YOUTH PARTICIPATION ACTIVITIES

{Last Update: 24.12.2025}

"Youth Engagement Activities" provides funding to support activities that, beyond formal education and training, serve to engage young people in European democratic life, at local, regional, national and EU levels.

The objectives of the program are:

  • Creating opportunities for young people to engage and learn to participate in civil society and political or democratic life, so that decision-makers can hear their opinions and take their needs into account;
  • Develop participatory structures, mechanisms and approaches to provide space, support and means for young people to contribute to and influence decisions that affect them.

Supported activities should be consistent with common European values ​​and fundamental rights, raise awareness of them and address issues that are important to young people in all aspects of their lives. Supported activities should contribute to increasing young people's awareness of and interest in engaging with local, regional, national and European institutions and enhance the competences necessary for participation in democratic processes. Supported activities may also aim to raise decision-makers' awareness of the importance of youth participation and to enhance their competences in communicating with young people and involving them in decision-making processes.

Description of activities

“Youth Engagement Program” is a learning process outside the formal system, focused on strengthening youth engagement, within which participants are given the opportunity to experience the benefits of an exchange program, cooperation with partner institutions, cultural and civic activity. Within the framework of the program, young people should be given the opportunity to develop personal, social, civic and digital competences. 

Youth participation activities can be used to facilitate dialogue and discussions between young people and decision-makers. This should aim to raise decision-makers’ awareness of the importance of consulting with young people and taking their needs and views into account, as well as to improve decision-makers’ competences in this area, with the ultimate aim of ensuring that young people exercise their right to be involved in all decision-making processes that affect them in all aspects of their lives. Young people should be able to make their voices heard by decision-makers (by formulating positions, proposals and recommendations), in particular on how youth policy should be designed and implemented in Europe. Youth participation activities can also take the form of civic action and youth activism, which will allow young people to engage in various ways in raising awareness and bringing about change on issues that are important to them.

Youth engagement can be an activity created at a transnational or national (within one country, involving several countries) level. “National youth activities” are focused on testing ideas at the local level and/or improving and scaling up ideas that have already proven to be beneficial.

All youth engagement activities, regardless of their level of implementation, should provide opportunities to reflect on and engage with EU values ​​and related themes, which will add the added value of a European dimension to each project.

Supported activities may take the following forms (or a combination thereof): workshops, debates, role-playing games, simulations, use of digital tools (e.g. digital democracy tools), awareness-raising campaigns, trainings, meetings and other forms of online or offline interaction between young people and decision-makers, consultations, information and/or cultural events, etc.

Examples of activities:

  • Face-to-face or online workshops and/or meetings, seminars or other events/processes that offer a space for young people to receive information, debate and actively participate in issues relevant to their daily lives;
  • Consultations with young people that identify topics/issues that are specifically important to them (in a local, regional, national or transnational context) and identify their needs related to participating in the discussion of such topics/issues;
  • Awareness-raising campaigns on youth participation in democratic life, including informational and/or cultural events related to specific societal challenges of importance to young people;
  • Simulations of the functioning of democratic institutions and the roles of decision-makers in such institutions;
  • Activities to raise awareness and strengthen the competence of decision-makers about youth participation as a right, its importance and possibilities for implementation in all sectors

 

Who can apply?

Any relevant organization based in EU member states and/or third countries associated with the program can be an applicant.

The applicant applies on behalf of all organizations involved in the project consortium.

Who can participate?

Participating organization may be:

  • Non-governmental organization, association, public institutions at local, regional and national levels, social enterprise, for-profit organizations involved in corporate social responsibility programs;
  • Informal youth groups

Must be based in an EU Member State, a third country associated to the Programme and/or third countries not associated to the Programme (Regions 1-4)

Profile of participating organizations and their number

  • National Youth Engagement Projects: At least one participating organization
  • Transnational and international youth engagement projects: at least two participating organizations from different countries;

The same organization (with one OID) cannot be involved in more than 5 applications as an applicant or partner.

Duration of the project

From 3 months to 24 months

Beneficiaries

Young people from 13 to 30 years old, who are residents of the countries of the participating organizations and decision-makers related to the project's theme.

Facilitators and accompanying persons should not be considered participants in the activity, although they may receive support within certain budget categories.

Where to apply?

At the Erasmus+ National Agency of the country where the applicant organization is based.

When is the application due?

Applications are submitted according to the following deadlines:


February 12 (12:00, Brussels time) for projects starting between June 1 and December 31 of the current year.


October 1 (12:00, Brussels time) for projects starting between January 1 and May 31 of the following year.

How to apply?

Please review Part C of the program manual. 

Additions

If the project envisages the implementation of mobility activities, it should be accompanied by a planned mobility schedule.