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A quick scan of the headlines these days would probably leave everyone with a rather negative impression: European and international developments come with great challenges - especially when it comes to democracy and freedom. Yet, positive participatory initiatives and evolutions must also be highlighted, especially when it engages the youth.
One of the good news is that many solutions to the challenges are already on the table. Especially in the European context, many steps were taken that support democracy and strengthen participation of citizens: we saw the Conference on the Future of Europe taking place, we are now in the European Year of Youth, next year, three citizen panels will be held on EU level on concrete topics, and a “defence of democracy package” is currently prepared by the European Commission. In short: we do not only find threats to democracy in Europe, but also hope and forward looking initiatives from the transnational to the regional level.
Especially, when looking at EU action, the role of the European regions cannot be underestimated. They play a crucial and central role here, as they connect citizens in their immediate environment: their actions can help to create a common identity among people, especially young ones.
Those are the reasons why we launch another initiative that highlights the resilience and the potential of modern, agile and strong democracies. From 14 December, we invite young citizens from the border regions of two European countries (Czech Republic: Karlovy Vary, Pilsen, South Bohemia & Germany: Bavaria) to participate in our consultation for two months, till February 2023. They are invited to answer the question “Czech-Bavarian cooperation: How can we build a strong and sustainable Europe together?” and to react to their peer’s ideas. For this, we use our multilingual solution that is optimised for large scale participatory consultations.
Sarah Delahaye, Managing Director of Make.org Germany: “This innovative approach enables us to involve young citizens in all their diversity and in a geographically representative way, especially those who otherwise do not participate in public decision making processes.”
The project’s kick-off was communicated today during the closing event of the European Year of Youth in Brussels. At the conference, Prof. JUDr. Vladimír Balaš, Czech Minister of Education, Youth, and Sports said that “the young people are the driving force behind changes”. The Minister also referred to a limited efficiency of public institutions to make young people join. He highlighted the importance “to give the chance to young generations to show how the world should look like". "Youth together for Europe" wants to enable this driving force in the border regions between the Czech Republic and Germany and indeed engage citizens that would not have participated otherwise.
After the consultation, we will analyse the outcome to identify the consensus that unites the participants, as well as the issues that divide them. The results will be handed over to the national governments, as well as the regional administrations. From 2023 onwards, concrete and targeted transnational projects and initiatives will be developed on the basis of the results. The focus will be on the needs, ideas and wishes of young people.
Our project will not only contribute to better avenues to participate for young citizens. It will also enhance the cross-border cooperation between Germany and the Czech Republic - within the framework of the Czech Presidency of the EU Council and the European Year of Youth.