On Thursday, the Saeima adopted amendments to the youth law, which include extending the age of youth from 13 to 30 years.
Until now, the law defined a young person as an individual aged between 13 and 25 years.
The amendments require municipalities to appoint an authority responsible for working with youth. This will allow all parties involved in youth policy and youth work to clearly define the structure of cooperation within the municipality, noted the Ministry of Education and Science.
The rights of municipalities to implement and execute cooperation mechanisms have also been expanded. In particular, in addition to establishing a youth advisory commission, the municipality will be able to implement other cooperation mechanisms, such as informal youth groups, volunteer communities, or others.
If a youth council is established in the municipality, it must provide young people with the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes at the municipal level that affect the interests of youth both directly and indirectly.
The law also includes a new article stating that the national youth dialogue is an advisory process aimed at promoting youth participation and gathering the opinions of young people on decisions, legal acts, and national planning documents that may affect youth and youth policy at the national level.
The Latvian Youth Council will coordinate the national youth dialogue, including providing informational support to young people participating in the dialogue and organizing workshops, conferences, and other events of the national youth dialogue in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science.
The activities of the youth dialogue, including coordination, will be financed from the state budget.
