On July 13, another work-in-progress presentations of the policy brief and public discussion were held at the Public Policy Analysis Hub (PPAHub) of the Georgian Institute of Politics.
The authors of policy briefs, Victoria Arakelyan and Nino Shaqarashvili discussed Youth-related issues and challenges at Caucasus University. Victoria Arakelyan presented her Policy Brief on the topic: „The Gap Between Political Parties and Ethnic Minorities: Challenges to Voting in Georgia“, while Nino Shaqarashvili discussed her paper on NEET Youth in Georgia.
It should be noted that ethnic minorities in Georgia often face various problems, one of which is related to voting and expressing their opinion in elections. There are several major challenges that this group faces, including the language barrier and information vacuum caused by inadequate knowledge of the Georgian language and lack of political information in their native language, as well as inadequate civic and political education and lack of incentives.
As a result of gaining EU candidate status, the inclusion of ethnic minorities in the voting process of elections plays a very important role in the promotion of democratic values and principles. Due to the fact that 2024 is the period of parliamentary elections, this issue has a particularly important role now.
In the Policy Brief, the author, Victoria Arakelyan, discussed the current situation in Georgia and the effectiveness of the existing mechanisms.
When it comes to NEET Youth, the issue of youth who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET) is a significant challenge in Georgia. In 2017, 30% of young people aged 15-29 were categorized as NEET, and this trend continued into 2022, with the figure rising slightly to 30.7%. This high percentage results in an estimated annual economic loss of 835,665,702 US dollars for Georgia.
In contrast, the average NEET rate among EU member states was 11.7% in 2022, with the Netherlands having the lowest rate at 4.2% and Romania the highest at 19.8%. The EU aims to reduce this figure to 9% by 2030, and Georgia should adopt a similar target to improve the prospects for its youth and economy.
The event was held within the framework of the project –“Public Policy Pilot Initiatives to Engage and Mentor Youth” which is implemented by GIP with the support of the USAID National Governance Program.
