Tirana Youth Parliament

Tirana Youth Parliament is a network of students representing the 18 public high schools of the capital city and its creation dates to May 2018. Around 100 young people aged 14 to 17 years old, committed to this structure, believe that the strengthening of young people in decision-making processes, public debate and leadership, is a key and indispensable element in democracy.

In Tirana there are altogether 18 gymnasiums and professional schools, in which attending the public high school about 18,000 students. These are young teenagers who almost every day face various problems and requires their own solution. The CRCA Albania initiative, the Albanian Coalition for Education (ACE), after many consultations and informative meetings with high school students, suggested the establishment of this structure in cooperation with the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports. Each gymnasium through a completely democratic process chose from itself a representation of five students, who are also the nucleus of the Tirana Youth Parliament. Of them, there are about 39 boys and 61 girls, who serve as a structure for empowering young people.

Representatives of public high school students in Tirana raise their voice over the phenomena that they face everyday in the school. Bullying, discrimination, violence in schools and other settings, economic poverty, but also social dangers. These young people, based on the basic principle of democracy, also represent a chance to advance the cause of youth, an issue that is often overlooked by governments.

 Tirana Youth Parliament reached the establishment of an Establishment Act in June 2018. This act, signed by all members of PRT, the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth and the Child and Youth Rights Centre Albanian (CRCA) formalized this network. PRT is about to improve youth participation in public debate and democratic processes for their rights and responsibilities, both locally and nationally.

On the International Girls Day, on October 12, 2018, the girls of the Tirana Youth Parliament were part of one of the largest events in Albania, the 1st Summit of Girls. This Summit with the participation of 25 young girls and 15 Ambassadors part of the politics and civil society, the academy and the media, who for one year in a row are their mentors, came in the framework of the # Girl2Leader Global Campaign.

The 25 girls of the Summit under the mentoring process by their ambassadors are gaining experience not only for their work but also to strengthen their capacity by becoming a key part in decision-making, a community power, and an example of good politics in society. A full information can be found at https://www.crca.al/sq/vepro-per-femijet-news/shqiperia-organizon-samitin-e-1-re-te-vajzave-dhe-fushaten-girl2leader.

The young people themselves, a month later, in November 2018, also followed the demand of many Albanian students for the right to vote at the age of 16.

High school students' arguments that lowering the age of voting is a means to strengthen democracy, as well as the right of every adolescent to express his / her opinion about the future, prompted CRCA to address the Albanian Parliament with this initiative of the Tirana Youth Parliament.

In Albania there are 214,000 young people, aged 15-19, some of whom requires reducing the age of voting from 18 to 16 years. For more guidance or even more information on this PRT initiative, see https://www.crca.al/sq/voto-per-16.

Tirana Youth Parliament has been structured according to the model of the Albanian Parliament and has its 8 committees. These committees include areas of education, youth policy and rights, health, violence and discrimination, media and online security, innovation, children's rights and cultural, social and artistic issues.

Tirana Youth Parliament creates an environment where children and young people can freely express their views, inform others and decide together with adults for what is best for them. Inclusive participation of children and youth in the Tirana Youth Parliament has a huge importance to democracy.

For more information, please contact CRCA Albania in this address, info@crca.al