Castiglione Youth Council Launches to Promote Democratic Engagement
The council chamber was crowded, with great participation in the inauguration session of the Youth Municipal Council. Students from compulsory education, elected to represent their classes, took their seats in the city council chambers and listened to members of the local government, who explained the duties of the various councils and committees.
Absent due to prior commitments were Mayor Sigurtà and Councillor Biaggi. The youth were invited to submit proposals by October to enable their potential inclusion in the municipal budget for 2002. Leila Moreschi, the teacher responsible for the initiative, emphasized the importance of the educational project underpinning the Youth Municipal Council: to provide a space for expression and action that promotes being over knowing, primarily fostering aware citizens of the importance of democratic institutions and their functions.
The Role of the Support Commission
Psychologist Antonella Ruggiu, a member of the adults’ commission comprising teachers and local figures involved with children and adolescents, clarified the function of this committee: “The Youth Municipal Council is a tool to voice their ideas and projects. They have already achieved much, questioning what it means to represent someone, what it means to prioritize things. We do not intend to dictate the ways and contents of their actions but to accompany them along this growth path.”
Subsequently, the youth took an oath, pledging to defend human rights and legality in our community and, if given the opportunity, at regional, national, and international levels.
The Role of UNICEF and Future Commitments
Battesini, provincial vice president of UNICEF, which has promoted similar initiatives worldwide, explained that their commitment to protecting children now also involves addressing cultural needs related to belonging to a community, where learning to dialogue with public institutions becomes increasingly important, in addition to fighting the causes that threaten children’s lives around the world.
Councillor Bertoli, who immediately supported Leila Moreschi’s initiative, working to involve all children and teenagers attending compulsory schools in Castiglione, assured that two meetings each year will be held—one in spring and one in autumn—with the Youth Municipal Council in the municipal council chamber.
