The Fondazzjoni Mikiel Anton Vassalli has teamed up with the Labour Youth Forum to organise a seminar intended to discuss the proposal currently being put forward by the Malta Labour Party to lower the voting age in the Local Councils' elections from the present 18 to 16.
This seminar, which was very well attended by people coming from different backgrounds and representing different organisations, including political groupings other than the Malta Labour Party, offered the opportunity for a real debate to take place on the issue, with different speakers offering different perspectives on the notion of youth participation in political life in Malta and beyond.
Perhaps not all of the participants were vociforously in favour of the lowering of the voting age at the current stage, but all agreed that more needs to be done to educate the electorate, young and old alike, about the importance of not simply voting but doing so with an open mind and on the basis of a proper analysis of the issues.
A keypoint raised during the seminar was Dr. Joseph Muscat's announcement that he would be putting forward proposals within the Malta Labour Party so that this notion of lowering the age of political participation from 18 to 16 occurs also at a Party level. Indeed, Dr. Muscat will be proposing a change in the Party statute to bring down the age of membership to the Party to 16.
This move can be seen to be a first step towards a rejuvenation of the MLP's membership of its General Conference, with the possibility of younger members to take their place as Party Delegates. In this way, the Labour Leader is clearly indicating the way forward for the Malta Labour Party, were the younger generation is not simply seen to represent the future, but rather is acknowledged as having an important say in shaping the present.
This seminar, which was very well attended by people coming from different backgrounds and representing different organisations, including political groupings other than the Malta Labour Party, offered the opportunity for a real debate to take place on the issue, with different speakers offering different perspectives on the notion of youth participation in political life in Malta and beyond.
Perhaps not all of the participants were vociforously in favour of the lowering of the voting age at the current stage, but all agreed that more needs to be done to educate the electorate, young and old alike, about the importance of not simply voting but doing so with an open mind and on the basis of a proper analysis of the issues.
A keypoint raised during the seminar was Dr. Joseph Muscat's announcement that he would be putting forward proposals within the Malta Labour Party so that this notion of lowering the age of political participation from 18 to 16 occurs also at a Party level. Indeed, Dr. Muscat will be proposing a change in the Party statute to bring down the age of membership to the Party to 16.
This move can be seen to be a first step towards a rejuvenation of the MLP's membership of its General Conference, with the possibility of younger members to take their place as Party Delegates. In this way, the Labour Leader is clearly indicating the way forward for the Malta Labour Party, were the younger generation is not simply seen to represent the future, but rather is acknowledged as having an important say in shaping the present.
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