The Portuguese Youth Envoy to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is participating in the European Youth Event in Strasbourg and explains to UN Portugal the challenges of intergenerational solidarity when discussing the future of communications and technology.
Francisca Caruso is 24 years old. She studied Political Science, Economics, Management, and Philosophy, and eventually realised that her true passion lies in International Development Cooperation. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Development and International Cooperation at the Lisbon School of Economics and Management (ISEG), University of Lisbon.
Additionally, she remains actively involved in youth associations, particularly with the Erasmus Student Network in Lisbon, where she has served as Human Resources Coordinator since last September. This young Portuguese woman is now part of the Generation Connect Youth Envoy Programme of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN’s specialised agency for communications and digital technologies. She will participate in the European Youth Event (EYE) at the European Parliament in Strasbourg as a Youth Envoy to express what young people envision for the future of communications. On the eve of the EYE, UNRIC spoke with Francisca Caruso to learn about her expectations for this event, which brings together thousands of young people from across the European Union and beyond, right in the heart of European democracy.
UNRIC: How does the work of the ITU intersect with the promotion of intergenerational solidarity?
Francisca Caruso: We all had to integrate the theme associated with our agencies into the broader topic of intergenerational solidarity. For me, this was important from the very beginning. It’s great to listen to young people, and, of course, legislation and programs are all designed with the future in mind. But the truth is that many people, even from older generations, will have to live with the consequences of the decisions made today. So yes, let’s listen to young people, but I also want to understand whether young people grasp the perspectives of other generations.
In the workshop we’re organising, we introduce a role-reversal component where each participant is randomly assigned a generation. A young person might get Generation Z, but they could also have to interpret specific scenarios or questions as if they were a baby boomer, a millennial, or someone from Generation X. What I brought from my work with the ITU to the theme of intergenerational solidarity was this idea that the ITU listens to young people and tries to understand whether those involved in policymaking think: “I’m not just legislating for my future self—older generations will still be here. So, do I know what they think? Can I put myself in their shoes and consider whether this is fair and balanced for everyone?”
UNRIC: In your view, what is the biggest challenge in ensuring intergenerational justice in political decision-making?
Francisca Caruso: Above all, the most significant challenges are the differing interests of those who make public policy and ensuring that people feel heard. I believe people are being heard, but it’s certainly not easy to legislate in a way that pleases everyone when everyone has a different opinion. Even among generations, this is normal because life contexts and learning experiences differ. Especially in the digital world, the evolution over the past 10 years has been enormous. And you don’t need to look back 50 years.
Given that we all have different contexts and have lived through various stages of digital evolution, I believe the biggest challenge is ensuring that everyone feels heard and understood. What matters is that the legislation serves everyone—even those who don’t realise it’s serving them.
UNRIC: Do you feel that current political structures are genuinely open to listening to and incorporating the voices of younger generations?
Francisca Caruso: In a national context, Portugal is not as open to listening to young people as the European context is. I believe that the European Union makes an effort to listen to young people, as evidenced by initiatives like the European Youth Event, which is specifically designed for that purpose. Not only do they open the doors of the European Parliament to us, but there are also interactive elements, such as this UN workshop inside the Parliament, specifically aimed at younger generations, asking, “What policies would I like to see implemented?”
The structures appear to be evolving in this direction, which is very positive. But there’s still a lot of work to be done. At the moment, I think the EU’s efforts are sufficient, but perhaps the individual countries within the EU should follow this lead more closely. At least from my perspective, the effort is recognised, and I hope it bears the desired results.
UNRIC: What message would you like participants to take away from the session on intergenerational solidarity?
Francisca Caruso: I genuinely believe it’s essential that in the process of legislating, designing a project, or implementing it, all these steps should involve listening to the people who live with the problems and who will live with the solutions. Sometimes, solutions seem to come from people planning them around a round table in an office and not from those who experience the problems—and that’s a matter of justice. Not just intergenerational justice but also justice across different sectors of society.
Especially in the realm of digital justice and access to digital tools, there’s a considerable gap—not only between rich and poor but also between the old and the young. Many people believe that older individuals are digitally excluded due to their social circumstances or reluctance to learn, but the real question is: are we willing to teach them?
What I hope people take away from the workshop is this idea: “Am I capable of listening to others?” I believe that those who attend these workshops are people interested in becoming future policymakers, and I hope they understand that to do so, they must know how to listen to everyone and put themselves in everyone’s shoes.
UNRIC: What was your experience like working with the UN agencies and the Youth Core Group to prepare the session?
Francisca Caruso: It was very important because we were six people with completely different backgrounds and from entirely different countries. The fact that it was remote also made it a challenging experience. I didn’t know these people, and suddenly, I had to work with them. The most difficult part was transitioning from being closely guided and having everything explained to us by the UN staff to then having to organise ourselves, work together, divide tasks, and create our own proposals.
That freedom was terrific, and it was great to be able to design the workshop as freely as we did. But at the beginning, there was this question of: “Who are these people? How do I reach out to them? Are we just being polite with each other, but someone might feel like they can’t bring their ideas to the table?” That part—organising ourselves as people who didn’t know each other and weren’t used to working together—was the most challenging. But I think everything eventually fell into place and worked really well.
UNRIC: What changes would you like to see in the political space over the next five years, especially regarding youth participation?
Francisca Caruso: My view—though many might not agree—is that I’d like to see more and more young members of Parliament in Portugal and across Europe. Some may think they don’t yet have enough background to be in politics, but the truth is that this space belongs to everyone and must be for everyone. I’m not saying that I think it makes sense for an 18-year-old to be in Parliament, but maybe lowering the average age a bit would already be a good step, especially considering we’re talking about the next five years.
It’s essential to have everyone’s perspective. So, my view isn’t that we should remove all older people from Parliament—obviously not—but that we should also include younger people in the process, because there are young people who have dedicated their lives to politics from an early age.