By María Fernanda Torres Sánchez

Youth Participation Coordinator
Youth Services, AC (SERAJ)

On Friday, June 20, a forum was held: "Young Voices in Care," a space led by the JuventudES Platform, the GOYN CDMX network, the Citizen Initiative, and OXFAM. It brought together young people from the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico (ZMVM) with decision-makers to present, through various dynamics, their concerns, experiences, and proposals regarding the National Care System, specifically the actions that pertain to Mexico City. This space is a valuable example of how promoting intergenerational participatory meetings strengthens debate and the construction of more sound, equitable, and sustainable public policies.

Building bridges of dialogue between youth and public policymakers is key to ensuring that legislation responds to the needs of young people and prevents the reproduction of models that perpetuate their exclusion from economic, educational, social, cultural, and other activities that promote their comprehensive development. Today, young people face multiple challenges linked to the unequal distribution of care: long work hours, unpaid caregiving activities, lack of support networks, limited access to mental health services, lack of time for self-care, and more.

One of the most important reflections has been recognizing that all of us, at different times in our lives, have been caregivers. We understand self-care and caring for others as activities that sustain daily life and even the country's economy. Without care, no one can study, work, or undertake; care sustains communities. In this sense, knowing ourselves as caregivers means imagining other ways of experiencing care: collectively and communally, abandoning the individual, precarious, and opportunity-deprived logic. Sharing these responsibilities with others, without violence, discrimination, or economic hardship.

Rebuilding the community fabric through supportive networks that allow all people to live with dignity and fully exercise their right to care and be cared for. A fair National Care System is possible when it is understood as a shared task, supported by quality public services and shared responsibility between the State, community, and families.

Based on the above, we have translated these reflections into concrete proposals. Therefore, we, as young people, propose legal recognition of the right to care; redistribution of care work and state co-responsibility; accessible, dignified, and specialized public services; education, training, and awareness-raising in care; decent work, resources, and security to provide care without precariousness; inclusive public policies with a youth and gender perspective that recognize their realities as caregivers; and actively integrating youth into the design, implementation, and evaluation of care policies. This will be possible if we maintain these spaces for participation where young people play an active role in the design, implementation, and evaluation of care policies.

This forum demonstrates that young people are ready to participate, propose, and transform the way we care. Encouraging these dialogues to multiply and become everyday practices allows us to build more supportive, resilient communities capable of sustaining the lives of all.