YOUROPE Project: Visionary Roadmaps: Crafting an Inclusive and Participatory European Democracy with Youth and Communities

Logroño, La Rioja, Spain. 16 December 2024

European democracy is presently challenged by the rise of authoritarianism, political extremism, misinformation, and the decreasing engagement of (underrepresented) youth. YOUROPE addresses the traditionally low political participation rates among, especially underrepresented, youth by tapping into their potential and aspirations through innovative approaches. YOUROPE aspires to transform European citizenship and democracy by enhancing youth involvement, creating a more inclusive democratic process, and developing policies that align with the different needs, perspectives, and ambitions of European youth, especially those who are currently underrepresented. YOUROPE is dedicated to reinvigorating European democracy by enhancing inclusivity and participation, particularly focusing on underrepresented youth and their communities. This is achieved by establishing shared democratic spaces and roadmaps through the innovative ‘Community-Led Research and Action (CLRA)’ methodology in combination with quantitative methods.

This democratic methodology promotes a reciprocal environment of learning and action within educational institutions, recognizing their significant role in advancing European citizenship and democracy. It also ensures that strategies are grounded in evidence, sustainable, iterative, extensive in scale, and fundamentally participatory. Educational institutions are pivotal in this effort, acting as catalysts for democratic engagement. In these settings, young individuals and their communities will collaboratively develop inclusive, participatory democratic spaces and roadmaps. YOUROPE will implement this approach in 21 educational institutions, involving 630 young individuals and 6300 community members, connecting them directly with over 30 European policymakers. The project’s vision extends far beyond its immediate timeframe, intending to establish a basis for continuous research and action on future democratic scenarios for Europe.

YOUROPE’s envisioned impact is to transform European democratic participation into a proactive, resilient, and inclusive landscape, where the voices of underrepresented youth and their communities are integral in shaping policies that affect their lives and futures. This transformation is key to enhancing the vibrancy, resilience, and relevance of European democracy, now and in the future, making it truly reflective of its diverse youth population’s aspirations and challenges.

YOUROPE Project will also impact on:

  • Create a lasting legacy of democratic engagement of (underrepresented) youth and their communities by creating seven sustainable democratic spaces in seven partner institutions.
  • Develop seven sustainable roadmaps that connect young (underrepresented) people engaged in the democratic spaces with 15 EU policymakers with expansion to 30 by the end of the project.
  • Establish a comprehensive and inclusive theoretical framework for European Citizenship and Democracy, along with a EU citizenship toolkit including a validated survey aimed at enhancing inclusive and participatory EU policymaking.
  • Develop a tested model to apply the CLRA methodology to foster and sustain democratic spaces within and roadmaps from educational institutions to connect young (underrepresented) people with EU policy makers.
  • Promote a dynamic virtual learning approach of CLRA-COILs (Collaborative Online International Learning) for cross-cultural dialogue and collaboration. This collaborative networked learning approach will enable learning to be shared and discussed across the educational institutions arising from the CLRA scenarios.
  • Propose a collaborative online/offline learning methodology as a continuous feedback-loop environment, for continual learning, change, and innovation, with a focus on sustainability, vital for translating insights into significant theoretical and practical shifts in European citizenship.

The total grant for this project is 3.999.598,75 euros.

Coordinator:Uniwersytet Lodzki (Poland)

Partners: The Hague University of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands); Academica University Of Applied Sciences BV (The Netherlands); Coventry University (United Kingdom); Universitaet Augsburg (Germany); Det Europeiske Wergelandsenteret (Norway); Post Bellum Zu (Czech Republic); Jihoceska Univerzita V Ceskych Budejovicich (Czech Republic); Mestenhauser Institute For International Collaboration (Czech Republic); Yozgat Bozok Universitesi (Turkey); Tampereen Ammattikorkeakoulu Oy (Finland); Universitaet Kassel (Germany); Schwarzkopf-Stiftung Junges Europa (Germany); Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (Spain); Fundacion Española Por Los Derechos Humanos (Spain); National University Of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (Ukraine); Knowledge Innovation Centre (Malta)

Web: https://yourope-project.eu/

Reference: HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-11

Time span: 2024-2027

Funding type: European public