As promised, here is the first post: the focus will be on the inclusion of young people in society, given the upcoming 2022 political elections in Italy.
2022 is a very special year for two reasons:
It marks the European Year of Youth
It is the 90th anniversary of the Venice Film Festival
The two events might appear unrelated but, for someone like me who is originally from Venice and relocated to Brussels, they are both crucial.
The Film Festival for the city of Venice is the major event around which the city rotates: for a place that thrives on its well-known beauty and touristic industry, it is central to the economy of the city. However, the festival is important also for other Italian locations, such as Lake Como, which has recently also become set for Hollywood productions, and for the whole country itself.
The European Year of Youth, instead of beauty, celebrates energy. The energy of young people who are the lifeblood of society and that are our future. Brussels thrives on young people, such as trainees, that everyday work hard (paid or even unpaid) to peruse their career goals and to build the Europe of tomorrow.
What I think is interesting is that often youth is related to enthusiasm and energy, while age is linked to respect and dignity. This can be seen in the celebration for the. 90th anniversary of the Venice Film Festival: by reaching such a birthday, the festival has established itself as one of the most reputable ones worldwide. On the contrary, youth is often associated with naivete and joyfulness. However, it is safe to say that the events that generations Y and Z have gone through are nothing but joyful: the financial crisis, the migration crisis, the pandemic, and now the war.
These generations have been deeply shaped by difficult political events, yet they are often perceived as powerless. What is even more worrying is that young people as well often perceive themselves as powerless: as the job market becomes more and more competitive, they have come to accept poorly or non-paid jobs and as politics become more and more polarized, they have become almost apathetic to it.
For how understandable and natural these reactions are, they are not effective when it comes to changing the distorted perception of youth that society has. Moreover, these reactions only foster the prolongation of a spooky political scenario since, if the youth is excluded from politics, the policies introduced become biased. Indeed, what young people bring to politics is a long-term vision, as they are the only ones who are truly future-oriented.
Historical events such as the financial crisis or the recent pandemic could have been avoided or at least smoothed if a long-term vision was put in place in due time. For this reason, young people should and must be seen as worthy of respect, which shouldn’t come with time or age. Similarly, young people should and must educate themselves on the impact that the current political decisions will have on their future.
In light of the upcoming political elections in Italy, I suggest young Italians check the link of the Ministry of the Interior attached to this post: there you can access (both in English and in Italian) the names of the candidates.
I would then suggest checking the CVs of the candidates that interest you, the same way employers check your CV when you apply for a job and, finally, to make sure that their programs align with your morals as well as with your economic values. In particular, I would encourage you to see if there is a clear reference to where the financing for proposed policies will be taken, since it will be up to us to pay for the debts that our leaders are making today.
Lastly, I am also attaching the link to the voices of young Europeans that have been recorded for the European Year of Youth. These are testimonies on how to shape our future and include a small speech of mine on inclusion, which I think is one of the biggest challenges we will face in the upcoming years.
Love,
Elena
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