Slides to accompany an amazing talk at SALTO Participation's "To Vote Or Not To Vote?" seminar on youth and electoral participation, by Manfred Zentner.

1. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
Youth and (EU) elections –
voting or neglecting?
Manfred Zentner
Danube University, Department Migration and Globalisation (Krems/Austria)
Institute for youth culture research - jugendkultur.at (Vienna/Austria)
Pool of European Youth Researchers (PEYR)

2. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
Next stop: ……………?
• Post war generation understood the EU
as a project for peace and wealth:
• 50s/60s were full of regret, guilt, anger
and the wish to change and to establish
wealth – traditional values of
belonging to families, nations, groups
• The 70s lead to liberation, freedom,
individualisation.
• 80s and 90s saw the End of History,
the final victory of (economic) liberalism
and democracy;
• Early 21st century: uncertainty,
insecurity

3. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
Changes in society
• Decline of meta-stories:
communism, capitalism, religions
have lost their influence and power
of interpretation
• risk-society: dangers that can not
be influence endanger all people –
climatic change
• New balance of work life and
leisure time: new forms of finding
identities
• Cult of juvenility
• Globalisation and networking

4. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
Individualisation in consumer society
• Established forms of
community building lose
attractiveness.
• The individual person puts
itself to the centre stage!
• Lifestyle as motor of group
building: aesthetics of live
• Values are part of lifestyles
and means for self-
expression.
• Every consumption as
investment in the own market
value
Foto: greune.com
Foto: faz.net
Foto: carolineclarkdesign.com

5. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
Democracy – granted, endangered, out-dated?
• Decline in interest in (party) policy and in
election turn-outs in all European countries.
• Rise of distrust in political parties, in
governments/parliaments and in the
system.
• Neglecting the elections is not endangering
democracy but some political developments
(even in the EU) are.
• Citizenship as basis of involvement?
Feeling of belonging as basis of
involvement?
• Alternatives are gaining momentum – e-
participation, consultations…

6. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
Democracy in the consumer society – post-democracy
• Democracy means that you CAN get involved – not you have to.
• Politics a service paid with taxes: “they should just do there job”.
• Politicians do the dirty work that nobody wants to do – but we are
also not electing our garbage collectors.
• But they start asking us to participate – like garbage collectors tell
us to recycle!
• Politics as fast reactions, protectionism, against pleasure, for
industry against individual rights?
• Anti-consumerism: boycotting certain brands, not buying anymore
when discontent with the performance.
• Anti-consumerism in politics: neglect elections, because voting
does not change anything.

7. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
Post-democracy

8. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
General development: decrease in turnouts

9. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
Why should youth change this?

10. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
Why should youth change this?

11. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
Concepts of participation: you don’t own me
Bottom up or top down?
• Representation of youth – youth involvement in policy making as legal right
• Youth councils – pupils/student councils
• Youth parliaments
• If we invite (young) people to participate, we don’t know the results!
• Demonstrations / strikes
• E-participation beside voting
• Active, political correct way of living without political demand
• Common topics in demonstrations do not imply similar political values!

12. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
The right to participate for youth

13. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
We can not predict how participation will end …

14. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
Personal involvement shown in private

15. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
Make jokes not war!

16. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
When to get involved?
The more it affects me, the more I care.
• Leisure time / media / lifestyle
• Education / work
• Equal opportunities / discrimination
• Human rights
• Environmental issues / animal rights
• Democracy
• The more I know about it, the more opportunities of action I see:
• Information as a basic means for participation, but is not the
guarantee for “the correct” decisions.

17. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
In need of positive symbols
• EU elections 2014 ….
• To vote or not to vote?
• The EU parliament – in charge of what? Knowledge provision
in times of image centred communication.
• New concepts of electing needed (e.g. voting for people from
other countries….)
• Direct election of the President of the European Commission
– so what?
• Last but not least: the date.

18. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
May 25th: Day of Youth

19. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
May 25th: we will know who has won in Europe!

20. :
Youth and EU-elections – voting or neglecting?
Next stop: to vote or not to vote, Brussels, 24/04/14
Thank you for your attention
Youth and (EU) elections – voting or neglecting?
Manfred Zentner
Danube University, Department Migration and Globalisation (Krems/Austria)
Institute for youth culture research - jugendkultur.at (Vienna/Austria)
Pool of European Youth Researchers (PEYR)