Youth Participation in Lusatia: Good Processes, Limited Impact

The German government has decided to phase out coal by 2038 at the latest, ceasing coal mining and closing coal-fired power plants. Substantial public funding has been allocated to facilitate a comprehensive regional transformation in the former coal district of Lusatia in eastern Germany. "There are fears that this process of transformation will cause more young people to turn their backs on the region," says RIFS scientist David Löw-Beer on the situation in Lusatia, which is also facing a shortage of skilled labour. Under these circumstances, youth participation is more than just a way of addressing their interests – opportunities for participation empower youth, making it more likely that they will remain or return to the region after completing their education. “There is a legal obligation to involve young people in matters that affect them. All of the democratic parties in Brandenburg and Saxony have agreed to this," says Löw-Beer, lead author of the study.

The restoration of landscapes affected by coal-mining, the development of new infrastructures, and shifts in regional identities are negotiated on the ground in communities and towns. The authors of the study “We are ignored rather than attacked politically” analysed four processes for youth participation in Lusatia in order to gain a better understanding of the agency and involvement of young people in these negotiations. Interviews were conducted with youth workers, young participants, and politicians, among others.

The study combines two approaches: Massey's concept of space and place, which can be applied to understand young people's ideas about the organisation of places and spaces within economic, political, and intergenerational power relations. And the P7 model for youth participation by Cahill and Dadvand, which is used to analyse dynamics in participation processes for children and young people.

A framework for successful youth participation has been established in Brandenburg. In 2022, the state parliament passed a resolution calling for young people to be fully involved in the state’s structural transformation. This degree of participation at the regional level is without precedent in Germany and funding has been made available to support this. It is now the responsibility of politicians and bureaucrats to develop procedures that appeal to young people.

The team of RIFS researchers examined the four largest and most well-known youth participation initiatives in Lusatia: #MISSION2038, Planathon, RUP and JuFoNa. 
1.    #MISSION2038 is a lifeworld-oriented model project in which young people develop their own project ideas and are supported in implementing them – including limited funding. Successful projects realised to date include youth clubs and youth councils.
2.    JuFoNa: Youth Forum for Sustainability is an advocacy group for young people that lobbies for youth participation in sustainability in Brandenburg. 
3.    Planathon: this is a process of independent participation. Over three days, 40 young people develop proposals for projects suitable for funding through structural transformation programmes.
4.    RUP:  RevierUpGrade focuses on civic education and empowering young people in general as well as local participants and activists.

“These participation processes demonstrate the capacity of youth to make competent and serious proposals for the future development of their region. In terms of their design, the processes were very well thought out and implemented,” comments researcher David Löw-Beer. Politicians and other decision-makers involved in these processes frequently praise the quality of the proposals put forward by youth, while ultimately excluding their proposals from political decision-making. “It’s not that young people expect their proposals to be adopted in every respect. But the limited impact and lack of feedback on why their proposals are not taken up is immensely frustrating,” says Löw-Beer. The young people involved in the participation processes studied displayed remarkable perseverance, in some cases successfully lobbying political decision-makers to forward their proposals to relevant agencies. 

Löw-Beer recommends that processes be preceded by an intensive preparation phase in order to clarify and manage the expectations and responsibilities of young participants and policymakers. Effective youth participation, he suggests, requires adults to not only provide space but to also commit to change.

Publication:
Löw Beer, D., & Luh, V. (2024). ‘We are ignored rather than attacked politically’. Youth participation in regional sustainability transformation in eastern Germany. Children's geographies. doi:10.1080/14733285.2024.2400164.