Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2011

Good Practices and InnovATIONS in Public Governance
Europe and North America
Italy
2010 category 3 – 1st Place Winner
Youth in the Law Hall (Ragazzi in Aula)
Regione Piemonte-Consiglio Regionale del Piemonte
Description
This is an initiative to engage young citizens in government policymaking by allowing
high-school students to draft and present new laws to the Regional Council of
Piedmont for possible parliamentary approval.
Summary
The Ragazzi in Aula initiative, or Youth in the Law Hall, is based on the concept of
open government. It enables secondary students and their teachers to participate in
law drafting sessions of the Regional Council of Piedmont and to personally experience
the decision-making processes that characterize the local legislative assembly.
The project, developed in agreement with the regional department of the Ministry of
Education, lets students live a day as regional Councillors by presenting, discussing
and possibly approving new laws. The main aim of the programme is to communicate
to young people the importance and necessity of voicing and contributing their
ideas to government, and to do so in an appropriate manner, given the regulations that
govern these processes. Since the programme’s inception in 1998, 200 secondary
schools have participated and more than 550 bills have been tabled. Some of laws
proposed by students have actually been debated by the Regional Parliament. The
approval of a law to conserve culturally significant sundials is an example of the
initiative’s potential to advance participatory democracy.
The costs of this initiative are relatively low compared to the positive outcomes.
Youth in the Law Hall successfully promotes participatory government by giving the
youth of Piedmont an opportunity to take part in public affairs and by enhancing the
government’s ability to respond to the demands and needs of its citizens.
The Problem
Too often, young people are excluded from the legislative process and their views on
public affairs are not taken into account. However, involving young people in governance
is not an easy task. To benefit from an exchange of views with the community’s
younger citizens, policymakers and public officials must make a conscious commitment
and effort to be inclusive and responsive. For their part, young people need
to be trained to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to actively participate and
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