Bregenz (VLK) – Today (April 19th) the state parliament meeting in the Montfortsaal in Landhaus Bregenz had the future of young people in Vorarlberg in mind. “Lots of opportunities in Vorarlberg – what opportunities are there for our children and young people?” Under the heading, profound changes in life and work environment were discussed. Three special lectures and substantive debates provided starting points for further work in the State Parliament.
With three lectures on trends in young people's lives, forecasts for growth in the world of work and child and youth resilience, an important but complex topic was discussed in an understandable and multifaceted manner. State Parliament Speaker Harald Sonderekar thanked the different presentations and appealed to those present: “I have all the negative events and real challenges that we are told every day and sometimes we feel directly. Look to a positive future and maintain a fundamental faith in the next generation.
Annual parliamentary hearings give MPs and interested members of the public an opportunity to delve deeper into a topic outside the business of day-to-day politics. State parliamentary committees decide their respective topics every year. This year it is the Vorarlberg People's Party (VP). The findings of keynote speeches by experts and the subsequent debates generally flowed through state parliamentary affairs.
• “Life and Future of Children and Youth in Vorarlberg”
University Professor. Wolfgang Massel (Institute for Labor and Social Law, University of Vienna) It sees creating the future as a cross-generational task full of possibilities. For their success, different trends must be taken into account in political decisions: among others, the ubiquitous acceleration of different areas of life or the addition of social media to classic relationships and the increasing impoverishment of relationships. Further challenges include changing security situations and resource availability.
• “The world of work in 10 or 20 years – what awaits today's children and youth?”
Bernhard Berueter (AMS Vorarlberg, Managing Director) The pandemic has identified digitization, a significant shift in values and a changed approach to work as the current drivers of change in the world of work. Future work environments will be more flexible, digital, international and ecological. They change in some subtle ways, some in elaborate ways. Cross-professional skills and lifelong learning are becoming increasingly important for emerging employment sectors.
• “How do children and youth become resilient?”
Petra Grassl-Riederer (promente – Children and Youth Oberland, regional administration) discussed the concept of resilience. It refers to the ability of a dynamic system (human) to successfully adapt to various disturbances and uncertainties. Above all, he identified the stability of family relationships and the quality of educational institutions as influential factors in promoting individual resilience.
Discussion
About 140 people, primarily from politics, education and social services, participated in the ensuing debate. In attendance were State Parliamentary Deputy Speakers Monika Vonnier and Sandra Schoch, Club Leaders and State Parliamentarians and State Governor Markus Wallner and State Government Members, State Governor Barbara Scobie-Fink, Christian Kantner, Martina. Rusher, Marco Tidler and Daniel Zatra.
The state parliament hearing can be viewed online in the video archive of the Vorarlberg state parliament at www.vorarlberg.at/landtag.
