Structure of the World Youth Parliament
From "One World Parliament Design" by Alexander Donath
A World Youth Parliament should give young people worldwide an official voice in global decision-making processes and bring their perspectives to the fore. It could bring together young people’s ideas and demands on issues such as climate change, peace, digitalisation and social justice, and present them directly to international institutions. It would also promote cultural exchange, thereby strengthening understanding, solidarity and shared responsibility. Through its work, it could help steer politics and society towards greater sustainability and ensure that younger generations are actively involved in shaping the world.
The World Youth Parliament I have designed is a 180° parliament, ensuring there is sufficient free space for flipcharts, whiteboards and other presentation aids, as well as group tables and interaction areas within the Youth Parliament. The Parliament represents the night, the opposite of the day and the World Parliament. It is the Diamond Children, or the gifted children, who represent the respective people on the planet and make groundbreaking decisions. Unlike in the World Parliament, there are only two quarters, divided into 1. Rebels (aged 14–16) and 2. Youngsters (aged 17–18). The age at which a mandate begins is decisive. In this structure, instead of groups of people, there are parliamentary lines facing the presentation and action area as well as the stage. The lines consist of boys, girls, a bonus seat, and young people with disabilities. The bonus seat is allocated by lottery among the participating young people, and they also have the chance to be sent to the plenary session of the World Parliament, but only if the nations exercise this option.
World Youth Parliament: its composition
As with the World Parliament, the World Youth Parliament also offers the option of distinguishing between a plenary assembly and a continental representation. Both variants follow the same underlying logic, but differ in terms of their size and the degree of representation.
The following overview shows the different levels of the possible configurations of the World Youth Parliament. A distinction is made between the Maximum, Medium and Minimum variants, each of which has a different number of seats and an adapted composition.
Maximum = 3,120 seats (16 seats per nation)
Medium = 1,560 seats (8 seats per nation)
Minimum = 780 seats (4 per nation)
Continental variant = 96 seats (16 seats per continent)
A bonus seat and the chance to be sent to the World Parliament: the gifted child
Should an optional seat for Diamond Children become vacant in the World Parliament – for example, due to the seats reserved for elders remaining unfilled or the loss of a planetary representative through death – this seat will be officially allocated by lottery amongst the planetary representatives of the World Youth Parliament, specifically from the “Youth Bonus Seats”. Alternatively, the child will be chosen democratically and “the gifted child” will be sent to the World Parliament.
Book: One World Parliament Design by Alexander Donath
What might a functioning global order look like?
“One World Parliament Design” develops a comprehensive model for a new form of international cooperation. In a world where global challenges increasingly transcend national borders, this book poses the central question: Are existing systems still sufficient – or is a new level of coordination required?
This work combines analysis, system design and future perspectives into a structured overall concept. At its heart is a World Parliament as a complementary, democratically legitimised body that steps in where today’s structures reach their limits.
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