06/11/2025 Culture, Science, Education and Media
At the World Forum for Democracy 2025 in Strasbourg, a discussion explored how young people are reshaping democratic participation beyond traditional voting. The session, “Beyond the ballot: youth-led innovations boosting Democracy” was moderated by Valentina Grippo (Italy, ALDE), PACE General Rapporteur on media freedom and the safety of journalists.
The debate highlighted inspiring youth-led initiatives from across the globe, each addressing the challenge of democratic disengagement in creative and inclusive ways. From France, Plan Procu – an initiative by A Voté – uses digital tools and humour to make proxy voting more accessible and appealing to young voters. In Nigeria, the Youth-led Electoral Reform Project (YERP-Naija) engages youth leaders nationwide to push for electoral reforms and greater transparency. Meanwhile, in South Africa, MyRepresentative, developed by Open Cities Lab, helps citizens connect with local representatives and promotes year-round civic accountability.
Panellists Roman Banari (Republic of Moldova), Vladimir Misev (North Macedonia), and Erjon Tase (Albania) discussed how technology, civic education, and institutional support can amplify youth voices and create more responsive democratic systems. They underlined that the energy, creativity, and determination of young people are key to revitalising democracy, especially in times of growing political apathy.
Participants agreed that empowering youth and strengthening civil society are essential to building more participatory and inclusive democracies — where every citizen, especially the younger generation, feels both represented and responsible for shaping the future. They underlined that, although young people make up nearly half of the world’s population, only around 3% of parliamentarians are under 30.
Speakers highlighted the growing distrust of youth toward political institutions, alongside their increasing interest in engaging in public life, and pointed to high abstention rates as a reminder of the urgent need to rebuild confidence in democratic participation. As one participant noted, including young people not only in presenting initiatives but also in expert panels and decision-making spaces is essential to ensure that their perspectives help shape the conversations and policies that directly affect their generation.