NEW REPORT SHOWS THAT G7 YOUTH ARE INCREASINGLY DISSATISFIED WITH DEMOCRACY - WORLD LEADERS MUST BETTER INVOLVE THEM IN DECISION MAKING TO REINSTATE CONFIDENCE IN THE GLOBAL GOVERNANCE PROCESS
11 June 2021, United Kingdom
Youth satisfaction with democracy across the G7 is in decline - down from 72% just before the financial crisis, to just 56% in early 2020, a decline of 20% in just over a decade;
Only 1 in 5 young people in the U.K. expressed confidence in the G7’s ability to address shared problems;
Young people want to participate in democracy - but they want to do this in new and novel ways, with online participation found to be the most popular medium among youth in the UK (more popular than voting or joining a political party);
The report calls on G7 leaders to increase youth participation in multilateral and domestic decision making processes, and to harness new technologies to better engage young people.
New research conducted by the Future Leaders Network has found that young people across the G7 are increasingly dissatisfied with the functioning of democracy.
The research, analysing longitudinal attitudinal data sets collected from across the G7 countries, finds that youth satisfaction in democracy is in decline - on aggregate, down 20% from its peak in 2007, just before the financial crisis. Furthermore, the proportion of young people who think it is essential to live in a democracy is found to be a minority in two of the G7 countries - Japan (20%) and the USA (31%).
Researchers are exploring a number of reasons for this decline in satisfaction and support, including:
wealth inequality and high levels of youth unemployment. The latter reached 33% in Italy in the first quarter of 2021, while young people made up 60% of all job losses in the year up until February 2021 in the U.K.
systematic underrepresentation of youth in elected bodies. Young people under 30 make up between 0 and 7% of elected representatives in the G7’s lower chambers.
Despite this, young people continue to show strong support for the principles of democracy - for example free and open elections (91%) or free speech (96%) - and two thirds of young people from across the G7 want to be involved in solving social issues for the betterment of society.
Young people increasingly see the potential of new technologies to broaden participation. An Opinium survey conducted on behalf of the Future Leaders Network in March 2021, found that 74% of young people in the U.K. indicate that at least one of the online mediums of participation (social media, online petitions and online forums) was effective - more popular than voting (33%) or joining a political party (17%).
The report calls on world leaders to harness new technological advances to better involve young people in decisions made about their future by:
Negotiating a binding commitment to hold annual engagement group summits including the Y7 - this would see resources allocated to underfunded engagement groups through a pool of funding from across the G7 countries to cover the operational costs and offer honorarium or non-monetary compensation to incentivise and remove barriers to inclusive participation;
Appointing (and where a relevant bureau already exists, clarify the mandate and responsibility of) a Minister of Youth or a Secretariat dedicated to work with young people as partners, co-designing youth interventions with youth instead of on behalf of youth.
Commenting, Sophie Daud, Chief Executive of the Future Leaders Network, said:
“Only one in five young people in the U.K. expressed confidence in the G7 to tackle shared international challenges - a clear sign that the G7 must update its practices and prove its relevance to younger and future generations.
G7 leaders should pay close attention to this, and other warning signs outlined in our report. Youth participation in decision making is not a nice-to-have - it’s crucial for the functioning of our democracies. ‘Shared democratic values’ should not be taken for granted - rather they must be nurtured.
For these reasons, world leaders at this year’s G7 should commit to institutionalising the youth engagement process - the Y7 - for the G7. The process is highly dependent upon the host government and the incredible progress made this year in youth participation could easily be lost - world leaders must protect and demand youth participation in future G7 Summits.
Young people will disproportionately bear the consequences of this pandemic - give them a chance to shape the future that they will inherit.”
Yuko Ishibashi, the report’s author said:
“Shared democratic values hinge critically upon sustained support of the public. In light of the contemporary crisis, catalysing youth participation to shape a better future for all is an urgent task for world leaders.”
Notes to the Editor:
For more information about the support available to young people in the UK, particularly our Youth 7 opportunity, please visit our website: https://www.futureleaders.network
For interviews or more information, please contact Sophie Daud – Chief Executive, directly on +44 7788 990041 or at sophie.daud@futureleaders.network.
About Future Leaders Network
Future Leaders Network is a not-for-profit organisation aimed at discovering and developing the next generation of social, economic and political leaders in the United Kingdom. We are revolutionising the leadership development landscape, by equipping young people with the leadership experience, skills and network they need to deliver positive change in the world.
We make a difference today with the leaders of tomorrow.
Since 2011, we have selected and supported young leaders to represent the U.K. at the G7 and G20 Youth Summits. In 2021, in line with the U.K.’s G7 Presidency, the Future Leaders Network was appointed to Chair and deliver the Youth 7 (Y7) process.
Website: https://www.futureleaders.network
About the Youth 7 (Y7) 2021
Youth 7 is one of six engagement groups of the Group of 7 (G7) supported by the U.K. Government in its 2021 G7 Presidency, the others being Women 7, C7 (non-governmental organizations), Labour 7, Business 7, and Science 7. The engagement groups are involved at every level of G7 activities, including meetings with the Sherpas, Ministers and expert groups, through to the Leaders’ Summit. They prepare recommendations for each G7 Presidency.
The Youth 7 Summit took place virtually on 14 - 15 May 2021, with thousands of young people from all over the world joining on a professional event platform or live-streaming two days’ worth of keynote speakers, presentations and workshops.
About Sophie Daud:
Sophie Daud is the award-winning Chief Executive of the Future Leaders Network.
Sophie began her career in the U.K. Government, where she combined her scientific training with problem solving skills to tackle some of the country's most challenging social policy issues, ranging from long-term unemployment to child poverty.
In 2016, she was selected to represent the United Kingdom at the Youth G7 in Tokyo, Japan, the official youth engagement group for the G7 Heads of State summit. Since then, Sophie has campaigned tirelessly to support the development of a new cohort of young leaders, and championing their voices in national and international decision making.
She was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Future Leaders Network in January 2019 and this year she hosts the title of Chair of the Y7 2021. She is particularly committed to ensuring that the Summit includes a wide range of diverse voices, including young people who are typically underrepresented in formal democratic processes.
In 2019, Sophie was named as a “Rising Star in the Public Sector”, awarded by WeAreTheCity after a competitive selection process. In 2021, she was named as the “Most Influential CEO in London, U.K.” by CEOMonthly magazine.
L: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-daud-7b5169139/
About the report
The report was commissioned by the Future Leaders Network, Chair of the Youth 7 2021 - one of six engagement groups supported by the U.K. Government during its 2021 G7 Presidency.
It analysed existing data on recent trends on democracy and participation, which cover some of the G7 and D11 countries. In collaboration with Opinium and the YouGov-Cambridge Centre, new primary research was conducted.
The “2021 U.K. Youth Perspectives” survey was conducted in March 2021 in the U.K, with a sample size of 2,000 young people aged between 14 and 30 years old.
A further survey was carried out in collaboration with the YouGov-Cambridge Centre later in 2021. Fieldwork was undertaken between 24th - 25th May 2021 and the total sample size was 1,672 adults. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).