In the USA they take a more direct approach to their politics. This report, from Hollie Russon Gilman describes a recent initiative in Boston that has re-energised youth participation and changed the way the budget is decided. This extract shows that Boston remains at the forefront of democratic innovation, hunderds of years after that memorable Tea party.
"Many young people in Boston just voted for their first time, and the results are in. The city’s “Youth Lead the Change” project, with help from the Participatory Budgeting Project, was the first youth-led participatory budgeting process in a U.S. city. The project empowered young people, ages 12 to 25, to decide where $1 million of public capital should go to best improve their communities. This is real money and real decision-making power."
- Read more about Boston’s Youth Lead the Change project