Youth policy

Objectives

1. 01

   Involving young people in decision-making.

2. 02

   Raising political culture and creating conditions for young people to take part freely and voluntarily in public and political life.

3. 03

   A more diverse and resilient youth civil society sector in Belarus.

4. 04

   Youth policy priorities based on young people's needs.

5. 05

   Participatory budgeting for youth policy.

6. 06

   Equal access to participation for all groups of young people, especially those who are heard least: young people from small towns and villages, young people with disabilities, from national minorities, LGBTQ+ youth, young people not in education, employment or training, and young people abroad.

7. 07

   Guaranteed freedom of association and protection of young people from coercion and persecution for civic engagement.

8. 08

   Recognition and support of volunteering as a voluntary and socially valuable activity.

How we get there

1. 01

   Depoliticising the legal framework. Moving from "fostering loyalty" to "supporting agency".

2. 02

   Lowering the voting age to 16 in all elections and referendums, and the minimum age for standing for parliament from 21 to 18.

3. 03

   Introducing co-management: the priorities, programmes and budget of state youth policy are approved jointly, on an equal footing, by the authorised state body and the Youth Council at the parliament.

   • Giving the Youth Council at the parliament the right of legislative initiative and a veto on youth policy matters.
   • Reforming how the Council is formed: delegates are drawn proportionally from direct elections, nominations by NGOs and a social quota.
   • A suspensive veto: if the Youth Council issues a negative opinion, parliament must reconsider the bill and publicly justify its decision.
   • Nominating youth representatives through the Youth Council at the parliament to ensure young people take part in drafting and implementing decisions in commissions attached to state authorities.
   • Setting up youth councils in every city and district, formed through elections and entitled to take part in planning, preparing and monitoring decisions that affect young people.
   • A mandatory youth check for bills and state programmes: an independent assessment of their impact on young people, with consultations with young people and publication of the results.
   • An obligation for the authorities to give a public written response to youth councils' proposals within a set deadline: what was taken on board, what was not, and why.
4. 04

   Giving young people access to open data on political and economic decisions, so they can take an active part in decision-making and in assessing how effective those decisions are.

5. 05

   Creating a legal framework for volunteering that clearly sets out volunteers' rights and duties, their protection against accidents and other aspects of the work.

6. 06

   Ending the monopoly status of the BRSM (Belarusian Republican Youth Union). Abolishing its legal and financial privileges.

7. 07

   Transparent and open competitions for civic initiatives and projects, open to all youth civil society actors, where young people can propose ideas for solving social problems and receive funding for them.

8. 08

   Distributing state grants through a fund independent of the government, with representatives of youth organisations involved in decision-making and with uniform, ideologically neutral criteria for all applicants.

9. 09

   Turning youth centres into Open Spaces, whose director is chosen by the city youth council and whose premises are available to all youth groups free of charge or for a token fee covering utilities.

10. 10

    Amnesty for banned youth organisations and restoration of their status.

11. 11

    Abolishing liability for activity in unregistered organisations (Article 193-1 of the Criminal Code) and moving to notification-based registration of public associations.

12. 12

    Protecting the personal data of people taking part in participation mechanisms and prohibiting its transfer to law enforcement and security agencies without a court order.

13. 13

    Access to grants for informal youth groups without registering a legal entity.

14. 14

    Ensuring that international foundations and donors that fund youth NGOs and do not break the law of Belarus can operate without obstruction.

15. 15

    A regular independent study of the situation of young people every 4 years, on the basis of which the government updates its youth policy programme.

16. 16

    Official recognition of volunteering experience (a competence certificate, credit in university admissions and hiring), reimbursement of expenses and insurance for volunteers, and a ban on using volunteers in place of paid labour.