The aim of the project was to strengthen inclusive democratic participation in the youth sector and to promote the active involvement of newly emerging and smaller youth organizations in European policy dialogue. Our goal was to develop the participatory skills of young people, channel the opinions of young people from different social and geographical backgrounds, and develop research-based policy recommendations that contribute to the renewal of the EU Youth Dialogue and other participatory structures. In addition, we sought to increase the capacities of partner organizations and strengthen long-term international cooperation.
We created this project so that young people and youth organizations from rural, disadvantaged, or less visible social groups could also participate in European participatory mechanisms, especially in EU-level dialogues. Our experience prior to the project was that decision-making was typically dominated by more experienced organizations with greater resources, resulting in a democratic deficit. In response to this, we created the DIYO project as a good example. The project thus aimed to strengthen inclusive democratic participation. The main objectives were to involve emerging youth organizations, develop the active citizenship skills of young people, and strengthen the links between research, policy, and practical youth work. The initiative specifically sought to reach young people who had previously been underrepresented in European youth policy processes and to create real opportunities for them to participate at both national and European level.