Developing a campaign to enhance youth participation in parliament

Background

The IPU is the global organization of parliaments. It was founded in 1889 as the first multilateral political organization in the world, encouraging cooperation and dialogue between all nations. Today, the IPU comprises 179 national Member Parliaments and 13 regional parliamentary bodies. It promotes democracy and helps parliaments become stronger, younger, gender-balanced and more diverse. It also defends the human rights of parliamentarians through a dedicated committee made up of MPs from around the world. Twice a year, the IPU convenes over 1,500 parliamentary delegates and partners in a world assembly, bringing a parliamentary dimension to global governance, including the work of the United Nations and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

There are more young people today than ever before. More than half of the world population is under 30 years of age, and one-fifth of it is made up of youth aged 15-25. For decision-making to be representative, inclusive, and responsive, it requires strong participation of all people, especially youth. This is not only true because of the high proportion of youth in the world population, but also because how they relate to and engage in politics largely determines the health of our democracies today and in the future.

Despite this, youth are vastly underrepresented in political institutions. Although 18.6 per cent of the world population is between the ages of 20-29, IPU data shows that only 2.2 per cent of MPs are under 30. While 38.6 per cent of the world population is between the ages of 20-39, only 15.5 per cent of MPs are under 40.

Concerned by low levels of youth political engagement and its threat to the future of democracy, the IPU promotes youth participation by supporting parliaments in opening up to the youth. IPU’s engagement with youth participation and representation in formal politics dates back to 2010 when it held dedicated inter-parliamentary deliberations on this issue and adopted the resolution Youth participation in the democratic process. The resolution provided policy guidance on means to address the deficit in youth representation.

Ten years later, progress has been limited and slow. To provide global objectives for youth participation, in 2018 the IPU agreed on global targets for youth representation in parliaments. The targets are based on youth proportions in the global populations. They call for reaching by 2035:

• 15 per cent of parliamentarians under 30
• 35 per cent of parliamentarians under 40
• 45 per cent of parliamentarians under 45

In view of the specific challenges that young women face in entering politics and parliament, each target provides for gender parity of 50 per cent young women and 50 per cent young men.

Objectives of the campaign

Agreed targets as well as policy orientation to enhance youth participation in parliaments are available. It is now time to mobilize concrete action to make the targets a reality.

On the 10th anniversary of the IPU resolution on youth participation in the democratic process, the IPU is launching in 2020 a five-year campaign calling to action in and through parliaments to have more young women and men MPs.

The campaign will:

1. Rally and call to action current and potential changemakers (see Annex below) to enhance youth representation in parliaments all around the world.
2. Offer IPU’s support to parliaments in implementing key IPU recommendations to enhance youth participation.

The campaign will be launched in late 2020, further expanded globally and anchored in national parliaments in 2021 and geared towards achieving results until 2025.

Scope of work

In this context, the IPU is requesting proposals for a public relations/communications company or freelance consultant to support the strategic orientation, design, branding (in line with the IPU Visual identity guidelines – available upon request to prospective suppliers), production (including web-development), and roll-out of the campaign.

Key deliverables

• Following a discovery exercise, a presentation with proposals on the strategic orientation, title, design (including graphic), branding, production, and roll-out of the campaign. The international (including multilingual and multicultural) nature of the organization shall be taken into consideration.
• Following consultation with the IPU, implementation of design, branding and production of the campaign and its key tools. This will include
  • Production of a brochure (3-5 pages) that will introduce the campaign, provide key data and messages, and include a pledge sheet (up to 5 pledges). An interactive digital version for this will also be made available.
  • Development of a campaign webpage on the IPU website, which introduces the campaign, includes key documents, allows for online pledging, and showcases the “changemakers” who have already pledged to the campaign and their results.
  • A package of promotional tools and resources to be identified with guidance from the successful bidder. These are expected to include tools for social media, a video, signage and banners (including infographics), paraphernalia, and so forth.
• Support for the roll-out of the campaign, including strategic guidance on the launch event, the initial pledge drive, outreach to potential marquee changemakers, and the design of a promotional package to be sent to parliaments.
• A final report on recommendations for the continued evolution of the campaign, including for possible future activities such as regular online gatherings of changemakers, a yearly ceremonial event, and national engagement. 
• Clear instructions for the IPU to continue to use, manage, and adapt the website and tools of the campaign after completion of the contract. All final files must be transferred to the IPU upon completion and in formats that allow for modification and/or reuse.

Timeline

It is expected that the supplier will be chosen by 23 November and start work by 27 November.

Although subject to modification based on the evolution of the work, the following timeline is foreseen:

Phase 1

• From 27 November to 8 December 2020: Discovery and strategic proposal

Phase 2

• From 9 to 22 December: Implementation of design, branding and production of the campaign and its key tools and testing

Phase 3

• Late January-early February 2021: Launch of the campaign at online event, on social media and IPU website
• 2 weeks following launch: Updates for the webpage, submission of final report and handover

Remuneration

The IPU shall pay the selected company/consultant in instalments according to the above timeline phases following the satisfactory completion of the respective deliverables. The proportions would be as follows:

• Upon satisfactory completion of Phase 1 – 30%
• Upon satisfactory completion of Phase 2 – 50%
• Upon satisfactory completion of Phase 3 – 20%

Criteria for selection

The IPU will evaluate each proposal and may contact the top proposals for follow-up questions or meeting.

The IPU will choose the supplier based on the following criteria:

• Experience of the company/consultant
• Technical expertise and flexibility to accommodate the proposed timeline
• Quality of portfolio/past work
• Cost proposal

Bidders with strong experience in similar international political campaigns are strongly desired.

Submissions that do not demonstrate strong professional experience in public relations, communications and marketing will not be considered.

Annex: Audience

The campaign’s primary audience will be parliaments and their members. Other governmental and non-governmental institutions and leaders would also be strategically targeted. The following groups will be approached:

Changemakers: This group is believed to be the most influential in pushing for change, or to have the potential to be very influential and includes the following:

• The IPU President
• Speakers of parliament
• Members of the IPU Forum of Young Parliamentarians
• Chairs and members of parliamentary youth committees and caucuses
• Chairs and members of parliamentary committees on legal and constitutional affairs (committees mandated to oversee electoral law)
• Women parliamentarians, in particular caucuses of women parliamentarians
• Political party leaders
• Whips and chairpersons of political groups in parliaments
• Ministers of youth, Ministers of interior or portfolio dealing with electoral reform
• International partners that work to promote youth empowerment
• A group of selected journalists interested in youth/democracy.

A special focus will also be placed on countries going through transitional processes (post‑conflict or revolution), where there is a heightened opportunity to influence political systems and laws currently being designed. Therefore, transitional authorities, United Nations (or other) mediators, and civil society groups such as the Group of Elders, will also be a core focus of the campaign.

Supporters: This group can support the campaign in more indirect ways and includes the following:

• Members of parliament (in general)
• Youth associations
• Students’ associations
• Civil society organizations (CSOs) that promote democratic inclusion and representation, in particular women’s movements
• Influencers, media