19-year-old Anna Roos has been elected the new chairman of the Flemish Youth Council. She thus takes over the torch from Amir Bachrouri. Roos hopes to focus more on the inclusion of people with disabilities in the coming years.
Anna Roos will head the Flemish Youth Council for three years. Running for that position was a big step, but one she was happy to take. “As a youth advisor, I already enjoyed listening to young people and representing them. So I am very much looking forward to being their chairman for the next three years,” Roos explains.
Within the Youth Council she hopes to work on the inclusion of young people with disabilities and on the mental well-being of children and young people. But at the moment Roos mainly wants to encourage the political parties to focus more on youth in the upcoming elections.
Well-considered choice
On June 9, more than 600,000 Flemish and Brussels young people can vote for the first time. Roos is also one of those first-time voters. As a result, she knows all too well how important it is that politicians pay sufficient attention to youth issues. “Topics such as climate, mental well-being, mobility and lack of student housing are rarely discussed in politics. So it is a warm appeal to all party chairmen: keep an eye on those themes,” Roos calls on.
“It is only three months before we go to the polls and about fifty percent of young people still don’t know who they are going to vote for, I am one of them,” admits the new chairman. “It is important that we also make it clear to party leaders that they should try to reach young people in an accessible way and inform them about their party positions. This is the only way we can make a well-considered choice on June 9.”
After the elections
This year the focus of the Youth Council will be on the elections. But the new chairman also has plans for the period afterwards. She hopes to focus more on the inclusion of people with disabilities in society and the media in the coming years. “I work as a volunteer in a center for people with disabilities and I notice that this is a minority group that is not yet well represented. There is still a lot of room for improvement, especially in the media,” she explains.
She also attaches great importance to the mental well-being of children and young people. “During the corona period I noticed that many friends were less mentally resilient than I expected. I try to draw attention to mental well-being because I have seen how important it is to talk to each other when you are having a hard time,” concludes Roos.
