KJP requests the right to be heard, make proposals and speak

The Children's and Youth Parliament (KJP) has been giving a voice to the interests and concerns of children and young people in Offenbach since 1998. The two factions of the KJP, the children's faction for children up to the 6th grade and the youth faction, are concerned with animal and nature conservation, are committed to Ukraine and other issues they consider important, take a stand and want to be heard better. "We are the experts for the concerns of children and young people in our city and it is very important that we have the opportunity to make our voices heard in decision-making processes. I hope for broad approval in the city council to strengthen the involvement and participation of young people in Offenbach," says Abeh Bhasin, member of the Youth Welfare Committee and Chairman of the 12th Children's and Youth Parliament in Offenbach, explaining the recent application submitted via the Youth Welfare Committee for the Children's and Youth Parliament to have the right to be heard, make proposals and speak in the city council.

If this is approved, the members of the children's and youth parliament will have the right to speak in the city council on matters that are of particular relevance to children and young people. "Because," explains Bhasin, "unlike the senior citizens' and foreigners' councils, children and young people are excluded from the right to vote in local elections. This makes it all the more important that ours is heard in the discussions of the city council." With this step, the city of Offenbach is underlining that it is serious about involving young people in political decision-making processes," adds Gianpiero Feller, member of the Youth Welfare Committee and the Offenbach Children's and Youth Parliament: "It is high time that our application for the right to be heard, to make proposals and to speak is submitted to the city council and that we can play an active role in shaping our city. We look forward to presenting our concerns and ideas to the city councillors and discussing them with them."