On this International Day of Democracy, we celebrate the vital contribution young people play in shaping democracy. The EYF has funded numerous projects where youth participation and democratic engagement were the main topic.

At the Council of Europe, there is a priority related to young people and their contribution to revitalising democracy. This priority includes, for example,

• the support to young people to create their own spaces and organisations,
• the involvement of young people in political processes (elections, but also other public consultation and participatory policymaking),
• the support to young people’s involvement in tackling climate change and artificial intelligence,
• the promotion of Council of Europe principles on how young people should participate at local and regional level (in this respect the upcoming adoption of the revised text of the European Charter on the participation of young people in local and regional life is an important step)
• the support to involve young people from minority groups, or from rural areas, in all decisions that concern them.

Check out below some of the latest EYF-supported projects on this topic:

• International project Summer Camp for Inclusive Democracy: "Democracy, Diversity, and You(th)"

Implemented by the International Young Catholic Students International Movement of Catholic Students (JECI MIEC), in Poland

The JECI-MIEC Summer Camp focused on exploring perspectives, sharing experiences, and deepening the understanding of democracy and diversity, through a youth perspective. Using non-formal methods and interactive discussions, participants examined how young people can influence decision-makers and promote democratic values. They addressed challenges like tokenism and discussed ways to ensure meaningful engagement.

• International project “Fostering Youth Political Participation through Development of Political Education”

Implemented by the European Minority Youth Network, in Latvia

The aim of the training course was to foster young people’s participation in political processes by developing their political education and political culture using attractive and interactive methods.

During the training course held in Riga, 23 participants from 9 Council of Europe member states were trained on practical methods and tools to development political education and political culture of young people,  to foster youth civic and political participation but also developed outputs which they used during follow up activities on political education and political participation of young people, thus contributing to multiply the effect of the initial project: video explainer, short videos, podcasts, board game and a simulation game.

Check out the outputs produced by the project at the following link: European Minority Youth Network | Political education

• Annual work plan project “Let's speak diversity - inclusion of language and ethnic minorities in European decision-making”

Implemented by the Young European Federalists(JEF), in Cyprus, Belgium, Spain and across Europe through local actions

This project aimed at developing the European Civic Education competences of youth workers and educators from the network of JEF, focusing on how to sensitively approach, empower, include and work with people coming from minority and linguistic backgrounds, including Roma youth. Through various international, regional and local actions, the project succeeded in increasing the knowledge of young activists on language and ethnic minority communities across Europe, understanding their challenges and their stories and encouraging partners from the youth sector to listen, learn and build their work in a more inclusive manner in every aspect. 

• International project “Alternative Forms of Participation for Rural Youth”

Implemented by the NGO Umbrella in Georgia

The project aims to bring together 24 young people from 7 Council of Europe member states’ rural areas and, within a seven days of training course, to empower them to raise their participation at international levels via the alternative means/forms (non-traditional) of youth participation.