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BE SEEN. BE HEARD

ALL THE POTENTIAL BUT NO POWER. READ ON TO DISCOVER WHY WE ARE BACKING YOUNG PEOPLE GLOBALLY AND CAMPAIGNING WITH PILDAT TO INCREASE YOUTH REPRESENTATION IN NATIONAL POLICY MAKING IN PAKISTAN.

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?

Even though 64% of Pakistan’s population is below the age of 30, and registered voters aged 18 to 29 form the largest of all age groups (29.4% of total registered voters), youth voter turnout remains abysmally low in Pakistan.

PILDAT research* shows that average youth voter turnout in the past eight (8) elections is just 31%, which is 13 percentage points lower than the average overall voter turnout (44%).

The issue of low youth voter turnout in Pakistan is compounded by scant youth participation as candidates in local, provincial and national elections. To be motivated to cast votes and participate in democratic practices, young people need to be able to see themselves in the pool of candidates.

WHY PILDAT?

PILDAT has consistently invested in building young people’s leadership potential and their understanding of the democratic process through 16 Youth Parliaments in the past 17 years. PILDAT’s expert opinion is that in order to strengthen Pakistan’s electoral process and to make it more inclusive, it is imperative that serious and urgent efforts be made to increase youth representation in the National Assembly.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Young people deserve to be involved in conversations about their future. Our Twitter channel @thebodyshoppk will be the space for real-time opinions, thoughts, and updates on the campaign.

Tell us what you think @thebodyshoppk

Using hashtags: #YouthinParliament and #BeSeenBeHeard

WHAT ARE WE DOING?

We’ve always operated outside of the beauty industry, seeking change where other brands saw risks. We are not afraid to challenge the status quo and to find the right solutions. This is not our first rodeo.

We’ve launched a global campaign to amplify youth voices in public life and a national campaign to help increase youth participation by improving electoral processes in Pakistan.

YOUNG PEOPLE ARE PART OF THE SOLUTION

We’ve never been cynical about the potential of the human spirit. As our founder Dame Anita Roddick once said, ‘cynicism is what passes for insight when courage is lacking.’ We believe young people have all the potential, but right now, they have none of the power.

The future of the world cannot be left to a bunch of bureaucrats in sharp suits. Young people are creative, open-minded and full of the right questions. We know they’ve got the imagination, energy and grit to stick up for what’s right. They are politically active, demonstrating time and time again that they are prepared to show up for our community, our planet and our future.

So why do we keep underestimating them? There has never been a more critical time for them to have a voice. We’re going to campaign hard to make sure they do

GET INFORMED.GET OUTRAGED.GET INSPIRED

We work closely with experts to plan all of our campaigns. We’d love for you to keep reading about these issues so here’s a list of resources.

To learn more about the facts and figures of youth participation in national parliaments globally, read this report from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). Not into report reading? Check out this infographic of the same info condensed.

Explore the UN’s Youth 2030 Strategy through visiting this one-stop-shop knowledge portal. Here you can pick up valuable tools and resources for supporting Youth 2030 implementation as well as track global progress year-by-year.

Want to know more about youth policy in your country? These handy factsheets from YouthPolicy.org will help.

Read this literature review from the EU Commission and Council of Europe for an overview of youth political participation in Europe.

This paper provides a breakdown of the different jargon and info used to discuss youth political participation.

This policy paper on Quality Youth Participation and Inclusion in Institutions from the European Youth Forum (EYF) could help you lobby your local institution on youth inclusion.

This from the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth (OSGEY) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) will give you loads of info on how gender and representation intersect.

You could read this from First ASEAN Youth Development Index detailing youth development across the region (see Domain 4: Participation and Engagement).

Or why not check out The ASEAN Youth Advocates Network here?

The African Youth Leaders study is an international research project looking to develop a youth leadership movement and they’re always looking for people to get involved

Want to stay across global efforts to allow young people to run for political office? Check out the Not Too Young To Run campaign. 

* Citing estimated data on youth voter turnout collected by Gallup Pakistan over the past 8 general elections since 1988.