Falun and Mogale for Increased Youth Influence

Falun Municipality, together with Mogale City in South Africa, has been working since 2021 within the framework of a municipal partnership focusing on youth influence. The aim is to develop and enhance young people’s opportunities to participate in and influence what happens in their respective municipalities.

– Our goal is to create sustainable structures for youth influence that persist even after the project’s completion, says Karin Perers, international coordinator at Falun Municipality.

And it seems that the parties have already succeeded in achieving their goals, even though the project has not yet concluded.

The collaboration between Falun and Mogale began in 2021 and will conclude in 2024. Falun Municipality had a desire to work on issues related to youth influence in a different way and saw an opportunity, through an international partnership, to learn from others’ vastly different experiences in order to reflect on its own situation and work. Moreover, in line with its international strategy, Falun aims to “promote democratic development (… and) open perspectives towards a broader world.”

The concrete goal of the partnership project is to develop new ways to include and involve children and young people in the municipality’s activities. And so far, it has been successful!

Youth Panel and Councils Making Young Voices Heard

Thanks to this partnership project, Falun Municipality has established a youth panel at Hälsinggården’s secondary school, which has strong support from the school’s management. It consists of about 40 students in a physical panel and 135 students in a digital panel. The panel is currently linked to the Culture and Recreation Committee and the Recreation Department and will now, during the project’s final year, be expanded to more schools and committees. The panel is based on a research-affiliated method called UNIK. The method emphasizes the importance of representativeness among the participating youth. It’s about achieving a mix of young people from different residential areas but also of engagement types developed by the method, ranging from those interested in society to young people who experience distrust towards adults and politicians.

– The youth panel has strengthened the young people’s sense of influence – they see that their ideas yield tangible results, which is a trust-building outcome, says Emilia Otterstam, social sustainabilty coordinator in Falun Municipality and also project manager in the partnership project.

For officials and politicians, it has become clear that they need young people’s input on issues, as they receive answers that would not have otherwise emerged. It has also resulted in better decision-making bases at both the administrative and political levels when the youth panel’s responses are considered.

In Mogale City, a similar youth council has been established – a “student council” with two representatives from each municipal school, about 30 in total, in the municipality. For Mogale as well, representativeness among the participants is important. Therefore, efforts have been made to include schools from all parts of the municipality, both from socioeconomically affluent areas to socioeconomically disadvantaged ones. In August, the first meeting was held, which opened with great solemnity. Now, there is an ongoing formalization of all documents concerning the youth council.

The hope is that the youth council will develop projects together with non-governmental organizations to drive local change. Strong collaboration has been established with Johannesburg’s Student Council. For Mogale, it is now about stabilizing the structure of its youth council and developing its activities.

Increased trust and participation

The results of these youth councils have been significant. Young people’s sense of influence has increased significantly, which not only strengthens trust in local authorities but also improves decision-making for officials and politicians. The increased youth participation underscores the importance of including young people’s perspectives in municipal planning and development.

Now, in the project’s final year, both parties are focusing on further strengthening and disseminating these initiatives to ensure that youth influence becomes a permanent part of the municipalities’ structure and culture. The partnership between Falun Municipality and Mogale City stands as a shining example of how international collaborations can promote local youth influence and contribute to sustainable community development.