Objectives and perspectives for Swedish youth policy

In the autumn of 2004 the Riksdag, Swedish parliament, adopted a youth policy bill “The Power to Decide – the Right to Welfare”.

It identifies two overall objectives for national youth policy:

• Young people shall have real access to influence.


• Young people shall have real access to welfare.

These objectives mean that young people have to be able to influence the general development of society and their own lives and immediate surroundings. This involves having influence over their everyday life, such as their housing environment, school environment and working environment as well as in their circle of friends and family. But it also involves having influence over society’s priorities. Young people are to have influence because this is a right in itself, but also because their knowledge and experience are a valuable resource for society.

The welfare objective means that young people are to have access to a good material, cultural and social standard of living. Young people are also to have favourable opportunities for good physical and mental health. They are to be protected from discrimination and other forms of degrading treatment and from being subjected to crime and bullying.

There are several important aspects of young people’s living conditions that are difficult to formulate in terms of objectives. In the youth policy bill these have instead been highlighted as important perspectives and approaches. No single government agency has special responsibility for applying these perspectives; all of them must do so.

The Riksdag and government have adopted four perspectives that decision-makers should use as starting points in designing public services for young people:

• the resource perspective


• the rights perspective


• the independence perspective


• the diversity perspective

The resource perspective means that use has to be made of young people’s unique knowledge, experience and values.

The rights perspective means that young people have the right to good living conditions, such as good health and social and financial security. It also entails the right to be involved and influence their own lives, their immediate surroundings and the general development of society.

The independence perspective means that public action should support opportunities for young people to achieve independence and self-reliance. Access to knowledge and financial resources are required to achieve independence, but so is freedom from discrimination. Self-reliance means both emancipation from parents and the absence of restraining and repressive factors such as misuse, coercion and oppression.

The diversity perspective entails awareness that not all young people are the same just because they are young. In work to coordinate, direct and follow up youth policy it is important to remember that youth policy affects many different types of individuals – with different situations, needs and wishes. Young people's different conditions vary due to, for example, socio-economic factors, geographic location, gender, sexual orientation or possible disabilities.

In order to clarify the scope of youth policy and to define its boundaries the Riksdag has decided on five main fields for Swedish youth policy:

• education and learning
  
• health and vulnerability


• influence and represenation


• work and means of support


• culture and leisure

Work on Swedish national youth policy is to be based on these fields.