Tapping Human Resources: Youth Civic Engagement

“Take ownership of the resources and the spaces that your city has to offer and lead the way to make our world better.”

Listening to these words, voiced by my mayor at a leadership training graduation ceremony for at-risk youth at Toronto’s Metro Hall, I heard a piece of advice that youth rarely hear from those who will one day pass the torch down to us. To answer the question of why youth should be encouraged to get involved in the affairs of their government, I offer this response: youth civic engagement is in need and our country needs our contributions.

Previous generations have failed to ease our tremendous burden at resolving our world’s issues. This is a great, cyclical disservice that we have been historically doing to ourselves. As agents of change, youth must stand up and use the tools of democracy to hold our leaders accountable. Youth, despite being marginalized in the political process, must work together to build networks for political strength. However, our government must also meet us halfway by investing in youth civic programming.

Our government should diversify its portfolio of political stakeholders so that youth are considered as social capital and long-term political assets. Many youth can attest to the hurdles faced when trying to translate their community involvement experiences into civic engagement realities. One of the inspiring young people I worked with who lives in an economically ostracized and stigmatized community told me, “It feels like our government does not know we exist, even when we scream that we want and know where in society we can contribute most. What do I have to do to show that the people in my community are bigger than poverty or violence?” It is the notion that youth are risky investments, simple products of their communities, short-lived catalysts or even collateral that is creating a canyon between youth and our government. We need to rebuild this fleeting trust.      

I call out to my fellow youth and to all citizens to support youth participation in municipal, provincial and federal decision-making processes and planning. Being civically engaged does not stop with voting, but rather continues with keeping our elected officials on their toes with our concerns and suggestions. Our suggestions can be in the shape of murals, theatre or defending our rights in organized peaceful protest. Write to your local newspaper and your MPs, and stay informed about what our leaders are practicing and preaching. If the media is not focusing on the issues that are of concern to us, we must hold them accountable for this and lead the way.

Are you in a city such as mine where rising public transportation costs are affecting your ability to attend school or work? Are you at a post-secondary institution where rising tuition prices are constant reminders of the burden of simply desiring an education? Are you in a community where resources seem to have dissipated into the air and poverty beckons for attention in your streets? Do you have an opinion on what the recent proroguing of Parliament symbolizes? Let your voice be heard.  

The greatest resources are human resources. Youth civic engagement is in a vulnerable but fruitful position today. With the facility of technology, communication and planning, young people can breathe life into creating real ripples of change. We can choose to support positive movements within our schools, public institutions and communities, and we can choose to influence legislation, allocation of funds and policy in our nation. The least of our efforts will cause a ruckus and a ruckus always sparks dialogue. I know we can step up to lead this dialogue.