The generation of the future gives advice on the future of Jelgava

This has now turned into a regular practice through the annual Youth Forum

Yesterday, 12 November, saw the start of the annual Youth Forum which takes place in the Latvian city of Jelgava and is dedicated to hearing young people’s opinion, proposals and criticism on issues concerning the future of sustainable development in the municipality. The forum called ‘Jelgava is green!’ will go on until 26 November and this year it is understandably organized online.

The sense of citizenship should be built even before reaching voting age

The Forum, being in its 13^th edition, is opened to participants between the ages of 13 and 25. In order to gather the overall views of this demographic, the youths are invited to fill out an online questionnaire where they can freely express their views and concerns about the environmental situation in Jelgava. They can submit this questionnaire at any time until 26 November.

The idea is to have the relevant authorities listen to the suggestions proposed by the youth and adapt their environmental policies accordingly since it is the result of these policies implemented today that will affect the daily lives of the new generations tomorrow.

The Forum also has talks and discussions scheduled into its agenda in order to foster dialogue and allow the opportunity to hear the views from other youth groups from across the city.

The ideas submitted through the online surveys will also be evaluated and the 5 best ones will receive valuable prizes, which will be announced on the last day of the forum. On that same closing day, the participants will also be presented with a review of the implementation of the ideas that had been generated during last year’s forum.

This serves to show that, on one hand, the proposals generated at these forums are taken seriously and, on the other hand, it allows for the participants to serve as auditors on the implementation of sustainability.