A/HRC/34/46 38. It was acknowledged that ICTs had the potential to improve political participation and transparency, including by connecting grass-roots activities to institutionalized politics through online monitoring and participation in parliamentary activities. However, reservations were expressed with regard to a disturbing trend towards the proliferation of inaccurate information available on social media, particularly in the so-called “post-truth” era when objective facts were less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief, and in situations where youth were “tech confident but not tech competent”. B. Recommendations 39. To ensure greater participation of youth, States should consider adopting or amending national legislation to align the minimum voting age and the minimum age of eligibility to run for office. 40. States and electoral management bodies, as appropriate, should consider introducing quotas with the aim of increasing youth participation, with adequate gender balance in parliaments and other elective positions. When quotas are introduced, monitoring of compliance and implementation of sanctions for noncompliance should be envisaged. 41. States should establish or strengthen accessible and inclusive structures, such as local youth councils, youth parliaments or other consultative mechanisms, to foster youth participation in all institutions. Such mechanisms should be grounded in law, provided with an adequate budget and tasked with the formulation of recommendations that should be acted upon and followed up. 42. National authorities and regulatory bodies at all levels should collect data to track youth participation, representation and inclusion in political processes and institutions. This could be achieved by, inter alia, creating focal points within public institutions to collect and periodically publish data on youth participation, representation and influence (e.g., a youth index). 43. To ensure inclusive online participation, States should take measures to increase access to the Internet for marginalized and excluded youth, including through media education programmes. These programmes should address the technical fundamentals of the Internet and also explore how to harness youth engagement to foster dialogue with political authorities and participation in political processes via online platforms. Media education curricula should address issues related to combating hate speech, xenophobia, sexism and gender stereotypes, racism and any other form of intolerance. 44. As community media fulfil an important democratic role and contribute to empowerment and media pluralism, States should provide an enabling legal environment and financial support to youth-led media with a view to promoting the right of youth to freedom of expression and participation, strengthening connections between youth, civil society organizations and policymakers and raising awareness of youth issues, particularly those affecting the most excluded youth. 45. States should introduce mechanisms to promote an intergenerational dialogue within existing policymaking structures. The promotion of inclusive and safe spaces for informal dialogue across generations should also be encouraged. 11