In this Italian language video interview with Alessandro Barducci, Alberto Cottica explains his hopes for a new online sharing and mentoring project to be launched next October.
The Council of Europe–EU project aims at developing an interaction communication channel between young people and democratic institutions, based on the principle of open, Internet-enabled collaboration.
“The project is not for young people but it is with young people,” says Alberto. “The idea is to collaborate to resolve a problem about the European social contract, where one person out of five doesn’t work or study and is without training.
“This project is about the construction of a new democracy participation channel.”
The project’s goal is to produce a shared vision of how Europe’s young citizens can claim a stronger influence on policy-makers – and a larger share of the social responsibility that goes with it.
The Council of Europe is concerned that a whole generation of young people might not be achieving its full potential. Young people under 25 are more than twice as likely to be unemployed than older adults and many feel let down by an education system that seems unable to help them achieve full autonomy. It is also commonplace that young people feel estranged from traditional political participation.
Yet this same generation offers brilliant examples of creativity, social innovation, and generosity.
This new project aims to engage these qualities and calls upon people of all ages who are interested in collaborating, from local governments and other public institutions, third sector and business organisations and citizens groups.
The results of the exercise will be presented to the European Commission and the Council of Europe’s member states in a conference next June.
Video: Interview with Alberto Cottica [it]
Webfile: Youth
