Increasing trust and youth engagement

In recent years, key inflexion points such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Freedom Convoy, and the January 6th United States Capitol attack have revealed an urgent need for governments to re-build trust with citizens. Public opinion surveys in Canada indicate that distrust of government is rising as citizens are losing faith that governments will serve their best interests.1 This declining trust harms the legitimacy, integrity, and continuity of our democracy. When citizens do not trust the government, they become more cynical about the value of democracy and are more willing to express support for authoritarian alternatives.2

Globally, youth distrust democracy more than any other age groups, a decline that has increased precipitously in recent years.3 In Canada, youth satisfaction with democracy is declining and is significantly lower than older generations.4 We are seeing a growing fissure between youth and government. This disconnect is cause for concern, as dissatisfaction with democracy is linked to democratic decline, and youth often signal the possible trajectory of a country's political system.5 Enhancing youth trust in government is therefore crucial to maintaining a stable democracy.

The challenge is that developing policy to directly target trust is impractical, as trust is an ambiguous concept based on personal, subjective feelings and beliefs.6 However, our research has found that trust and civic engagement are mutually reinforcing, meaning that policies aimed at improving youth civic engagement can, in turn, have a positive flow-on effect of strengthening youth trust in government.

While youth are often perceived as disengaged or apathetic, we found this to be false. It is actually governmental, structural, and sociocultural barriers that prevent them from engaging. Youth are also more likely to engage using informal methods such as petitions and protests rather than formal political participation.7 To improve youth civic engagement, governments need to address existing barriers and incorporate current informal engagement its of youth into policy decisions.

The province of British Columbia was selected as a case study to examine youth civic engagement and identify areas for improvement. The policy recommendations outlined in this brief are based on findings gathered from academic literature and consultations with civil servants, civil society, and academics.

KEY INSIGHTS

Insight 1: Trust and civic engagement are essential for a well-functioning democracy.

Insight 2: Trust and civic engagement are mutually reinforcing.

Insight 3: Civic engagement is habitual.

Insight 4: Youth engagement has not decreased but has shifted to informal engagement activities.

Insight 5: Youth civic engagement is issue-focused and outcome-driven.

Insight 6: The ability of youth to civically engage is linked to the availability of time, resources, social networks, and other socioeconomic factors.

Insight 7: Civic education alone cannot guarantee sustained youth civic engagement.

Insight 8: Civil society organizations serve as vital intermediaries between youth and government.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS: Y-ENGAGE

This brief recommends a four-year pilot program with a comprehensive set of initiatives aimed at improving youth civic engagement. The pilot, Y-ENGAGE, is divided into three focus areas: Governance, Civic Education, and Youth Empowerment. Y-ENGAGE has three program components targeted at each focus area:

Y-FOCUS: Prioritizing & Promoting Youth Participation in Governance

Y-FOCUS addresses governance challenges by recommending capacity-building programs to help bridge the gap between youth and government.

• Initiative 1: Youth-Centered Design Grants to support municipal governments in developing strategies and processes for the inclusion of youth in local governance.
• Initiative 2: Youth Citizen Assemblies for youth 18-30 to design recommendations for the provincial government around substantive policy issues.
• Initiative 3: Provincial Youth Web Portal is a one-stop shop for all youth- focused services, engagement opportunities and funding programs.

Y-LEARN: Reimagining Civic Education by Progressing from Knowledge to Action

Y-LEARN reimagines civic education through experiential, action-oriented programing.

• Initiative 4: Student-Led Initiatives to implement civic engagement projects.
• Initiative 5: Education Civics Course is an extra-curricular civic education course that will provide them with foundational knowledge about local governments and opportunities for civic engagement.
• Initiative 6: Teacher Training & Resources to support professional development to implement civic education curriculum.
• Initiative 7: Teachers' Network is a virtual network of participating teachers that will be established to facilitate horizontal learning and the sharing of best practices.

Y-LEAD: Youth Empowerment Through Community Involvement

Y-LEAD supports youth empowerment by developing infrastructure for youth to action civic projects in their community.

• Initiative 8: Youth Hubs are accessible community spaces for youth to connect and engage.
• Initiative 9: Participatory Budgeting is a transformative tool for inclusive engagement and will enable young people to directly shape Hub programming
• Initiative 10: Microgrants for Youth Civic Innovation that empower youth to design and implement projects that support engagement in their community.

PROJECTED IMPACT & SCALABILITY

Impact

Over its four-year pilot, Y-ENGAGE will open multiple, sustained on-ramps into civic life, providing young people with the knowledge and skills to engage as well as opportunities to lead and make decisions on matters that affect them. This contributes to building individual civic habits and a broader civic culture that sustains a healthy and stable democracy. Y-ENGAGE is expected to increase youth civic engagement rates with measurable gains in democratic literacy and visible integration of youth-authored ideas into municipal and provincial policies.