With the project “Youth Democracy Festivals in Europe” we wish to broaden and strengthen youths’ civic engagement and participation in democratic processes at the international, national, regional and local level. YDF is a two-day democratic festival for youths, which Ungdomsbureauet (The Youth Bureau) developed and held for the first time in September 2016. YDF was a great success with 20.000 youths participating and 60 stands containing 85 different organisations, enterprises and political parties. Due to our experience and knowledge in regards to developing and organising YDF for youths across both educational, social, economic and geographic differences we intend to develop YDF together with our partner organisations into a viable concept which can be transferred to and applied by other countries in Europe. All over the world today, we see examples of youths getting their voice ignored in what is understood as democratic processes. When democracy becomes a matter of majority votes youths, more often than not, draw the shortest straw. They are increasingly outnumbered by the elder population - a population, which votes for Brexit and Trump with no regard for the future or youths. With the establishment of national Youth Democracy Festivals in a wide range of different countries, we hope to help foster one of the most civically engaged youth generations ever seen in Europe. By participating in YDF, youths will experience democracy as much more than just knowing where and what to vote - they will learn by interacting with others that democracy is about how we want to live together, how we want our society to be shaped and which values we wish to live by. Questions like these are all part of the YDF, where youths will participate in workshops, where they are faced with challenges of today posed by the many different organisations present at the event. The challenges of today should be solved by the citizens of the future - youths, whose solutions and ideas will be acknowledged through YDF, which functions as a democratic platform where youths and decision makers engage in political debates and dialogues and where everyone have the right to be heard. YDF will help strengthen youths’ democratic self-confidence and restore their faith in themselves and their ability to make a difference by engaging in civic society.
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