Youth4Change is a project that puts young people at the centre of shaping their communities, their countries, and Europe. At a time when many young people feel unheard, excluded, or disconnected from decision-making, Youth4Change creates real spaces where youth voices matter and lead.
The project empowers young people from marginalised and underrepresented communities, including youth from rural areas, migrant and refugee backgrounds, socio-economically disadvantaged situations, and young people with disabilities, to take an active role in social and democratic life. Using a bottom-up approach, Youth4Change starts with what young people care about: their everyday challenges, their ideas, and their vision for a fairer future.
Through non-formal, hands-on, and creative learning, participants develop the skills and confidence to speak up, think critically, and take action. Civic education workshops strengthen critical thinking, media literacy, communication, and leadership skills, while encouraging young people to understand their rights, responsibilities, and power as active citizens.
Youth4Change encourages young people to co-create solutions, debate local, national, and European issues, and engage directly with policymakers through structured dialogue, youth assemblies, hackathons, and creative labs. Art, storytelling, and digital tools are used as powerful ways to express opinions, challenge stereotypes, and build mutual understanding.
By connecting youth across cities and countries, Youth4Change fosters European exchange, solidarity, and a strong sense of belonging. Participants are not just learning about democracy but are practicing it, becoming confident change-makers who help build more inclusive, democratic, and socially cohesive societies at the local, national, and European levels.
Project objectives:
- Increasing democratic participation and political involvement among young people.
- Creating inclusive, barrier-free, and equitable spaces for participation.
- Teaching practical skills in the areas of political education, critical thinking, communication, and leadership.
- Strengthening social inclusion, diversity, and equality; with a focus on structurally disadvantaged groups.
- Establishing sustainable European networks between cities, organizations, and political actors.
- Promoting European identity, solidarity, and social cohesion.
Activities & expected results:
- Transnational Awareness-Raising Event in Dresden: The kick-off event in Dresden will bring together partners, stakeholders, and young people to present the project and raise awareness of youth participation issues. Workshops, interactive activities, and a cultural program helping establish initial networks and lay the foundation for transnational cooperation.
- Analysis of needs, challenges, and opportunities in youth engagement: A comprehensive analysis identifying the needs, challenges, and opportunities of young people in political participation, especially for disadvantaged groups. The results form the basis for the development of the workshop curriculum and the design of inclusive participation formats.
- Online Training of Trainers on civic education: Trainers from all partner countries are trained online to independently implement civic education workshops. The training courses taught methodological skills, gender and inclusion perspectives, and practical exercises for active political education.
- Transnational f2f Civic Education Program and study visits in Molfetta: The face-to-face program in Molfetta combines workshops, study visits, and dialogue formats with local decision-makers. Young people expand their knowledge of democracy, participation, and media literacy and are able to apply what they learn directly in practical projects.
- Local/national workshops on civic education addressing young people and young people with fewer opportunities: In three workshop cycles per partner country, young people work on topics such as democracy, active participation, media literacy, and diversity. Particularly disadvantaged young people are able to make their voices heard and design their own media products such as vidcasts, podcasts, and posters.
- Online Training of Trainers on structured dialogue: This training prepares youth workers to moderate structured dialogues between young people and political actors. Methods, tools, and case studies support participants in successfully implementing local participation formats.
- Structured Dialogue Toolkit & Best Practices: The toolkit summarizes all experiences and methods of structured dialogue. With step-by-step guidelines, interactive elements, videos, and reflection questions, trainers and youth workers can effectively involve young people in decision-making processes.
- Local Youth Assemblies & Hackathons: In local youth assemblies and hackathons, young people work together to develop solutions for their communities. The results incorporated into reports and policy recommendations strengthen the understanding of co-determination and democratic participation.
- Transnational Youth Forum in Brussels: The Youth Forum in Brussels brings together young representatives, trainers, and EU politicians. In roundtables, workshops, and study visits, participants discuss challenges and develop concrete proposals for policy measures at the European level.
- Transnational Youth Forum Report and Policy Recommendations: The report documents the results of the Brussels forum and summarizes the young people’s recommendations for policymakers. It serves as a guide for implementing youth-friendly participation in Europe.
- Transnational final event in Dresden: The final event in Dresden presenting the project results, sharing best practices, and providing space for networking, encourages young people, partner organizations, and stakeholders to exchange ideas and perspectives, and discuss policy recommendations on youth participation in civic life.
Project consortium
Jugend- & Kulturprojekt e.V. – Germany (coordinator) | www.jkpev.de
OBESSU (Belgium) | www.obessu.org
MANO Europa (Lithuania) | www.manoeuropa.org
IDEA (Netherlands) | www.idebate.net
La Guajira (Spain) | www.laguajiradealmeria.com
University of Almeria (Spain) | www.cemyri.es/es/
InCo Molfetta (Italy) | www.incoweb.org
The project is co-financed by the European Commission through the CERV programme.
