Goals of the youth session
The Federal Youth Session is a project by young people for young people and is organized as much as possible by the volunteer members of the Organizing Committee (OC) and the Forum with the support of the SAJV project management team. The Youth Session serves to promote the "citoyenneté" - participation, to help shape, to have a say - of young people in Switzerland and is open to everyone aged between 14 and 21, regardless of their origin, residence status, financial situation, educational background, gender or handicap.
The Youth Session as the political megaphone of youth
The Youth Session is committed to give young people the opportunity to actively participate in political life and to be taken seriously as a political voice. This is achieved through free participation, the pursuit of demands by the Forum and their processing by the Parliament. The Youth Session is developing up-to-date and offers participants more digital methods of participation. Youth participation would not be guaranteed without the commitment of voluntarily engaged young people, who are significantly involved in the organization and lobbying processes. The Youth Session is a project by and for young people. It offers young people a platform for participation and co-determination and enables them to take responsibility.
The Youth Session as an inclusive project
As an inclusive project, the Youth Session should be open to all young people. In addition to raising awareness of inclusion and discrimination, the inclusive values of the Youth Session are defined together with the volunteers. However, the Youth Session is not limited to a discursive approach, but also makes active efforts to reach out to groups that have been under-represented so far and develops needs-oriented offers that enable real participation.
The Youth Session as an educational platform
The Youth Session offers young people the opportunity to get to know the functioning of national politics and to experience the formation of political opinion in a real but informal setting. Through the Youth Session itself, as well as by participating in other events, young people and political actors can make contact with each other and become more aware of the opportunities for political and civic involvement. In addition, the Youth Session offers volunteers a unique opportunity to attend attractive further training courses and to obtain appropriate certificates that serve as proof of qualification for private and professional activities.
