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1. Formal Mechanisms of Consultation

2. Actors

3. Information on the extent of youth participation

4. Outcomes

5. Large-scale initiatives for dialogue or debate between public institutions and young people

Formal Mechanisms of Consultation

Swedish democracy has traditionally been based on a mutual relationship between policy-makers and various forms of interest groups, civic associations and social movement organisations. Engagement of interest groups in dialogue with policy-makers between elections is a high priority.

Young people’s opportunities to participate in political decision-making between elections at the national level consist primarily of engagement in, or representation through political parties, interest organisations or other civil society organisations. In Sweden, CSOs generally have better opportunities to inform politicians compared to individual citizens.

At municipal level, existing youth councils and other advisory boards that engage with young people also provide opportunities for consultations. The umbrella organisation for Swedish youth organisations, LSU (the National Council of Swedish Children and Youth Organisations) is a national youth council in Sweden although not formall appointed by the state.

In Sweden, citizens do not have the right of initiative at the national parliament, while the right exists at local level, in municipal or county councils but on volontary basis. The main way to engage in dialogue with Parliament is thus through direct contact with MPs. No digital formal channel for contact or petitions exist.

Referral system

When it comes to influencing government decisions, citizens and organisations have the opportunity to be heard through the referral system. The referral system is the only formal opportunity for individuals and organisations to participate in Government affairs. Each year, the Swedish Government presents approximately 200 legislative proposals, normally in the form of a government bill, before the Swedish parliament (Riksdag). Some bills contain proposals for new legislation while others consist of proposals for policy guidelines or major or minor amendments to existing laws. 

Before the Government takes up a position on the recommendations of a commission of inquiry, its report is referred for consideration to relevant bodies. These referral bodies may be central government agencies, special interest groups, local government authorities or other bodies whose activities may be affected by the proposals.  

The umbrella organisation for Swedish youth organisations, LSU (the National Council of Swedish Children and Youth Organisations), is customarily appointed as a referral body for proposals affecting young people. As the proposals are public documents, anyone can make comments, whether or not they have formally been designated as a referral body. If a number of referral bodies respond unfavourably to the recommendations, the Government may try to find an alternative solution.

Consultations and hearings

The Government also maintains dialogue with different actors through specific consultations and on thematic issues. When it comes to youth issues, the National Council of Swedish Children and Youth Organisations (LSU), including relevant member organisations, is routinely invited to these dialogues.

The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil society (MUCF) was given a government assignment in 2020, to promote youth participation in democracy as part of 100 years of universal suffrage (Demokratin 100 år). The task includes developing and disseminating models for how municipalities can strategically, cross-sectorally, and long term strengthen young people’s knowledge of local democracy and their democratic skills. The work continues until 2025, but preliminary conclusions were published in 2024. The assignment should be incorporated into regular operations for long-term success. 

The Ombudsman for Children (Barnombudsmannen) shall, by law, provide information and build opinion on issues relevant to children’s rights and interests. Therefore, the Ombudsman holds regular dialogues with children up to 18 years of age, particularly with those in vulnerable situations, to obtain knowledge about their conditions and their opinions on relevant issues. Panels of experts, including children, are tied to the Ombudsman for Children for varying amounts of time. Thematic reports has been written with the dialogues as material, housing and participation (2022), crime prevention (2023) and mental health (2024).

Youth Surveys

The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil society (MUCF) has developed a national youth policy follow-up survey that collects opinions and preferences of young people, along with information on their living conditions and experiences, as part of the youth policy monitoring system.

The national youth survey has been conducted every three years since 2004. Most of the instruments are repeated and the results can be presented in the form of time series.

The national youth survey gives also comparative figures on the local follow-up of youth policy, LUPP, as many of the instruments are available in both surveys.

Consultations at the local level

The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil society has developed a survey called LUPP (local follow-up of youth policy) that enables municipalities, urban districts or regions to gather opinions from young people in their area, as well as information on their living conditions and experiences. The survey was first introduced in 2003.

The survey has become the core means of following up and developing a knowledge-based municipal youth policy, wherein young people’s opinions and experiences are taken into account from the start. A total of 200 municipalities, or 69% of the country’s 290 municipalities, had by 2024 implemented LUPP at least on one occasion, according to the Annual report 2024 of the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil society. 45 municipalities implemented LUPP in 2024.

In order to evaluate the effects of local youth policy, the survey can be repeated after a few years. About 150 municipalities have implemented LUPP more than once. The survey is mainly intended to be conducted electronically in school.

Actors

Youth policy council

Since 2008, the minister in charge of youth policy has convened a youth policy council several times a year. The Council serves as a forum for discussion and consultation on current national and international issues in youth policy.

The youth policy council consists of representatives of youth organisations representing diverse interests such as politics, religion, ethnicity, sexuality and disability, as well as experts working with young people. In addition, representatives of government authorities and the research community are involved in the Council. See section 5.3, Youth representation bodies, for more information. In november 2024 the council met and discussed how to build a safer society for young people.

Information on the extent of youth participation

In Sweden, public authorities do not collect metadata on young people's participation in the consultation processes. One exception is ad-hoc data collection to map local youth councils and youth parliaments. Since youth councils and youth parliaments are volontary for local authorities there is no regular nationwide systematic youth participation.

Outcomes

There is no data available on the outcomes of young people's participation in the consultation processes.

Large-scale initiatives for dialogue or debate between public institutions and young people

There has not been any national initiative taken for dialogue or debate between public institutions and young people. There was however an Official Report of the Swedish Government (Låt fler forma framtiden, SOU 2016:5) which dealt with participation and influence of young people. None of the propositions in the report has been effectuated though.