ADVERTISING
The first session focuses on exchange, motivation, and political participation.
As the City of Darmstadt announced, the newly elected Youth Parliament successfully convened on Friday, November 7th. Forty-four young people aged between 12 and 17 will now represent the interests of young people in Darmstadt. At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor and Head of Women's Affairs Barbara Akdeniz welcomed the new members, provided insights into the development process of the framework concept for children's and youth participation, and invited the young people to engage in ongoing dialogue.
Getting to know each other, goals and political expectations
The first meeting focused on getting to know one another and discussing the goals and tasks of the plenary assembly. Many participants showed great interest in political participation, asking questions about their rights and opportunities for involvement in the city council.
In their initial statements, the young people made it clear how they understand their role: "We give the young people in our city a voice," "We can make the city more interesting for us young people," and "We are learning how politics works." An invitation to the city council meeting in February 2026 has already been extended.
Establishment of working groups
Parallel to the founding meeting, thematic working groups were formed. The young people decided to start with seven working groups, including:
- Working Group “Safe Spaces, Awareness and Mental Health in the City”
- Public Relations Working Group
- AG Education
In these groups, concrete ideas will be developed and later incorporated into city policy.
Participation in committees from 2026 onwards
Following the local elections in March 2026, the Youth Parliament will visit the committees of the city council to work directly with political decision-makers. Mayor Akdeniz emphasizes the importance of this step: the participation of young people is a "workshop of democracy" where participation becomes tangible and effective.
Speaker team elected
For the first time, the youth plenary elected a team of spokespeople to represent the body externally and to lead the plenary assemblies in the future:
Haylie Hahner, Jonathan Schnaus, Matilda Bootz, Birte Schmalenberger, Bengt Schellhaas, Clemens Albermann and Nicolas Seitz.
Educational support is provided by the Coordination Office for Children and Youth Participation (Jugendring Darmstadt e. V. and Jugendbildungswerk der Wissenschaftsstadt Darmstadt).
Joschka Joachim from the Youth Council was impressed by the commitment: The young people had constructively addressed the structural requirements of the constituent meeting and at the same time clearly formulated their political interests.
(Darmstadt - Red/PSD/DK)
