The Hidden Value of Youth’s Voice All young people under the age of 16 and most young people under the age of 18 do not have the right to vote. This article will show the importance of allowing young people a voice and why most people in the world are wrong to disallow what should be a political right. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights proclaimed “the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights.... without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status”1. In other words, all people should have a say in their future – a voice. Young people, however, are not mentioned. This is a huge, glaring omission. Out of 195 countries today, only 12 countries or territories have allowed a minimum voting age of less than 18, and nowhere can young people under the age of 16 vote2. Yet about 2.6 billion of the world’s 8 billion population are under 18 years of age3. Perhaps there is a widespread reluctance to change the way things have always been. Perhaps there is a fear of the unknown – about the political consequences of extending the franchise. Cultural attitudes also play their part – the young are often seen as immature; as incapable of making informed, rational choices; as potentially revolutionary because they don’t have enough experience of the world. In short, nearly one-third of the world’s population apparently can’t be trusted with a say in their own future. But perhaps now is the moment to change all this. Climate change, the importance of youth to the 21st century economy, and the dramatic effects of Covid on the world are just three factors that clearly show the importance of dropping this prejudice and allowing the young a voice. Anyone who has doubts about this should consider Greta Thunberg. On 4 December 2018, this Swedish girl told a UN summit on climate change that “since our leaders are behaving like children, we will have to take the responsibility they should have taken long ago”4. Her blunt presentation of the facts, passion and courage caused a media frenzy and raised the profile of the summit around the world. She was only fifteen years old. On 19 September 2019, she accused world leaders at another UN summit of having “stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words”5. Over a million young people like her around the world skipped school to take part in Friday protests to demand action from political leaders6. In this way, Greta has had a huge, positive impact on one of the most important issues facing our planet, and one which will affect her generation and her children’s more than the current adult population. 1 ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant- civil-and-political-rights 2 aceproject.org/ace-en/topics/yt/yt20/lowering-the-voting-age 3 data.unicef.org/how-many/how-many-children-are-in-the- world/ data.unicef.org/how-many/how-many-children-are-in-the-world/ 4 medium.com/wedonthavetime/greta-thunberg-speech-to-un-secretary-general- ant%C3%B3nio-guterres-362175826548 5 un.org/development/desa/youth/news/2019/09/greta-thunberg/ 6 School climate strikes: 1.4 million people took part, say campaigners | Environmental activism | The Guardian Young people are also having a huge impact on the business world, whether as consumers or by using their creative talents to produce new products. As sustainability adviser Matthew Sexton has said, “Young people have so much to offer in terms of a current viewpoint and creative ideas”7. The young are significant consumers of cell phones and other forms of modern technology8. They also account for a significant portion of the fashion market. Their vision has led to exciting new companies being formed. In the ninth grade at school, Benjamin Stern developed an innovative new packaging solution which generated no plastic waste. The company he formed, ‘Nohbo’, is now a major, award-winning start-up. Similarly, Maya Penn founded ‘Maya’s Ideas’ (sustainably-produced fashion accessories) in 2008 when she was just eight years old9. These examples of the energy and vision of school- age children today show the positive role young people can play in society and the need to give them a voice. Their thoughts and ideas are important not only in business, but across society. The shadow of Covid hangs over all of us. The statistics do not need reviewing here but this deadly virus brought the world to a stop. The young were severely affected. The importance of social interaction among the young is well documented10 and the interruption to young people’s education has been hugely negative11. Governments debate the best ways to remedy the situation, which may take many years, and yet young people have no say in the policies. Nor, until they are 18 (21 in some countries), will they have any say in how future pandemics are managed. During lockdowns we all recognized our common humanity against a common threat. Surely that unity should drive us all to recognize the need for universal suffrage? So, why the resistance? There is a saying that passed down in history that “Children should be seen but not heard.” It originated in 15th century England and is attributed to a clergyman, John Mirk12. The meaning is that children should remain silent during adult conversation, without the right to speak or to interrupt. This disregard for the voice of the young continues to this day. A clear example of this bias came when Michael Knowles, an American conservative political commentator described Greta Thunberg as “mentally ill” on Fox News13. She defied the centuries-old mantra and so certain adults tried to dismiss her views. It was too challenging, too dangerous to have international political decisions influenced by the young. Yet it is the young whose lives will be most affected by these same decisions. Another reason for the resistance, is that of competence14. It is generally assumed that young people do not have much knowledge of the political system and are not mature enough to make political decisions. However, we do not test the competence of adults who vote. Society is happy to allow elderly residents, many in care homes, 7 theguardian.com/sustainable-business/children-young-people-voice-business 8 Smartphone Ownership Is Growing Rapidly Around the World, but Not Always Equally | Pew Research Center 9 15 Companies Founded by Amazing Young Entrepreneurs - businessnewsdaily.com 10 thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(20)30186-3/fulltext 11 Covid-19: impact on child poverty and on young people’s education, health and wellbeing - House of Lords Library (parliament.uk) 12 Should children be seen but not heard in today's society? - Statesboro Herald 13 washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/09/24/fox-news-greta-thunberg- mentally-ill-michael-knowles/ 14 Votes for children! Why we should lower the voting age to six | Politics | The Guardian who have little contact with the outside world and whose minds may be failing, the right to