Guidance Paper for Youth Participation

Around one third of the population of the European Union is below 29 years old. Hence, involving young people in shaping development in the Danube Region is essential for a sustainable future. Likewise, the Danube Strategy can provide a platform for meaningful dialogue with young people to take their views into account.

This is why the EU Danube Strategy commits to the involvement of civil society and youth in its strategic objectives. Priority Area 10 “Institutional Capacity and Cooperation” addresses this commitment in the Guidance Paper for Youth Participation.

Against this background, we discussed benefits, necessary conditions and good practice examples of youth involvement with young people, youth organisations, and representatives from public authorities, research, and further civil society organisations active in the Danube Region. Consequently, we presented the results in the Guidance Paper.

Guidance Paper for Youth Participation – Why, How & What

Aim

The Guidance Paper for Youth Participation aims at:

Providing guidance to youth initiatives and young people to pro-actively shape development in the Danube Region
Starting a discussion in the EU Danube Strategy Governance and beyond on a long-term, sustainable perspective for the EU Danube Strategy

Who

Priority Area 10 “Institutional Capacity and Cooperation” drafted the paper with an editors’ group representing the Danube Civil Society Forum, the Danube Youth Network, Agapedia Foundation, and the States Ministry of Baden-Württemberg. In doing so, we processed the results of consultations from the members of the Danube Youth Network, representatives from the Danube Strategy Governance, the Danube Local Actors Platform, and the participants of the 6th and 7th Danube Participation Day.

Download the Guidance Paper for Youth Participation (PDF | 1,2 MB)

Why do young people and youth organisations benefit from engaging in the Danube Strategy?

Accessing resources
Young people and youth organisations benefit from better access to funding information, policy networks with experienced partners, and information to develop projects and initiatives.
Building decision-making capacities
The Danube Strategy offers a platform to engage in decisions. Thereby, young people can learn how to formulate and advocate for their positions as well as to exchange with different stakeholders in a policy dialogue.
Mainstreaming youth policies
Young people can benefit from the exchange of experience with established stakeholders. Furthermore, their active engagement allows for a better alignment of youth policies with other mainstream policies and vice versa.

Why does the EU Danube Strategy benefit from involving young people?

Gaining better insights
Involving young people and youth organisations in the Danube Strategy means better representation of views and needs of people in the Danube Region that lead to better outcomes in terms of sustainable and resilient development.
Increasing innovative potential
A stronger emphasis on intergenerational cooperation creates innovative potential. Opening up for young people means to bring in new ideas and views on the region’s development.
Increasing stakeholder mobilisation
Meaningful involvement of young people and youth organisations leads to more ownership for strategic goals. Consequently, ownership translates into valuable contributions towards improving quality of life in the Danube Region.

How can we strengthen Youth Participation in the Danube Region?

Capacity Building

As young people and youth organisations need skills to express their views and engage in a meaningful way, we need to boost capacities in the following areas: networking; leadership & empowerment; (transnational) project development; digital & media literacy; message framing & advocacy.

Communication

Young people expect a more inlusive strategy communication. Therefore, we need to aim at lowering the threshold to gain information; involving young people in the communication; using communication channels that appeal to young people; and promoting a better understanding of the benefits of engaging in the EU Danube Strategy.

Cooperation

Access and suitable conditions for cooperation are prerequisites to engage in the Danube Strategy. Hence, we need to revise the entry points for cooperation in the areas of participation in networks & platforms; strategic decision-making processes, and project development and adjust them to young people’s needs.

What do we do to connect young people with the Danube Strategy?

(Please note that this a selection of activities addressing young people in the Danube Region.)

Danube Participation Day

The Participation Days is a unique opportunity to learn and discuss how to co-design policies. While the Danube Participation Day put a strong focus on youth participation in past events, it is also a chance to mainstream young people's views in various policy areas.

Young Bled Strategic Forum

The Young Bled Strategic Forum (Young BSF) is an annual conference bringing together young leaders between 18 and 35 years of age to engage in lively discussions and develop out-of-the-box solutions to some of the most pressing world issues.

Danube Youth Council

The Danube Youth Council (DYC) is an advisory platform for all bodies of the Danube Strategy consisting of young people from the Danube Region to include the viewpoints of young people on how to shape our future at political level.

Shoot by Youth

Shoot by Youth is a short video competition for young people from the Danube Region to address local issue in their town or region. The competing teams present challenges and possible solutions. Check out the winning videos on the Shoot by Youth website.

Danube Youth Network

The Danube Youth Network (DYN) supports youth participation, sustainability, empowerment and social inclusion. The DYN members are young professionals from NGOs with different thematic backgrounds addressing development in the Danube Region.

Strategic Youth Projects Webinar

The webinar on Strategic Youth Projects provided practical insights on how to do a youth project, how to apply for EU Funding, what to keep in mind when developing a project, and where you can find useful information and competent partners.

SECCo2 Platform

SECCo2 is a platform for cross-border cooperation that addresses young professionals. In this spirit the platform developed by CESCI provides information and tools to support cross-border networking and project development.

Danubius Young Scientist Award

The Danubius Young Scientist Awards honours excellence in research in all academic disciplines in the Danube Region. Each year, 14 young scientists receive the Danubius Award for extraordinary research in the context of the Danube Region.

International Danube Youth Camp

The biennial international Danube Youth Camp invites young people from the Danube Region to Ulm and Neu-Ulm. In doing so, the camp aims at strengthening the intercultural exchange between youngsters to foster European cooperation.

ACTION 7: TO STRENGTHEN THE INVOLVEMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND LOCAL ACTORS IN THE DANUBE REGION

Guidance Paper for Youth Participation

Guidance Paper for Youth Participation – Why, How & What

Download the Guidance Paper for Youth Participation (PDF | 1,2 MB)

Why do young people and youth organisations benefit from engaging in the Danube Strategy?

Why does the EU Danube Strategy benefit from involving young people?

How can we strengthen Youth Participation in the Danube Region?

Capacity Building

Capacity Building

Communication

Communication

Cooperation

Cooperation

What do we do to connect young people with the Danube Strategy?

IMAGES: (C) DANUBE YOUTH NETWORK * PA10/Young BSF * Shoot by Youth * City of Vienna/CESCI-SECCo2 * DRC * DZM Museum * EC Audiovisual Service | Alain Schröder * freepik | drobotdean