That young people do not get involved and live behind the back of what happens in society is a much-heard refrain. However, and like many other topics, it is possible that such an assertion does not conform to reality. The Liderem platform, without going any further, is an example. This organization created by young people, which was born in the summer of 2021 and which was presented in society a little over a year ago, intends to act as a pressure group so that issues that concern youth – housing, decent wages, mental health… – are present on the agenda.
The project started in Barcelona under the name Liderem and is now present in all the Catalan provinces. “We attach great importance to the territory,” explains Tomàs Güell, 24 years old and president of the entity, to La Vanguardia. Later they made the leap to Madrid, adopting the name of Lideremos. “At the state level we are Liderem, we have members from different autonomous communities, and in Catalonia we call ourselves Liderem”, points out Güell.
He says that the idea of ??creating this organization arose for two reasons. First, so that “youth – young professionals from different fields and sectors – could access people with experience, such as politicians or businessmen of different ideologies.”
And secondly -he continues-, to “try to mark the agenda with the main issues that concern young people, such as housing, fair wages or mental health”. “Among other things, we intend to avoid the brain drain”, adds Clàudia Tarinas (27 years old), general secretary and spokesperson for the entity.
“The public administration always says that we are the most prepared generation. Well, let it be noticed and that they really listen to us ”, adds Xavier Garcia, also 27 years old and vice president of strategy.
They have a clear objective: influence. “We want to be a service tool for young people, and all this without ties to any political option,” Güell argues. “We cannot make the young talent in Spain grow, evolve, if we do not have the basic problems, which are structural, solved”, she adds.
Despite their short existence, they have managed to gain access to the first swords of the political and business sphere. For their presentations, they have paraded from ministers -José Manuel Albares or Raquel Sánchez-, to other politicians -Salvador Illa, Artur Más, Borja Sémper, Xavier Trias or Jaume Collboni-, ex-politicians, such as Manuela Carmena, and also businessmen -Enrique Lacalle, Anna January, Rosa Tous, Jaume Guardiola or Josep Sánchez Llibre-.
Güell asserts that the partners with whom they count – the Fundació la Caixa, Engel
Of course, they are not satisfied with having access to these personalities. “What we want are facts, and that is what we aspire to,” says Güell. “We will not stop. First we have to have a public presence and be strong in communication, and then we will focus on getting things for young people.”
At the moment, they have about 1,300 members, who do not pay any fee for being members, although they do have to pay for the entrance to the events. The entity, for now, is financed thanks to the contributions of the partners and the margin they obtain from the presentations they organize.
Knowing that the term lobby “is not very well regarded in Spain”, they prefer to be identified “as a shuttle for young talent”. “At a national level, we have recruited the young leader of each area,” says Güell.
Starting in September, they have the idea of ??professionalizing the platform, having several people working exclusively for it. “We want to be the benchmark entity for young people in Spain, and if we don’t have people working 24 hours a day on the project, it’s very difficult to achieve it,” concludes Güell.
