Good morning, young people!
Today, I have a task of answering the question - is there a place for youth in Latvian politics? In short, yes, there is! Thank you for your attention!
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But on a serious note, we all live in politics. Having a life plan is politics. Both at the local, national and at international levels. After all, the choice of whether or not to have breakfast in the morning is our personal nutrition policy. Politics is a place for everyone who wants to take responsibility for their own life. And for your Latvia.
The most effective way to participate in the political processes is to join political parties and other non-governmental organisations. Young people also have the opportunity to join political youth organisations. If only to learn and understand what is what in Latvian politics. If only to avoid shouting "Dissolve the Saeima!" in front of the Cabinet of Ministers. And you, young people, have one particularly admirable quality that is well-suited for a career in politics – your thick skin and your stubbornness. If you don't care what others think of your taste in music or hairstyle, you will surely handle criticism of your choice of hoodie or your body language.
At the same time, while your involvement in politics would clearly be highly desirable, we see that youth representation remains limited.
Shortly before the elections, political parties suddenly remember about their youth members and use them mainly for decorative purposes. After all, someone has to stand in the campaign tents and hand out leaflets. However, when it comes to electing the party board, young people are often forgotten or given merely one token place. When it comes to composing lists of candidates for Saeima, local or European Parliament elections, young people are often relegated to the middle, or the end of the list. Young people are not headlined. When deciding who will defend the party's position in a public debate, it is always the experienced politicians rather than the young people who are given the platform.
What can be done to change this? How can you become more than a leaflet distributor for your party? By fighting for your place. You will be taken as seriously as you set the bar for yourself. This is not about wearing a suit or having an access pass to the Saeima. Speak your mind. Tell us what you expect from active politicians. Tell us what kind of future you desire. Remember that you have another skill that old-school politicians often do not. The ability to use social networks. Use it.
The State Defence Service – applies to you most. Unfortunately, both the younger members of Parliament aa well as young people in general have been rather quiet in the run-up to the passing of the State Defence Service Law. However, your participation, your opinions, your concerns, and your ideas could help to make this service more valuable, both for national defence and for yourselves as individuals. The same holds true for all of the ongoing debates regarding educational content, school safety, and the regional school network in Latvia. I do not want these decisions, which affect your daily lives and your future, to be taken exclusively by politicians, or at best, by merely involving a few headmasters or teachers. I am confident that you will be taken seriously if you take yourselves seriously and talk about topics that are not linked to hopes of achieving Tik Tok fame.
Some might say, "Yes, but my understanding is not yet at the level for me to speak in public!" First of all, this is not always a problem in politics. Neither in Latvia, nor elsewhere in the world. Second, it is a matter of learning by doing – in this case, by actively participating in such discussions. You cannot grow as a politician without taking the first steps that require courage and overcoming insecurity.
In politics, there are no issues that are specifically confined to youth. Everything in politics concerns you. Does healthcare policy affect you? If you have been to see the doctor in the last year, then yes. If you wanted to, but never got your turn, then even more so. Are you affected by the changes in employment taxes? Yes, as many of you already work somewhere. Are you affected by demographic policies? Perhaps if we met here in ten years' time, some of you would already bring the younger generation with you and there would be a mini playground in front of the hall. And I hope that this will be a wonderful period in your lives. Remember political decisions taken today will shape how easy it will be for you to raise your children in ten years' time. Therefore, you must take part and take decisions that will affect your life.
Dear young people!
When you turn 18, you receive a wonderful gift – the right to vote. Unfortunately, most young people, not only in Latvia but all over Europe, do not even unwrap this gift. Therefore, they miss out on participating in the democratic process and let others decide their lives for them.
This summer we will have the European Parliament elections. I understand that today we have gathered here some of the most politically active young people from all over Latvia. So, I don't need to persuade you to vote. But please, do yourself and democracy a favour – have a chat about politics with at least one schoolmate or colleague who has no interest in politics at all. Tell them how politics affects their daily shopping, or their educational opportunities, or their lunch at the Song and Dance Festival, or even the odds of someone helping them in an emergency. Maybe then they will begin to care about politics.
Today you will participate in numerous discussions about youth involvement in politics – what to do and what not to do. Both in the formal discussions here on stage and in the informal discussions during the breaks and even more so in the evening after the conference.
You represent different points of view and different political parties. I hope that today and, in the future, you will be able to talk not at each other, but with each other. Because in politics, goals or party manifestos are worth nothing if a politician is unable to listen to the concerns of others and work toward a compromise.
I hope that your aim in today's debates will be not to convince people that you are right, but to understand and learn from your opponent. And that you will stick to these principles in ten years' time, when there will be a children's playground here and several of you will have become ministers.
I wish you a wonderful day!
