The project aimed to actively involve young people in global issues, giving them the opportunity to form and express their opinions through role-plays, debates and conversations with policy makers. Every year we organize the Plenum (b)XL with Globelink. On this day, all KRAS youth from Flanders and Brussels come together in the Chamber, the Senate and the Flemish Parliament. Together with politicians and experts, they debate the year's theme and formulate solutions and recommendations for national and international politics. These are voted on in plenary and distributed as widely as possible. The themes were identity and human rights. - In addition to speaking, learning to take positions and build arguments was an essential part of the project. Within the Action Team, young people worked around a central theme. They researched social issues and developed well-founded positions. They also visited many democracy buildings and received guided tours. The trajectories resulted in concrete policy recommendations which they debated with politicians. They also organized and moderated debates (time to react, Plenum (b)xl 2023, Plenum (b)XL 2024,...) themselves. For the Inclusive Identity Project, extra attention was paid to young people who had less experience in forming views. Through creative methodologies such as collage making, an urban game, they were able to structure their thoughts and clearly express their opinions. They were guided in exploring different perspectives so they felt more confident in the debate. - Young people had the opportunity to practice all of these skills in a safe environment. Within both the Action Team and the Inclusive Identity Project, great importance was placed on an inclusive and supportive atmosphere. By partnering with organizations such as Tumult and Habbekrats, barriers were removed and youth received additional guidance in a familiar environment. Customized sessions ensured that young people felt well prepared before participating in public debates (Local Final Session Ninove, Plenum 2023 and Plenum 2024). We wanted to create two trajectories with this participation dossier, formed around KRAS. The first track was the inclusive track, aiming to make the Plenum (b)XL 2023 and 2024 more inclusive; with a specific focus on young people from migrant backgrounds. The second trajectory was the action team. Here we aimed to engage young people in the preparation and execution of the Plenum (b)XL 2023 and 2024. We wanted to make our project even more participatory by having young people help organize this event. We had several objectives in mind when submitting this project: - A first important objective was to provide young people with tools for developing a vision of a sustainable, inclusive and just world. Exposing them to a wide diversity of opinions and social perspectives allowed them to refine their own views. Within the Action Team, diversity was ensured by allowing different political stances and perspectives to be discussed in debates and workshops. This allowed young people to better substantiate their ideas and formulate them in a more nuanced way. In the Inclusive Identity Project, the focus was on young people with a migration background or a vulnerable social position, who are often denied access to policy-making. By guiding them in conversations about identity and human rights, they had the opportunity to strengthen their voices and make them visible within the Plenum. - In addition, the project aimed to give young people a voice in society. This meant not only participating in discussions, but also influencing the content and form of policy discussions. In the Action Team, young people were given the responsibility to organize Plenum (b)XL and disseminate their recommendations to policy makers. In the Inclusive Identity Project, extra efforts were made to get young people who would not normally attend Plenum to participate. This was done, among other things, through intensive guidance and methodologies that were accessible to young people who had a lesser command of Dutch. - Another goal was to teach young people how to speak in front of a group. Within the Action Team, participants received workshops in which they learned how to address an audience, moderate debates and express their opinions confidently. Thanks to this training, they eventually took on the role of chairperson or moderator during committees in the Brussels Parliament. In the Inclusive Identity track, the emphasis was on lowering the barriers to speaking in a public space. Young people who were insecure about their language skills received additional support and the opportunity to express their opinions in alternative ways.