Democracy depends on the participation of young people – 09/14/2023 – Education

This year’s theme for International Democracy Day – “Empowering the Next Generation” –, celebrated this Friday (15) around the world, could not be more timely. Within a broad idea of ​​inclusive democracy for sustainable development, the motto, according to the United Nations (UN), focuses on the role of children and young people in safeguarding democracy, today and in the future, in the face of a series of threats endorsed by misinformation and the practice of hate sown in the online universe that, in a harmful way, contaminate the real daily life of humanity.

This role has never been more important, as young people’s confidence in democratic processes is also in question. According to this report sheet S.Pauloa global survey conducted by the Open Society Foundations revealed that support for democracy in the world is widespread – 86% say they prefer to live in a democratic state –, but the rate plummets when it comes to young people.

Among respondents aged 18 to 35, 57% consider democracy preferable to other types of government; the percentage goes to 71% in older age groups. At the same time, the report shows, 42% of young people believe that a military regime is a correct form of government, and 35% of this age group think that a strong leader who does not worry about elections is a positive path to government.

“Our findings are worrying and alarming. People around the world still want to believe in democracy. However, with each new generation this faith diminishes while doubts grow about its ability to bring concrete improvements to people’s lives”, says Mark Malloch- Brown, president of the Open Society Foundations.

These results clearly show that we are challenged with an urgent task. According to the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, the moment is one of tension and turbulence. “The walls are closing in on civic spaces,” he says in a special message for Democracy Day. According to Guterres, misinformation has poisoned public discourse, polarized communities and undermined trust in institutions. Monitoring carried out by specialized organizations reinforces the UN’s concern.

The V-Dem Institute’s annual report for 2022 indicates that, for the first time in 20 years, there are more dictatorships than full democracies. According to the document, at the end of last year, there was a record number of countries autocratizing: 42 compared to 33 in 2021. The study points out that practically 72% of the world’s population — 5.7 billion people — live in autocracies. Another renowned organization, Freedom House indicates that global freedom declined, in 2022, for the 17th consecutive year.

In the midst of this scenario, there is a mistaken perception that children and young people born in the digital environment do not need to develop skills to identify evil things spread on the internet — as if they were innate to them. Recent research reveals otherwise. A detailed study carried out by the University of Cambridge and the YouGov research institute in the United States over two years, for example, found that two thirds (66%) of older people, over the age of 65, were able to identify at least 14 questions from a test that contained 20 true and false pieces of information, MediaTalks reported. According to the research, the level of accuracy dropped as it moved towards younger age groups: 60% among respondents aged 45 to 64, 35% of adults aged 30 to 44 and only 28% between 18 and 29 years old. .

We need to invest massively, as recommended by the UN, in the education of our children and young people, giving them the opportunity to participate in building solutions to the countless problems we currently face and which have been weakening democratic processes across the planet.

It is necessary to train younger generations in the virtues of citizenship, in dialogue with people with different points of view, in the exercise of civil liberties and in respect for human rights, plurality and equity, so that they understand the dimension and the importance of diversity and tolerance. Education for democracy now!