Blumenthal: Youth Forum set - what for the youngsters now?

Blumenthal: Youth Forum set - what for the youngsters now?

Blumenthal, Deutschland - In Blumenthal there are currently no more youth forums - a fact that is regrettable for young people in the district. The reason for this is personnel difficulties that the youth advisory boards in North Bremen plague. As the Weser-Kurier reports, the youth forum in Blumenthal was first dissolved, and that was not very clear: the decision came from the Senate Chancellery and not from the young people or the district policy itself.

Now Blumenthal is the only district without a corresponding body, which is a painful gap for youth participation. A status report by the Senate Chancellery has documented the critical situation, but there was no official message about the closure. In the last meeting of the district parliament in September, the remaining colleagues demanded more opportunities for participation for young people, but the committee was formally dissolved in the same session.

The situation in the district

The town hall had informed the local office that only three committed young people are not enough to continue the forum. Two of the last members study in other cities and one goes to school in a different district. Since the closure, the children and adolescents in Blumenthal have no longer counted on financial support from the Senate Chancellery. Despite the challenges, the online platform of the former youth forum and its Instagram account are still active, even if the last entry on the website two years ago and the last call on Instagram took place a year ago.

Oliver Fröhlich, local office manager, sees the web offers as an opportunity for young people to start their own projects. He plans workshops that are specially tailored to the needs of children and adolescents to create a new investment forum. The founders of the old forum have left the district and it remains to be seen how and whether successors can be found.

view outside the box

The national framework for youth participation offers an interesting context: The National Action Plan for Child and Youth participation (NAP) was launched by the Federal Ministry of Youth and runs until 2025. The aim of the NAP is to increase the visibility and effect of participating in young people in political processes. The exchange is promoted in various formats such as dialogue forums or youth audits, as the website bmfsfj.de explains.

For Blumenthal, there is now a new beginning in the room: a new youth participation day was requested in September, but it has not yet taken place. The district administration is already planning participation seminars for adults and workshops for young people who are expected to be offered in autumn. At least five young people are needed to found a new forum. It is to be hoped that the necessary interested parties will come together and Blumenthal can create a place for young people again.