Abstract

The significance of youth participation has been highlighted globally over the years. There are many reasons why international organizations and governments emphasize youth policy and work by youth.

The purpose of this research is to help set agendas to improve youth participation in local communities. This study also aims to suggest activity plans for youth participation.

To understand the actual conditions and needs for youth participation, we investigated the current support system of youth participation in Seoul and performed a focus group interview (FGI). In order to draw agendas for activating youth participation, Delphi research was conducted three times. The main are as follows.

Based on Delphi and FGI results, this study recommends strategies, policy directions, and 13 tasks for increasing youth participation. We propose three policy directions, which include “daily participation,” “proactive participation,” and “more adolescents participation in general” to encourage youth participation. To promote youth participation, we suggest the following key policy tasks: (i) reinforce the foundation of youth participation, (ii) expand youth participation in policy-making, and (iii) strengthen youth participation activities. First, to reinforce the foundation of youth participation, authorities need to establish a legal basis of youth participation, build up mid- to long-term plans for youth involvement, and find ways to improve social awareness of youth participation. Second, to expand policy-making regarding youth participation, we suggest the extension of suffrage for youth, build a youth-participatory budget system, make it mandatory to garner youth opinions in the policy-making process, and improve the system of youth participation.

Third, to strengthen youth activities, we suggest tasks of youth policy participation committees, such as changing the selection method of youth committee members and disclosing parliamentary content online. 

 

Contents

01 Introduction

1_Background and Purpose of the Study

2_Content and Scope of the Study

3_Research Methods

4_Organization of the Study

 

02 Youth and Participation

1_Concept and Meaning of Youth Participation

2_Legal Basis of Youth Participation

3_Youth Participation Committees and Policies

 

03 Current Status of Youth Participation in Seoul

1_Current Support Measures of Youth Participation in Seoul

2_Analysis on Actual Conditions of Youth Participation in Seoul

 

04 Agendas for Increasing Youth Participation

1_Method to Draw Agendas

2_Reason for Agenda-Setting and Directions

3_Strategies to Support Youth Participation and the Role of Seoul Metropolitan Government

4_Summary

05 Strategies and Policy Tasks for Increasing Youth Participation

1_Organization of Policy Tasks

2_Basic Directions and Strategies

3_Key Policy Tasks

4_Detailed Tasks