9.3 Exchanges between young people and policy-makers on global issues
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Global issues exchanges with policy-makers at the domestic level
Global issues exchanges with policy-makers at the international level
Global issues exchanges with policy-makers at the domestic level
The Board of Children and Youth Fund
The Roundtable for Youth (Kerekasztal a Fiatalokért) was a professional forum through which the Government communicates with the leading organisations and individual professionals in the field of youth policy. Since 2020, the Roundtable has not been convened due to the pandemic situation. The main advisory body is currently the Board of Children and Youth Fund (Gyermek és Ifjúsági Alapprogram Tanácsa). Representatives of the
- the ministry responsible for youth policy,
- the national self-governmental bodies,
- Hungarian Youth Conference (Magyar Ifjúsági Konferencia),
- The National Organisation of Student Self-governing Bodies (Hallgatói Önkormányzatok Országos Konferenciája)
- The National Association of Large Families (Nagycsaládosok Országos Egyesülete),
- The Hungarian Scouting Association (Magyar Cserkészszövetség),
- Hungarian School Sport Federation (Magyar Diáksport Szövetség),
- FIVOSZ – National Association of Young Entrepreneurs (FIVOSZ),
- Hungarian Farmers' Association (Fiatal Gazdák Magyarországi Szövetsége – AGRYA) are invited to the meetings.
The common feature of these organisations is to promote strong engagement among young people. The number of invitees is constantly expanding. The output of the conversations is typically a reminder of the discussions. (For more information on the Board, see sub-chapter 5.3 Youth representation bodies)
Global issues exchanges with policy-makers at the international level
United Nations Youth Delegate Programme
Hungary joined the United Nations Youth Delegate Programme (ENSZ Ifjúsági Küldött Program) in 2016. During this process, the Youth Delegate's standpoint is shaped by national-level discussions with Hungarian young people. The purpose of the delegate is to gain the broadest possible understanding of the views of young people in their country of origin, while also paying attention to the inclusion of marginalised groups. The delegate seeks to
- to bring the gathered experiences to as many domestic and international decision-makers as possible, and
- make proposals to improve the situation of young people.
At the same time, the delegate also draws attention to sustainable development goals. The Ministry of Human Capacities supports the implementation of the UN Youth Delegate Programme.
The current delegate is Kovács Domokos Péter. His goal is to represent the youth of Hungary, at both domestic and international events. His main project is to provide support to schools in Hungary to organise the selective waste collection. He also organises a Sustainability Water Polo event to raise awareness to the contamination of the Tisza Hungarian river. He would like to facilitate to recognize the situation of the Hungarian young people in the neighbouring countries and to introduce the nationalities living in Hungary.
The most important non-state actor in the United Nations Youth Delegate Programme is the delegate, who is appointed every year by a seven-member committee.
Nevertheless, no major negotiations on this issue take place in Hungary in particular. However, it is clear, that due to demographic trends in Europe, including Hungary, the weight of youth policy is lower, while youth policy is becoming more important in parts of the world where the proportion of young people is constantly increasing. As a result, youth organisations within the UN are becoming increasingly important.
Other forums and conferences
Young Hungarians are also given additional formal opportunities to engage with Hungarian and foreign policy makers and relevant stakeholders on issues of global interest. For example, the UN ECOSOC Forum or the Visegrad Youth Forums (VYF). These platforms are formal, predictable and systematic. The UN forums are usually held in New York with the participation of the United Nations Youth Delegate (ENSZ Ifjúsági Küldött).