Youth Priorities and Electoral Participation: Canada and the Third World -A comparative framework

•Youth priorities and political participation in Canada

•Priorities of the Third World youth

To have an interest in politics, what do Canadian youth need?

• Knowledge to participate• A sense that politics matters to them and that they can make a difference • A sense of belonging and being part of the society.

Political efficacy theory:

Youth participation would be higher when a greater segment of youth in a society feels that individual citizen’s decisions to vote or participate can change politics and society

2 kinds of efficacy:

1.Internal efficacy: belief and reliance on one’s ability to understand politics and vote

2.External efficacy: Believing that the government or parties would be responsive to people’s demands

2004 Canadian Election Study:

• A rolling cross-section campaignsurvey with a representative sample of4,323 Canadians (55% response rate)

• A post-election survey• A Mail-back questionnaire

2004 Federal election in Canada show:

Youth (age 18 to 29) voting: 15 points lower than the level among older voters (age 30 + )

What are the priorities of the youth?

Health care

The decline in youth participation is not due to political cynicism as they seem to have strong views on socio-political issues.

What are their views on:

•Business interests•Social issues•Groups in society•Law & order

The decline in youth participation is not due to political cynicism as they seem to have strong views on socio-political issues.

What are their views on:

•Business interests•Social issues•Groups in society•Law & order

The decline in youth participation is not due to political cynicism as they seem to have strong views on socio-political issues.

What are their views on:

•Business interests•Social issues•Groups in society•Law & order

The decline in youth participation is not due to political cynicism as they seem to have strong views on socio-political issues.

What are their views on:

•Business interests•Social issues•Groups in society•Law & order

http://www.elections.org.nz/now-or-never-lit-review.html

Declining Participation at Parliamentary elections as % of age-eligible electors

Youth Priorities and Electoral Participation: Canada and the Third World -A comparative framework

•Youth priorities and political participation in Canada

•Priorities of the Third World youth

Some Priorities of the Third World Youth: • Teenage marriage

• Increase protection against the harmful effects of early marriage;

• Amend legislation to ensure that boys are treated as equally as girls.

• Honour killing• Review legislation;• Develop awareness raising and education

campaigns to combat discriminatory attitudes and harmful traditions affecting girls; http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:LzJymUC4rkJ:www.iyfnet.org/uploads/what_wo

rks_in_youth_par.pdf+what+works+youth+participation&hl=en&client=firefox-a

• Develop special training and resources for law enforcement personnel.

• Female genital mutilation• Undertake strong and effectively targeted information campaigns to combat this phenomenon;• Adopt legislation with extraterritorial reach to protect children within the State’s jurisdiction from female genital mutilation outside its territory.

• About half the population in the world are youth aged 20 and below

http://esa.un.org/unpp/p2k0data.asp

•In LDCs: 80% global young people live.

•Youth comprise up to 70 % of some nations’ populations

Jennifer Corriero January 2004 Role of Youth Survey

http://research.takingitglobal.org/roleofyouth/

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/documents/ch04.pdf

World Population 2000 (by Age - in thousands)

http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/WPP2004/World_Population_2004_chart.pdf

Major problems that the Third World Youth face are AIDS, hunger, unemployment, and social inequities

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/documents/ch04.pdf

http://www.fessrilanka.org/fes/Links/pdf/pub/sly/sly2.pdf

The Youth and the Challenge of Democratisation:A Comparative Study of Survey Data from India and Sri Lanka* Subrata K. Mitra Mike Enskat Karsten Frey http://www.fessrilanka.org/fes/Links/pdf/pub/sly/sly2.pdf

Jennifer Corriero January 2004 Role of Youth Survey

research.takingitglobal.org/roleofyouth/Role%20of%20Youth%20Findings.doc -

Role of Youth - for Each Region

Africa %North

America %South

America % Asia % Europe % Oceania %

Students20.

5 Students 27 Students 24 Students 19 Students 26 Students 24

Activists 9.9 Consumers8.8 Workers

9.1 Activists

9.1 Consumers 11 Consumers

8.7

Victims 7.9 Citizens6.9 Consumers

9.1 Volunteers

8.2 Citizens

8.4 Citizens

8.3

Volunteers 7.6 Workers 6 Citizens7.3 Leaders 8 Members

6.5 Members

7.6

Citizens 6.8 Activists5.7 Activists

7.3 Workers 6 Innovators

6.1 Activists

7.2

Workers 6.6 Trendsetters 5.3 Innovators

5.5 Citizens 6 Activists

5.8 Workers

6.5

Members 5.2 Leaders4.8 Leaders

5.5 Consumers

5.2 Workers

5.4 Innovators

5.1

Leaders 5 Innovators4.5 Volunteers

5.5 Trend-setters 4 Trend-setters

4.7 Leaders

5.1

Innovators 3.5 Volunteers 3.8 Trend-setters

3.6 Members 4

Troublemaker

3.9

Troublemaker

5.1

Entrepreneurs 2.6 Employees

3.7

Entrepreneurs 3

Entrepreneurs

3.7 Children

3.9 Trend-setters

4.3

How Youth Respondents in Regions Identified Themselves

Jennifer Corriero research.takingitglobal.org/roleofyouth/Role%20of%20Youth%20Findings.doc

An electronic survey (2002) was sent out to over 15,000 people from over 190 countries Total sample: 1443 respondents from 126 countries.

•North America (29.2%) •Africa (27.4%)•Middle East, 14.3% •Europe, 7.1%•Asia & Oceania 6.9% •South and Central America 4.3%

Gender: •male 58.7%•female 38.7%

•Consumer culture: great influence on today’s youth (76%) • Education: important (89%) • Not equipped with job skills: 62.2%• Sustainability: top 10 only in Africa and Asia• Employment: top 3 & first in South America

(See graph)

Top 10 Issues for Each Region - Key Issues

Africa %North

America %South

America % Asia % Europe % Oceania %

Education 22 Education 17 Employment 19 Education 20 Friends 17 Friends 18

Employment 19 Friends 17 Education 15 Employment 15 Education 14 Employment 17

Business7.6 Employment 12 Friends

9.1 Friends

8.5 Employment 12 Education 14

HIV/AIDS5.8 Music

7.3 Business

5.2 Business

6.2 Music

7.6 Music

6.3

Friends4.7 Romance

4.6 Sports

5.2 Leadership

4.6 Romance

4.4 Sports

5.5

Health4.5 Sports

3.8 Arts

3.9 Environment

4.4 Travel

3.5 Other

4.3

Sustainability4.5 Other

3.4 Leadership

3.9 Globalization

3.6 Peace

3.2 Environment

3.9

Sports3.2 Technology

2.7 Music

3.2 Music

3.3 Business 3 Romance

3.5

Music3.1 Community

2.7 Politics

3.2 Sustainability

3.3 Media

2.7 Health

3.1

Technology2.8 Arts 2 Globalization

3.2 Peace 3 Health

2.5 Leadership

2.8

Top 10 issues and interests of youth by region