Platform to allow youth to shape policy

The government on Tuesday launched a platform aimed at encouraging participatory democracy for the young, President Nikos Christodoulides announced.

“The goal is to have a more active participation of our young, the newer generation, in shaping policies and actions that affect them,” the president said in a pre-recorded video.

Dubbed EkfraCY (a play on the Greek word ‘expression’), the platform will allow a “continuous dialogue with the executive power”.

This includes submitting suggestions for matters ranging from education, housing, transport, employment, AI, environment “and anything else in their sphere of interest.”

Christodoulides said the aim behind this is to hear first-hand from the young what it is that concerns them and suggestions on how to resolve them.

Questionnaires will also be available on the site that can allow the government to see a reaction to government proposals.

“We will have live discussions with the young people of our country,” Christodoulides added.

He described it as a pioneering initiative that “creates a stable mode of communication with the young generation of our country, strengthening participatory democracy.”