In Serbia, Georgia, and Moldova, young people are getting involved in anti-corruption movements and democratic mobilisations, sometimes at the risk of their own safety. Yet they remain almost entirely absent from formal decision-making spaces. This is the paradox that EDYN, a European network active in 23 countries, seeks to address, notably through YouthDecide 2040: a research programme through which the network organised around a dozen workshops in Central and Eastern Europe to gather young people’s visions for the future of democracy. Carlotta Serioli and Lubica Kovacova explain why the real question is not whether young people want to participate, but whether or not institutions are willing to recognise them.
Missions Publiques. People often say that young people are turning away from politics. Is that what you observe in Central and Eastern Europe?
Carlotta Serioli and Lubica Kovacova. Not exactly. What we observe is not a complete lack of interest in politics, but rather a distrust of traditional political forms.
We see that young people are often disillusioned with formal political institutions, which they may perceive as unresponsive, opaque, or dominated by older generations. This is an issue everywhere, but especially in our region it results in lower electoral participation and limited engagement with traditional party politics and civil society.
At the same time, however, our members show us every day that young people want to be active in grassroots movements, issue-based campaigns, digital activism, and community initiatives. In many of our countries, youth have been at the forefront of protests (even when it cost them their safety in countries like Serbia and Georgia) and anti-corruption movements.
The difference with Western Europe lies mainly in the context. Across Europe, young people participate differently from previous generations. But in our region, this engagement runs up more forcefully against structural barriers: lack of access to decision-making spaces, weak institutional recognition, closed networks, and participation that is often informal or reserved for those who already have resources.
"These young people are not absent because they have nothing to say. They are absent because participation spaces are not always designed with them in mind.
Lubica Kovacova
Executive Director
Missions Publiques. You describe an “elitist participation ecosystem.” Don’t the tools you offer risk reaching, once again, the young people who need them least?
Carlotta Serioli and Lubica Kovacova. The first barrier is access. In many countries, participating already requires having the right networks, being close to an institution, knowing the unwritten rules, or being able to volunteer your time. This effectively excludes many young people.
It is often those with the fewest resources who face the greatest difficulties: young people living in rural areas, those from modest backgrounds, young women, ethnic or religious minorities, first-generation students, or young people with family or caregiving responsibilities.
These young people are not absent because they have nothing to say. They are absent because participation spaces are not always designed with them in mind.
There is also a real generational gap in political representation. Young people are barely present in the places where decisions are made. And when they engage in other ways, online, in the streets, in their communities, these forms of involvement are still too rarely recognised as genuine democratic participation.
That is where one of the key challenges lies: bringing institutions closer to the new forms of youth engagement.
Missions Publiques. How does EDYN concretely work to close this gap?
Carlotta Serioli and Lubica Kovacova. Our approach rests on two dimensions.
On one side, we work with young people to strengthen their skills, their networks, and their confidence. We create safe, non-partisan spaces where they can speak freely, debate, test ideas, and learn from one another.
We make extensive use of peer learning. It works well because young people feel more comfortable when they are not simply “consulted,” but fully involved in the discussion. The formats we favour are very hands-on: training sessions, deliberative workshops, idea labs, and local initiatives.
On the other side, we also work with institutions. The goal is to help them recognise that participation is not limited to voting or joining a party. A petition, a local mobilisation, a digital campaign, or a citizen workshop can also be forms of democratic engagement.
Our role is therefore to bridge these two worlds: young people who are already taking action, and institutions that need to learn to listen to them better.
“Our work aims not only to strengthen young people’s capacity to act, but also to bridge the gap between institutions and new forms of democratic participation.”
"This sense of ownership is essential. Young people [...] They want to help define the questions, imagine scenarios, discuss possible choices, and see how their ideas can be connected to public decision-making.
Carlotta Serioli
Deputy Director
Missions Publiques. What are the YouthDecide 2040 workshops conducted across different countries teaching you?
Carlotta Serioli and Lubica Kovacova. The workshops confirm one very simple thing: when you offer young people the right framework, they show up.
More than 300 young people have already taken part in the national workshops organised as part of YouthDecide 2040. They particularly appreciated the interactive format, the opportunity to co-create visions for the future, and the fact that they were not merely passive participants.
This sense of ownership is essential. Young people do not just want to be heard at the end of a process that has already been written. They want to help define the questions, imagine scenarios, discuss possible choices, and see how their ideas can be connected to public decision-making.
These workshops also reveal the very concrete challenges of mobilisation. Organising quality formats requires a great deal of preparation, particularly for local facilitators. And in some countries, such as Moldova, mobilising participants remains difficult, with last-minute dropouts or lower-than-expected turnout.
But the main takeaway remains positive: young people want to participate. The question is whether institutions are ready to recognise their ways of engaging and to give them a genuine place in decision-making.
