How can youth participate in politics?
On 12 April, The Al Quds Center organized a workshop on comparing experiences in political participation of youth between the Netherlands and Jordan. Around 25 Jordanian youth, many of whom are active members of political parties, attended the session, which was hosted by Abdallah Abdoh, project manager at the DIGNITY and a youth participation consultant.

In her welcoming remarks, Executive Director Hala Salem stressed the importance of effective youth participation in Jordan and highlighted the Center’s prior work on political youth movements in Jordan and the region. Haroen Reniers, an intern at the Al Quds Center and an active member of the Dutch Labor Party and its youth wing, gave a presentation on the role of youth in Dutch politics. Afterwards, the floor was open for the attendants to share their experiences and ask questions about the presentation.

Haroen Reniers on the Role of Youth in Dutch Politics
Dutch politics are based on a well-developed political system. The country is widely considered a full democracy, but due to its ageing electorate, political parties struggle with maintaining a voter base among youth. Haroen Reniers highlighted three examples of youth participation in the Netherlands: parliamentary representation, political youth wings and activism.

Reniers acknowledged that Jordan and the Netherlands have entirely different economic and geopolitical situations. Politically, however, both countries are constitutional monarchies with multiparty systems. In Jordan the monarchy has a role in balancing political institutions. “We must acknowledge that Jordan is a country of its own. So whatever lessons we draw today, they need to be moulded into something that fits Jordan,” said Reniers. In recent years, most of the Dutch electorate has found itself voting for right-wing parties. With 25 seats, the GreenLeft-Labor coalition leads the opposition to the current right-wing government.

Reniers recommended that party leadership should encourage promising young members to run for election. “Look at the GreenLeft-Labor coalition, which hosts the country’s youngest MP: the 27-year-old Habtamu de Hoop. He joined parliament when he was 22 and his candidacy was a fitting step for the Labor Party’s election strategy,” remarked Reniers. The Labor Party struggled with an ageing electorate. To turn the trend, the party rejuvenated the ballot and began addressing topics relevant to youth more fervently. But to ensure party leadership’s open attitude towards change, Reniers argued that parties should be decentralized. “The party’s structure enabled this change in strategy,” continued Reniers, “Labor’s scientific bureau and a party work group were tasked to research why the party failed with young voters, completely independent from the party secretariat or political leadership. Allying with GreenLeft, a party popular with youth, was also a move in the right direction. And Habtamu de Hoop plays a leading role in shaping the future of this alliance.”

Youth parties also provide an important medium for political representation of youth. Through membership fees and governmental subsidies, youth wings are important sources of revenue for their connected mother parties. Also, a youth wing is a pool of recruitment for new staff and future politicians. Like the mother party, the Young Socialists constitute a decentralized membership democracy, totalling 2000 members across 10 regional departments. Its regional and national boards are elected through a general assembly. “This way the party connects young people from all regions to the Labor’s political views,” said Reniers. But, to maintain a viable youth wing, Reniers emphasized that mother parties should not interfere with a youth wing’s political stances, while simultaneously providing financial assistance when needed. “The Young Socialists have this degree of independence. For example, about the Gaza War, the Young Socialists condemn Israel’s actions as a genocide, while the Labor party refrains from using such terms but encourages active discussion and does not implore its youth members to think differently,” said Reniers.

Activism is another popular means for young people to advocate for their political demnds. Since 2015, protests have been increasing in the Netherlands. Most are organised by people from the left wing and address issues related to climate change, discrimination and policies right-wing government. Since the start of the Gaza War, the pro-Palestine movement has also gained traction. Reniers argued that activists should use universities as a place to build their movement. “Universities teach on these issues. While students come and go, universities last,” said Reniers. A similar effect is seen in the recent protests regarding budget cuts for higher education budget. The GreenLeft-Labor coalition aids organizing these protests with students and universities. “Part of the budget cuts have already been abolished,” concluded Reniers. Political parties should therefore take a leading role in addressing salient social issues and work together with protest movements for a common cause.

After the presentation, the moderator Abdullah Abdoh opened the discussion with some questions about Reniers’ talk. Abdoh and Reniers discussed how transgenerational issues drive young people to actively participate in politics. Young people realize that conflicts, climate change and global inequality will affect the coming generations as well. Reniers also pointed out that in the Dutch case expansive civil society is fundamental, encouraging youth to be active democratic citizens. Still, in the Netherlands, highly educated youth are overrepresented in these organization and there is a long way to go to include youth from all backgrounds. Reniers argued that in Jordan, political participation of youth would increase the political system would allow for more agency of parliament.

Many of the attendants were active youth members of political parties in Jordan. Other attendants worked in government and research. They told of their experiences in the political field. One participant addressed that in Jordan the overall socio-economic situation is marked by a high unemployment rate combined with increasing costs of living. This inhibits young people from partaking in a political movement. Another attendee said that people active in political movements are at risk of interrogations or other measures that can be perceived as an infringement on their safety. To minimize all obstacles to becoming politically active, Reniers recommended that youth wings should keep a low profile and make clear that events can be joined freely without expectations from their participants. This way participants will feel that they can come and go as they please.

Another topic that was frequently raised during the discussion were the pathways for youth to get elected in parliament. In the Netherlands, the parliament does not implement a quota, nor does the Labor party. Including youth on the party’s list therefore needs to be initiated by party leadership itself. Reniers explained that Dutch elections use open lists. Parties base their election lists on what election polls suggest will become their total number of seats. By putting younger candidates higher on the ballot, they can bring more youth into parliament. In Jordan, a closed list system is used. One attendee brought up that in Jordan, there are multiple quotas to ensure the representation of minorities, because parties do not initiate this change by themselves. She therefore found this form of positive discrimination commendable but also acknowledged that a change in the mindset of political leadership was necessary to make politics more inclusive. So, to achieve real representation and move beyond tokenism, party leadership should encourage young members to run for election.

Another participant regretted the lack of concretely defined ideologies amongst many parties. This way, youth interested in politics have a hard time discovering which party fits them best. On a similar train of thought, one participant reflected on the lack of right-wing parties in Jordanian politics. Both were interested to hear about Dutch politics, which is marked by clearly defined political visions. After the workshop, The Al Quds Center provided drinks and snacks. The participants were welcomed to discuss their thoughts further in an informal setting and exchanged contact details.