Up to parties to attract youth participation

12.01.00pm GMT Fri 20th Jan 2006

Young Alliance Chair has said that it is for political parties to take the lead in bringing young people into the democratic process in Northern Ireland. He added that apparent lack of interest at the ballot box should not be seen to reflect a lack of interest in politics generally.

Speaking at the launch of the findings of a PricewaterhouseCoopers/Institute of Conflict Research paper on youth participation in politics, Cllr Parsley stated: "The evidence shows clearly that fewer young people than ever are voting, but in fact young people today are the most politically motivated generation ever.

"The fact that, in Northern Ireland, they choose not to pursue their political goals through political parties is a sign of the failure of local parties here, one we are doing our best to redress.

"Young people do not want to be patronised with talk about how important they are, nor do they want to be told what 'issues' they should be interested in. Instead it is up to political parties to go to youth political campaigns and engage that way. That is a process my party started last year -- through the Anti-Racism Network, Make Poverty History and suicide prevention campaigns.

"This whole issue is much like overcoming sectarianism -- it is easy to talk grandly about, but much harder to find the answers. Furthermore, politicians should not pretend they have all the answers -- we need to be prepared to engage with people to find the right solutions, rather than merely speaking at them.

"I welcome the Electoral Commission's decision to focus on youth participation, but I am sure it would agree with me that this is an issue that the parties above all have to get right."

ENDS