FORMS OF ATTRACTING GERMAN YOUTH IN THE POLITICAL LIFE OF THE COUNTRY

Abstract

The article deals with the features of political participation of German youth, in particular, information obtained from the results of studies of youth issues. Youth policy-making in Germany takes place at different levels. The cooperation between public and non-public institutions and organizations is determined by the principle of subsidiarity. The principle of subsidiarity is that a central authority performs only those tasks that cannot be executed by a person or organization at a local level. The guiding principle of this policy approach is the active participation of young people. The latest achievement in Germany as part of this strategy is the development of a so-called «youth check» (Jugendcheck), that serves to assess the impact of national legislation on the life of young people. «Youth check» also serves to examine if and how young people were involved in the democratic procedures and the development of public projects. Another issue in the Germany’s policies is the integration and support of young refugees. Young people lacking higher educational and professional qualifications run the danger of being isolated not only professionally and financially, but also politically, because they lack the political skills necessary to assert their political demands and because they use their political rights to a lesser extent. The Internet enables the acceleration and expansion of political activities of young people. The attraction of all media and forms of communication quickly and directly not only leads to a larger amount of information, communication and participation but also to a new level of quality in social interaction. The development of skills and certain personality characteristics also guarantees a positive social integration into the adult world under difficult and changed present social conditions. Young people with higher levels of education and political involvement tend to use opportunities for democratic political decision-making more frequently than others. It is safe to say that all forms of political participation, from the simple act of voting to time-consuming activities such as working for political parties, increase with the level of a person’s education. The study of the experience of policy participation of young people in other countries can be a good source for innovative ideas for educating civic identities in youth.