AMPLIFY Citizens

ROMANIA

AMPLIFY: Citizens is a collaborative platform that empowers young people to explore new forms of participatory solutions and become equal creators in building a better future.

We believe in the power of creativity to connect people and break down barriers. All our actions aim to empower young people to engage in participatory democracy, embrace creative activism, and design policy recommendations that reflect their communities’ needs. We managed to secure a grant from the European Parliament DG COMM. That’s like getting a gold star from the teacher everyone respects. We teamed up with our friends from People Powered to create more participatory formats and more methods to involve young people in policymaking. We made a Policy Toolkit, which will basically teach our future participants what participatory democracy is all about, how policies are made, and why young voices are so important in this process. We also obtained a grant from ALDA Europe. This one’s all about helping young people and local authorities work together to make their communities stronger.

AMPLIFY: Citizens is powered by young people. In this first year, we welcomed 45 volunteers to our team because, you know, 44 wasn’t enough. We are also glad to have 12 educators who are supporting our volunteers in their regions. This is us. A group of people making democracy look cool.

Presenter(s)

Co-Councillors (Co-Vereadores) A Shared Mandate for Participatory Democracy

BRAZIL

"Co-Vereadores" is a democratic innovation developed within the mandate of Councilman Gabriel, at the City Council of Belo Horizonte. The initiative aimed to decentralize decision-making and foster civic engagement by allowing citizens to collectively occupy one council seat through an open public selection process.

In its first edition (2021), over 50 candidates applied, with 9 Co-Vereadores elected through digital voting by local residents. In 2023, the program expanded: more than 200 candidates ran, 27 were elected, and over 3,000 citizens voted. Each representative covered one of the city’s nine administrative regions, with gender parity (two men and two women per region).

Participants engaged in weekly meetings, legislative monitoring, and public policy debates. Over four years, the group submitted more than 1,000 formal requests to the executive, reporting issues like transportation, lighting, and public health.

The initiative was coordinated by political advisor Samuel Franco and supported by a multidisciplinary team. Key partners included the municipal executive and the civic education NGO Politize!, which provided leadership training.

“Co-Vereadores” proved that participatory governance can be structured, inclusive, and institutional. Its success has inspired similar efforts in other municipalities and demonstrated a viable model for democratic renewal.

Presenter(s)

Civic participation, virtual reality game, civil agents

PORTUGAL

Recently, MyPolis has expanded its mission and experience further and challenged other countries to make democracy engaging and fun!

The Citizenship Agents, an EU funded project under CERV, empowers young Europeans through civic education, promoting democratic engagement, addressing climate change, sustainability, solidarity, media literacy, and misinformation. Using the Citizenship Agents board game, students and teachers take on the role of citizenship agents to tackle threats and develop civic proposals to improve their territory, allowing them to take ownership and responsibility for it.

By translating into other languages and working with our 11 partners to culturally adapt and implement the game, we’re empowering students, teachers, and political representatives across Spain, Italy, Hungary, Poland and Belgium to foster participatory democracy and citizenship education. The ultimate goal is to enhance their ability to implement participatory sessions (Assemblies) within their own communities, assuring a participatory democracy and better integration within the community.

Presenter(s)