Mr. Ian Power:

Voting tends to be a process on which one follows through for the rest of one's life. It is not something that people tend to stop doing after the first time if they are engaged by the system while young.

There is EUROSTAT research which found that there are a couple of reasons young people do not vote. First, it may be because they are not registered, which is a matter we have discussed at length. Second, they do not feel that politicians engage with them and their issues. As rightly pointed out by the Deputy, when young people are engaged with, they return that engagement. Therefore, it is up to us as adults and politicians to engage with young people and try to bring them into the political process. Education is key, but we all know that experiential learning is much more effective than anything else. Certainly, it would be better if politicians were seen to speak about the issues that are relevant to young people, follow up on them and act upon them. Young people can definitely see through hollow statements and gestures. At the weekend, the council held a consultation, and one speaker spoke in a condescending manner on a particular issue. It was quite clear that he or she had attended for validation purposes and not for anything else. Young people can see through such activity straight away. Therefore, politicians must have a meaningful engagement with young people.

In terms of education, we believe that the Electoral Commission will be unable to do such work. It will need to set up funds for organisations that work with young people in order for them to do that type of education piece. It will need to be able to put together strategies that will engage people with the electoral and political systems. We need organisations that already operate on the ground and engage with young people to come up with strategies and deliver on them. Such an initiative make most sense. It will be the most effective and best way to spend taxpayer's money in that regard.