keep NDI operatives up-to-date on the latest ideas, case studies and programs being implemented by the NDI. In many cases, both Civic Updates and NDI Reports are written as reference manuals for NDI field operatives.

Extracts from 2004 Civic Update: Young People, not the problem, part of the solution

The following extracts from the July 2004 Civic Update entitled - Young People, not the problem, part of the solution.

·         youth participation should be an essential consideration in the design and implementation of NDI programming … and … the involvement of young people is already an intrinsic component in many NDI programs,

·         in recent years, NDI has been involved in activities in more than 50 countries to increase the role of young people as civic activists, voters, candidates, political party representatives and elected leaders.

The types of NDI programs and activities with a youth participation focus or component currently underway include:

·         election monitoring,

·         issue advocacy,

·         leadership development,

·         youth parliaments,

·         party youth wings,

·         parliamentary internships,

·         debate clubs,

·         civic forums,

·         voter education,

·         GOTV (Get Out The Vote).

Case study of a Youth Parliament held in Indonesia

One case study in this Civic Update was on a Youth Parliament held in Indonesia, in an article entitled: Taking matters into their own hands: Indonesian students join model parliament.

The NDI rationale for holding this event was to:

·         combat the pervasive apathy and negative view of political participation among young Indonesians.

45 students from 20 different high schools took part in the event to school themselves in democracy … and … by taking part in the first-ever youth model parliament in the country, these students learned the basics of civic participation and legislative processes as they proposed, debated and passed legislation on issues of concern to the Indonesian youth.

During the event, students acted as members of parliament in a simulated legislature, taking part in debates and other activities. Students spent three days working to pass a budget and three laws, all of which were passed to the real DPR (National Indonesian Parliament) as inputs from youth.

Civic Update cover

Case study on Youth Parliament held in Indonesia

Reference

NDI Civic Update: Young People, not the problem, part of the solution. July 2004

Link: https://www.ndi.org/files/1730_citpart_civicupdate_070104_0.pdf