In many countries youth participation in the public life is a serious challenge. Many countries have approved a National Youth Policy that is supposed to overcome the most urgent issues. The simulation game focuses on the design of a National Youth Policy (NYP) in four areas: Economic Participation, Education, Political Participation and Social Cohesion. It is divided into two phases: while during phase one the participants aim to agree on general guiding principles for each area, they discuss a beneficial and feasible framework during phase two. From the finding inside the simulation game valuable lessons learned can be reached that provide an ideal basis for further concrete planning in reality.
Scenario & Procedure
The scenario takes place on the fictional island in Atlantic Ocean named Shebania. The one third of the whole population of Shebania are youth. According to the analysis The Needs and Challenges of Youth, conducted by the Ministry of Youth, there is a high level of potential brain-drain among youth caused by youth exclusion from economic, social and political participation.
During the simulation game, the actors will discuss the new National Youth Policy for Shebania. The actors have different positions (policy-makers, youth-serving, youth-led organisations and average citizens) and follow different interests regarding the new NYP. Thus, during the negotiation rounds they have to convince others, in order to gain their support and to make sure that the actors’ interests are reflected in the Guiding Principles and in the Recommendations for the Framework of the NYP to the greatest possible extent.
Objectives
The overall goal is to better understand about policy making processes and its implementation. Participants will gain general knowledge about designing and negotiating a National Youth Policy (NYP) and the procedures for its implementation. This way participants become familiar with the respective state bodies involved, as well as with the interests, capacities and challenges of civil society actors. As different actors from various sectors, the participants will learn how to identify common goals, reach the agreement (consensus, majority vote, etc.) and outline the results in the NYP, embedding youth considerations in key governance areas, such as public financial management, local governance and gender equality.
Learning Goals
- Increased understanding of policy-making processes. Better understanding what policy-makers can do and what are their limitations.
- Overcoming the prevailing mistrust between civil society actors and government/Local Authorities (increase mutual empathy between youth and youth-serving organizations, and policy makers)
- How to design and establish a structured dialogue between different actors (youth, policy-makers, civil societies).