Active participation of citizens in politics – from voting to involvement in their local communities – is a fundamental requirement for the health and vitality of any democracy. Despite this, recent studies have shown a worrying decline in young people’s interest in politics both in Europe and elsewhere. This has led to low voter turnout, a lack of civic awareness, and limited engagement with institutions.
“Youth DemocrAID” is a project created within the CERV programme with the aim of addressing this issue. Its goal is to support democracy by increasing the engagement of young people, who are essential to strengthening it and to building a more inclusive and united Europe.
The actions will mainly focus on young people aged 15 to 25, enabling them to engage with their peers from the five participating European countries: Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Greece, and Portugal.
A series of local workshops and debates will be held in each country, addressing topics related to youth development and leadership, community action and grassroots movements, youth and civic engagement, political participation and advocacy, as well as an introduction to democracy and citizenship. A youth forum and a final international conference in Bologna will also be organised.
Case studies and scenarios prepared by the partners will be collected in an open-source toolkit. Podcasts from the five countries will feature interviews with national and local political representatives, activists, NGOs, and young people actively involved in their communities, who will share their stories, creating a shared digital library to be expanded in the coming years thanks to the established network.
The project therefore aims to engage young people in politics, promoting exchange and debate at the European level on the negative consequences of non-participation in democratic processes, and encouraging the adoption of participatory and non-formal methods to discuss and educate on this topic.
Here you can read the results of the project’s events in the form of the Event Description Sheet:
1. Youth DemocrAID_EDS_WP1_International Seminar and Training
2. Youth DemocrAID_EDS_WP2_Implementation in Italy
3. Youth DemocrAID EDS WP3 Implementation in Poland
4. Youth DemocrAID_EDS_WP4_Implementation in Slovakia
5. Youth DemocrAID_EDS_WP5_Implementation in Greece
6. Youth DemocrAID EDS WP6 Implementation in Portugal
Youth DemocrAID: Final International Conference 16.03.2026 On March 10, 2026, the final international conference of the YouthDemocrAID: Education, Debate, Action project took place, serving as a moment of meeting and […]
Within the framework of the Youth DemocrAID Education, Debate, Action project, co-funded by the EU’s CERV Programme, YouNet organized in the International Youth Forum, a dynamic event that brought together young leaders and partner organisations from five European countries.
Within the framework of the Youth DemocrAID project, implemented under the CERV Programme (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values), an international seminar and a Training of Trainers were organised in Trnava, Slovakia.