Youth Declaration Lake Constance (Jugenddeklaration Bodenseeregion)

Best Practice

Topics

• New forms of decision-making
• Governance capacity, Policies and instruments

Short description

In 1998 the Agenda 21 of the region of Lake Constance was founded by the IBK (International Conference of Lake Constance). The Agenda aims at solving environmental problems and at developing a sustainable region. In 2003 the emphasis was given to children and teenagers and their ideas for a sustainable future. The Youth Declaration of the region of Lake Constance was developed on several events by pupils, members of youth parliaments and youth organisations.

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Project executive

The project was initiated by the Agenda 21 of Lake Constance and its national contact points, financially supported by the Agenda 21 of Lake Constance, the Büro für Zukunftsfragen Vorarlberg and the Department for Youth of the provicial government of Vorarlberg.

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Participants

Local Agenda 21 of Lake Constance, youth workers, Büro für Zukunftsfragen, department for youth of the provincial government of Vorarlberg, 350 young people from the region of Lake Constance (Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein)

Objectives

Formulation of a Youth Declaration for sustainable development of the region of Lake Constance.

Activities

1st and 2nd international preparation meeting for collecting important and interesting issues // lists with 18 different subject areas on the internet // opinion poll about these subject areas // publication on the internet // 3rd meeting: development of a catalogue of postulations // discussion of the declaration on the 1st youth summit // adoption // elaboration of the declaration of Vorarlberg // comments on the declaration by authorities and national and regional politicians // dialogue and preparation of the 2nd youth summit // steering committe // dialogue between teenagers, politicians and experts // 2nd international youth summit with presentation of results

Process

conferences, workshops, project markets, round tables, internet participation

Results

The Youth Declaration was presented and discussed on the international Youth Summit in Friedrichshafen on 14 November 2003. The declaration was adopted by about 1,200 young people at the summit and was consigned to the Secretary of Environment of Baden-Württemberg as a representative of the politicians of the region of Lake Constance.

Evaluation

The project has not been evaluated. The 2nd Youth Summit took place in 2005. The results and the actual state of affairs were presented there.

Difficulties

The internal co-ordination of authorities as well as the big event could have been better organised. The identification of young people is bigger in regional affairs than in international affairs.

Budget

no information (Euro)

Financial backer

Agenda 21 of Lake Constance, the Büro für Zukunftsfragen Vorarlberg and the Department for Youth of the provicial government of Vorarlberg.

Source of information

Competition

Participant at the 2005 Future in the Alps competition

Homepage

http://www.bodensee-agenda21.net

Publication

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Project executive as above

Contact person as above

Comments

Impact on nature and environment

The Youth Declaration contains the following environmental issues: energy sources, climate and water. Several measures were developed: e.g. shift of goods transport to railway, promotion of research for renewable energy, taxes on pollutants and their harmful impacts.

Economic value added

Several issues concerning education were developed: school partnerships in the region of Lake Constance and regional excange of pupils/students, competence training for young people (presentation techniques, rhetoric, moderation, public relations), and information center for cross-border job applications and university application, better integration of young people on the regional labour market

Socio-cultural value added

The youth programme of the IBK (International Conference of the Region of Lake Constance) offers young peolpe a possibility to formulate their ideas and wishes for their future. Young people, politicians and experts discuss with each other and listen to each other.

Innovative content

The continous dialogue and the manner of the dialogue with young peolpe was new. It became apparent that committed teenagers work independently.

Good governance

The young people's ideas and postulations are documented well and in the 2nd youth summit the proceedings were discussed. The ideas and postulations were formulated by the young people themselves without interference of adults, experts and politicians.

PR impact

regional newspapers, broadcast

Multiplier effect / networking

The results were brought to the member states and were redefined with a special regard to the regional circumstances e.g. in Vorarlberg.

Transferability

The region of Lake Constance has always been very close and the co-operation has always been good. This is a major precondition for international cross-border projects like this big event and the outcome like the declaration.

Remarks

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