In response to the mobilisations seen in recent years in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, the Ministers for Youth and Education reaffirm their willingness to listen and engage in dialogue with young people. Beyond the responses given today to the concerns expressed, they wish to durably strengthen the place of young people in democratic debate and participation processes, so that their expectations, their realities and their proposals are heard by the political world.
The recent mobilisations have highlighted concerns that go beyond education issues alone. They more broadly express an expectation of dialogue and, for many young people, a wish to be more involved in decisions affecting their present and future. The Ministers believe this voice must be given lasting spaces for expression, exchange and follow-up. That is why they are today proposing a set of initiatives to strengthen dialogue mechanisms between young people and public authorities.
Concrete mechanisms to make young people's voices heard
For the Minister for Youth, it is essential that this willingness to listen is not only reflected in a one-off response to a mobilisation, but in concrete mechanisms, accessible to all young people and lasting over time. The meetings held in recent weeks are important moments of dialogue, but they must be accompanied by mechanisms enabling young people to take part regularly in shaping public policy. This approach fits fully within the Youth Trajectory led by the Minister, with the ambition of making youth participation not a one-off response to social mobilisation, but a founding principle of public action.
To turn this ambition into reality, four measures are proposed in the short and medium term.
The Minister for Youth is thus proposing the organisation of a Youth General Assembly, which will bring together young people, field actors and public officials for a structured dialogue with follow-up action.
She also wants to strengthen tools for ongoing participation by setting up a consortium and a participatory platform led by the Forum des Jeunes, enabling young people's concerns, expectations and proposals to be gathered throughout the year.
Valérie Lescrenier also wants to systematically assess the impact of public policies on young people. To this end, she proposes developing, in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation as in Flanders, a “Youth Test” and suggesting it in entities where it does not yet exist, or organising an annual meeting between young people and the entire Government to better integrate their reality into decision-making processes.
Finally, the Minister for Youth intends to launch a joint reflection on young people's electoral participation and their place in democratic life. The aim is to identify levers to strengthen their civic engagement, in particular by examining the possibility of lowering the voting age and introducing accompanying measures in citizenship education.
Bringing democratic dialogue to life in schools
Following a meeting with the Comité des élèves francophones (CEF) on 7 October, Education Minister Valérie Glatigny is encouraging secondary schools to set up dialogue spaces allowing pupils to express their vision of today's and tomorrow's school. This initiative, which was presented to education stakeholders at the advisory committee meeting on 13 October, will be carried out while respecting schools' autonomy, giving them the opportunity, over two to four periods during school time, to discuss with their teachers and school management the difficulties they face, their expectations and the improvements they wish to propose. These dialogue spaces will complement the participation councils (COPA), structural consultation bodies bringing together representatives of pupils, parents, teaching teams and civil society.
Schools will be invited to pass on the conclusions of these discussions to the Government, so that pupils' concerns can inform reflection on the development of education.
“School is an ideal place to bring democracy to life. We want pupils to be able to express their ideas, share their concerns and suggest ways to improve things, while taking budgetary and institutional realities into account. That too is part of learning to take full part in democratic life. At the same time, the mobile teams will continue to support schools facing pupil movements, helping teaching staff and promoting a return to class under the best possible conditions and as quickly as possible”, says Valérie Glatigny, Minister for Education.