A final-year student at the II General Secondary School Adrian Widera and a school graduate, a student at the Wrocław-based College of Higher Education Wojciech Becla are setting up a nationwide political portal for young people based in Bolesławiec. The “Young People on Politics” website will launch in a month.
The initiators of the idea have a well-thought-out plan, clearly defined goals and plenty of satisfaction from creating a platform for their peers. They want to break the stereotype of young people being indifferent to politics. They believe that young people have clearly defined political needs and are keenly interested in how Poland will be governed and what decisions concerning young people will be made by politicians.
“We need our own space in politics,” says Adrian Widera. “Politics isn’t something separate from us; it’s something that concerns us. The quality of education, starting a family, launching a business. All of this is also our reality,” adds the high school student.
Politics a greater taboo than sex
Young people, according to Adrian and Wojciech, are voters searching for their own platform and party. There are fewer committed supporters among them. The problem is accessing the parties’ platforms, which seem to be a closely guarded secret.
“Party platforms are not presented in the media,” says Wojciech Becla. “They are not handed out at rallies, and candidates do not talk about them in campaign spots. You have to search for them online. Voters are given slogans and superficial catchphrases,” he adds.
Both creators of the new portal emphasize that it was created out of a lack—a lack of young people in politics, a lack of attention devoted to them by those in power, and the marginalization of their needs and influence on the shape of the country.
“Sometimes it seems that politics is a taboo subject, even more so than drugs and sex,” says Adrian. “Parents often say that we still have time for that, that we are too young for politics. Yet the pension decisions being made today will affect us directly in the future.”
Young people most often discuss media topics, that is, what appears on the “ticker” in news programs. They talk about the cross in the Sejm, abortion, euthanasia, but also about the specific programs of individual parties.
“Economics is discussed less often, because you have to know something about it,” says Becla. “People like to say that an intelligent person does not get involved in politics. But that is merely a convenient evasion for those who prefer to conceal their ignorance of the subject.”
A portal for young people
The “Young People on Politics” portal is intended to be a place where the programmes of all parties will be available and arranged by topic. The portal’s creators want to show what the main parties and political forces have to say about the education, pension and healthcare systems. It will be possible to discuss the programmes, ask about things one does not understand, and criticise or praise them.
“No political party is behind us, and we will not campaign,” says Adrian. “We are looking for people with various views. Our portal will challenge the stereotype of young people who are uninterested in politics. We want to bring together people who care about society.”
Additionally, the portal is to be created by the users themselves—by writing blogs. The administrators want to introduce a loyalty programme. People who regularly post the most interesting comments on others’ contributions will be able to start their own threads.
“We want to publish substantively strong and linguistically polished texts in order to motivate people to reach an appropriate standard,” says Becla.
The “Young People on Politics” website will be advertised on two fronts. The administrators want to use the Internet and direct contact with schools in Poland.
“YouTube and Facebook are an excellent place for viral advertising,” Wojciech says. “We’ll record videos and upload them to YouTube, and we’ll also advertise on Facebook.”
“This will also include informing schools. First in Bolesławiec. Then each editor will be assigned one voivodeship and will encourage and invite students to visit the website and help create it,” adds Adrian Widera.
Unstereotypical Bolesławiec officials
Adrian and Wojciech turned to city officials for help and cannot praise them enough. The young men’s initiative was met with goodwill and support from both the city and the county.
– It helped us Beata Sulska and Alicja Krzyszczak and Marek Łętowski. The school principal strongly supports us Mirosław Sakowski and the school Parents’ Council – Widera lists the helpful people.
The Head of the Social Affairs Department promised to organize a meeting with secondary-school principals to promote the initiative. The Head of the County Education Department proposed creating an Association that could apply for EU grants. The Director of the Youth Cultural Centre will provide equipment and a room, as well as the Municipal Theatre for meetings and conferences. The Parents’ Council of II LO is organizing the funds to pay for the domain and server.
“We are surprised that we were not turned away empty-handed,” says Widera. “Wherever we went, we received real help and met people who were supportive of our initiative. This clearly contradicts the stereotype of a civil servant.”
The new political portal for young people is set to launch in a month. Adrian Widera and Wojciech Becla are looking for sponsors and collaborators.
“Everyone willing to help, aged 15 to 25, can contribute,” says Widera. “All you need to do is contact us by email. We hold editorial meetings where we discuss the issues most important to our portal. Our problem is a lack of money, and every bit of financial support counts for us.”
Adrian Widera and Wojciech Becla can be contacted at: redakcja@mlodziopolityce.pl and GG 38777613
(information: Grażyna Hanaf)