Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, on Monday, encouraged young people to engage in civic participation and to assert their rights, in a discussion in Nicosia with high school students organised by the Youth Board of Cyprus (ONEK) on the occasion of the official launch the National Year of Youth 2024. During the discussion, on participatory democracy and young people, President Christodoulides said that all the years of his administration will be years of youth, and stressed the importance of using technology to inform young people about the issues that concern them. He also said that the Government was working on the introduction of technical high schools, in the same model as the sports and music high schools, but also that it would proceed with the automatic registration of young people in the electoral rolls, instead of them having to register after they turn 17. Minister of Education, Sport and Youth, Athena Michaelidou and the President of the Board of Directors of ONEK, Kleanthis Koutsoftas, als o took part in the discussion. Pupils from Nicosia high schools raised issues and asked questions about young people's civic engagement, about school curricula and infrastructure, vocational guidance, and access to information for disabled citizens, among other issues. Replying to questions, President Christodoulides said that the government makes decisions every day, which mainly concern the young generation, who will be called upon to implement these decisions and will either benefit from them or suffer their negative consequences. That is why, he said, the government has decided, that 2024 will be the year of youth, noting, however, that this was the starting point, since, 'every year is a year of youth'. 'We want you to participate in the decision-making process', he told the pupils, noting that this was achieved through participatory democracy. He referred to stereotypes within society, referring to the rejection by the majority of respondents to a question asked through the government platform "Voic e of the Citizen", whether young people should be able to vote from the age of 16, noting that young people themselves should claim their participation and not expect others to do it for them. Asked by a pupil what the government was doing to prevent "brain drain" from Cyprus, President Christodoulides said that the most important thing was for young people to have the same opportunities that they have abroad and that one of the issues the government was looking into was how to link the country's educational system with the labour market. He also said that technical education should be boosted, noting that the IT and technology sectors were the future and that there was not enough staff in Cyprus and employers were bringing in staff from abroad. Education Minister, Athena Michaelidou, said that, this government sought from the outset to change school curricula while an emphasis was given to the cultivation of critical thinking. The Minister also said at the end of the discussion that, 'we are preparing chi ldren for an uncertain world' and that what was important was to cultivate from a very early age, as early as the age of four or five, those abilities and skills so that young people would be able to make the right decisions "and navigate the world we live in." In his introductory remarks earlier, Koutsoftas said that ONEK was the coordinator of the Year of Youth, whose main objectives were the promotion of the participation of young people in the decision-making process, inclusion and equal opportunities, strengthening their skills for their integration into society and the labour market, and bolstering their mental health. Source: Cyprus News Agency