Special feature

Young people in the Netherlands can participate and let their voice be heard in political and governance structures. Government aims to stimulate active citizenship of all youth, in particular through the curriculum in primary, secondary and vocational education. Young people have to be 18 years old to vote or become political representatives. There is a National Youth Council (Nationale Jeugdraad NJR) in which young people participate. At the local level, youth councils are present in many municipalities and in residential youth care institutions.

Highlights

The largest youth consultation process on a national level led to the National Youth Strategy (Nationale Jeugdstrategie, 2025). A representative group of 100 young people worked intensively with the National Youth Council (Nationale Jeugdraad - NJR), in addition to 12 thousand young people who were consulted via online questionnaires, serious games and events in every province and Caribian islands, 10 ministries, and (youth) experts.