On this page

1. Existence of a national strategy to increase young people's political and civil society participation

2. Scope and contents

3. Responsible authority for the implementation of the strategy

4. Monitoring and evaluation

5. Revisions/ Updates

Existence of a national strategy to increase young people's political and civil society participation

One of the main political areas of the National Youth and Sports Policy Document is Democratic Participation and Civic Consciousness. Under this policy area, young people are encouraged to participate actively in political processes and to engage in civil society, including as members of NGO.

Scope and contents

The Democratic Participation and Civic Consciousness policy field includes the following policies and targets:

Policy 1. Increasing the representation of young people at the national and local assemblies and eliminating the communication gap between local administrations and youth.

Targets

• To establish an umbrella youth structure with the participation of organisations and institutions related to youth, especially NGOs, and to encourage the participation of youth NGOs in this structure.
• To support the active participation of young people in the decision-making mechanisms of local administrations.
• To support the participation of NGOs related to youth in policy-making processes at the level of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, municipal councils and provincial councils.
• To increase opportunities for young people to participate in political processes.

Policy 2. Encouraging young people to be involved in NGOs as founders, managers and members.

Targets

• To disseminate projects that raise awareness and encourage young people to become members of NGOs.
• To ensure that relevant organisations and institutions provide support for the establishment and operation of youth NGOs.
• To support cooperation among youth associations at local, regional, national and international levels, including with neighbouring countries.

(Policy field and targets are set out in the National Youth and Sports Policy Document.)

Responsible authority for the implementation of the strategy

The authority responsible for the coordination and implementation of the strategy is the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The legal basis includes Article 18 of Decree Law No. 638, which provides that the National Youth and Sports Policy Document is prepared by the Ministry to ensure coordination among relevant public bodies and is reviewed at least every four years, taking stakeholder input into account (see the official publication record: Official Gazette – 08.06.2011 (Mükerrer), Decree Law No. 638).

Within the Ministry, affiliated general directorates contribute to implementing youth participation priorities, including:

• the General Directorate of Education, Research and Coordination (research, evidence and coordination in youth and sports fields), and
• the General Directorate of Youth Services (youth centres, youth camps, youth projects support and related youth work instruments).

Monitoring and evaluation

The Ministry of Youth and Sports monitors implementation through its institutional monitoring and reporting processes. Stakeholder and responsible institutions may be requested to provide progress information on relevant policies and targets, and the Ministry reports implementation progress through annual reporting instruments such as Activity Reports and Performance Programmes (as mentioned in the Ministry’s Strategy Development Presidency pages: Activity Reports and Performance Programmes).

Revisions/Updates

According to Article 18 of Decree Law No. 638, the National Youth and Sports Policy Document is reviewed and revised at least every four years, taking into account suggestions from relevant public institutions, sports federations and NGOs (Official Gazette – 08.06.2011 (Mükerrer), Decree Law No. 638).