vote, but not school-age children. A study comparing the qualities associated with voting, such as civic knowledge, political skills, and political interest found no significant differences between 16-year-olds and adults15. Furthermore, deciding how to vote relies on ‘cold cognition’, the decision-making process in which a person considers an issue in a calm and unemotional way. Research shows that cold cognition fully matures by the age of 1616. In fact “abstract reasoning, memory, and the formal capacity for planning are fully developed by age 15 or 16”17. Some fear that young people would simply vote in the same way as their parents. This is surprising given the fact that young people do not always follow their parents’ views on other issues18. A similar argument – that wives would simply vote in the same way as their husbands – was used to argue against female suffrage. How wrong they were! Young people may well prove to be similarly independent. It is simply odd that in many US States young people can work, pay taxes, drive and even be tried in adult courts19 and yet they cannot vote. Another justification for not allowing the youth a voice is the argument that they are not interested in politics and should even be protected from the topics involved. Once again, this was an argument used against women’s suffrage20 and is simply wrong: youth are affected by political issues as much as anyone and the recent EU- funded MYPLACE study showed that many young people are indeed focussed on and engaged in politics21. Over the years, women have not only shown an interest in politics and an ability to understand the debate but have gone on to lead countries and international organizations such as Jacinda Ardern (New Zealand Prime Minister 2017-2023), Angela Merkel (German Prime Minister 2005–2021) and Ursula von der Leyen (current President of the European Commission). It is not expected that young people will assume such roles, but the example shows how easy it is to underestimate the capabilities of a significant section of society. The idea of democracy goes back to ancient Athens when a democratic constitution was first formulated by Cleisthenes in 508 BCE22. He realised that people power (demos = people, kratos = power) was preferable to tyranny, and it is now the most popular form of rule. Yet reasons have always been put forward why the franchise should be restricted. In Athens less than 40% of men had the vote (slaves and foreigners could not be citizens) and women and children were also excluded, so in 15 jstor.org/stable/27895968 16 Adolescents’ Cognitive Capacity Reaches Adult Levels Prior to Their Psychosocial Maturity: Evidence for a “Maturity Gap” in a Multinational, Cross-Sectional Sample - PMC (nih.gov) 17 health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/the-adolescent-brain-beyond-raging- hormones#:~:text=Most%20studies%20show%20that%20abstract,the%20same%20answers %20as%20adults. 18 Votes for children! Why we should lower the voting age to six | Politics | The Guardian 19 legalmatch.com/law-library/article/when-are-juveniles-tried-as-adults.html 20 suffrageandthemedia.org/source/pamphlet-distributed-national-association- opposed-woman-suffrage/ 21 Think young people aren’t interested in politics? You’ll be surprised | Research and Innovation (europa.eu) 22 The Origins of Democracy I Oxford Open Learning (ool.co.uk) fact only about 10% of the population could participate in politics23. In early 19th century England, the situation was even worse, with less than 3% of the population having the vote24. Only the rich were allowed to vote on the basis that only those with wealth and property should have a say in how the country was governed, while the common people were considered uneducated and unable to understand the issues. Urbanization and industrialization led to gradual extensions of the franchise, but universal male suffrage – for those over the age of 21 – was only introduced in the UK in 1918 after – and in response to – WW1. Even then, men (and some women) continued to argue that women lacked the knowledge and mental capacity to participate usefully in politics, and politics was simply not suited to ‘the weaker sex’ whose place was in the home. Female suffrage only came in 1928. But the biggest reluctance has been age – the UK was the first major democracy to reduce the voting age to 18 – and that was not until 1969! The US followed suit in 1971, largely driven by so many young Americans being drafted to fight in Vietnam which revived the Second World War slogan “Old enough to fight, old enough to vote!”25 Yet in England, as in most of the world, those under 18 remain excluded. Lowering the voting age would bring real benefits. For example, it could increase voter turnout, bringing more citizens in touch with politics and governmental events. Research shows that voting is a habit: a person who votes in the first election they are eligible for is likely to continue voting consistently. Data from places that have lowered the voting age shows that 16-year-olds vote at higher rates than older first- time voters26. Lowering the voting age would also force politicians to listen to the young and address their concerns, pushing governments to better serve more people. In addition, a lower voting age and civics education would reinforce each other to increase civic engagement: civics courses would immediately become both more relevant and effective as students would have the ability to apply their learning to the real world. Surely democracy is most effective when most inclusive as it then most accurately represents the society it governs? Only by including young people in the democratic process will it be proved that they are valuable and important members of society whose views should be represented. Only by giving young people the vote will their interests be properly considered by the political system27. Yes, this is an essay for a competition, but it is also a real call for change. The present system is old-fashioned, makes no logical sense, and is not producing results. Do we want to continue to live with frustrated, depressed, and powerless teenagers? Or would it be better to harness their gifts and learn from their approach? We no longer believe that the wealthy should be entrusted with the political responsibility to decide what is best for the majority, we no longer believe that men should decide what is best for women, so why do we think that adults should decide what is best for young people? Young people can and should be political actors. Think outside the box. Vote for change! 23 The Government of Ancient Athens (edtechbooks.org) 24 Chapter 12. Parliamentary Representation – Papcastle 25 nixonlibrary.gov/news/26th- amendment#:~:text=%E2%80%9COld%20enough%20to%20fight%2C%20old,failed%20to%2 0gain%20political%20traction 26 academic.oup.com/pa/article/74/3/507/6321304 27 Democracy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)