Let Us Participate

On the 9th of November Egypt witnesses an important event; the Egyptian people will elect its deputies and representatives in the Egyptian Parliament, which represents, now, one of the most important institutions in any Democratic System. It is considered the house of the people, whose demands are presented in it by their deputies, and in which they participate in drawing the future of our beloved country. The more people participate, the more it becomes evident that the political climate is healthy and safe. Participation is the best means to protect the interests of the individual and the whole society. Its importance increases in the recent elections by the missions which the parliament carry out, as it undertakes different jobs according to the article number 86 of the Egyptian Constitution, such as the legislative power, the ratification of the general policy, the general plan for economic and social development, the general budget of the country ... etc. Moreover, it supervises the executive power and nominates the president.

Since Egypt takes great steps on the road to progress, it is necessary to encourage its citizens, give them the chance to express their political opinion freely and teach them how to accept the plurality of views. In spite of the repetitive invitations for youth to participate in the political life, very few of them respond positively to these invitations.

It is important to implant the value of sharing in the young through educational institutions, media devices and civil society efforts. Hence, Pioneers Sector of the Ministry of Youth was developed and innovated, as now it has a parliament for the pioneers, in which the young- men of the future- imitate the real Parliament. Then they turn this into a model of imitating programmes tackling the same causes, files and legislations tackled in the real Parliament. This is done to make this model as a kind of a platform for the young to interact and learn more about the issues of the hour and the legislations related to different local, national, Arab, regional and international causes. Also, this can be attained by programmes of cultural enlightenment presented through summer camps; hence help the young grasp the importance of having an opinion and learning how to participate.

Participation means working with self- motivation, and taking part in choosing the general policies or the political leaders on any governmental, local or national level.

There are levels of citizens' participation in public life. They can be divided into four groups:
1-the highest level: practicing political activity
2-the second level: interesting in political activity
3-the third level: margining political activity
4-the fourth level: exceeding proper political limits, a level that we discard and take as passive kind of participation affecting negatively on our society.

We all should participate, learn, and vote politically in order to be able to call for developing the society through political reformation.

Political participation has many forms such as voting and nominating as candidates in local and public elections, joining the parties, participating in elective campaigns and following up with political issues in general. This is what Egypt makes in the light of the great political developments witnessed nowadays in our country.