Youth Parliament established in Georgia

60 students selected via a special competition are the members of the new Youth Parliament, which aims to heighten students’ level of activity and involvement in Georgia’s civic life. During the two-month project the students will hold Parliament sessions of their own, discuss draft laws and work out amendments to them.

The initiators of this project are the Tbilisi State University-based “Student House,” the Liberal-Political Club and the Young Republicans Party. Speaking at the opening of the Youth Parliament on Monday the Chairman of Student House, Avtandil Kasradze, said the project was extremely important not only for students, but also for society. He said the laws and decisions adopted by the Youth Parliament will be sent to all Governmental bodies and political parties. “What we are trying to do is pass our independent and neutral ideas to the “higher” institutions. We are very much committed to this and every student will do his best to reach our goal,” Kasradze stated.

Levan Berdzenishvili from the Republican Party congratulated the students and said he would like to see the young people sitting in the public galleries of the real Parliament of Georgia. “I am deeply convinced that the projects and laws you work out will be no less good, if not better, than those adopted by the actual Parliament, because you are more or less impartial, obstinate and impudent, unlike your adult colleagues,” Berdzenishvili told the students.

The Youth Parliament has 5 factions: Liberals, Left-Radicals, Centrists, Christian-Democrats and Conservatives. The project initiators say the factions have been created according to the beliefs of young MPs.

The Youth Parliament Members, mainly Law Faculty students, looked very eager and excited about the project. 18-year-old Nino Jincharadze decided to get involved in the project because she thinks it will positively affect her future plans. “I am interested in the public sphere and I am sure I will gain good experience here,” she said. “I would like to become a real MP and I think this is a first and very important step towards this goal,” she added. Unlike his colleague however, Zaza Gagua, a 20-year-old Youth MP from the Left-Radicals faction, is not so sure about his future career. “For me, along with other important reasons, being here is a way to test myself to find out if I really want to be involved in politics in the future or not,” he said.

At its next session the Youth Parliament will choose its Speaker and discuss issues proposed by the factions.