The Kurt Löwenstein Educational Centre for Youth understands political education as a process through which children, adolescents, and young adults connect their own interests and experiences with broader social developments and structures, while critically engaging with them. The aim of our work is to empower young people to develop their own perspectives and represent them democratically. In our seminars, participants explore socio-political issues, develop options for action, and experience participation in practice: they help shape the programme, take responsibility, learn how to engage in solution-oriented debates, and gain first-hand insight into both the opportunities and the limitations of democratic participation. As the educational centre of a nationwide, active children's and youth organisation, representing the interests of young people is a core element of our work. Political participation therefore runs as a cross-cutting theme throughout all our educational activities. Our starting point is always the realities, experiences, and questions of the participants themselves. Together, we develop these into broader socio-political topics and encourage young people to voice their concerns and take responsibility within their communities. Our international partners include youth organisations, youth work institutions, and civil society organisations from across Europe and beyond. An important framework for this cooperation is the Educational Network for Solidarity, Democracy and Equality (EduNet), which we co-founded in 2005. Today, the network brings together 25 organisations from more than 20 countries, particularly from the European Union and the WANA (West Asia and North Africa) region. This cooperation enables continuous professional exchange and the joint development of innovative approaches to political youth education. Our international seminars and exchange programmes bring together young people, trainers in political education, youth workers, and representatives of civil society. Diverse experiences and perspectives are made visible and reflected upon collectively. We primarily use non-formal education methods, which provide a practical approach to political topics while creating space for discussion, participation, and collaborative learning. An essential element of our work is ensuring that the outcomes of our programmes are transferred into practice. Participants take the methods and experiences they have developed back to their organisations and local communities. Many go on to create their own educational activities or incorporate individual methods into their daily work. In this way, our projects have an impact far beyond the duration of the exchange itself and contribute to long-term, sustainable change. Our educational work strengthens young people's independence, sense of responsibility, and democratic competences. By facilitating the exchange of diverse experiences, approaches, and perspectives, our programmes promote mutual understanding, critical thinking, and engagement with discriminatory and anti-democratic attitudes. In doing so, they also contribute to strengthening social cohesion. Since its establishment more than 50 years ago, the Kurt Löwenstein Educational Centre for Youth has been guided by the core principles of the EU Youth Strategy: Engage, Connect, and Empower. Young people are encouraged to contribute ideas for new topics and actively participate in shaping our programmes. Many of our international seminars originate from participants' feedback as well as from current social and political developments. We combine face-to-face learning with digital educational opportunities. Our online learning platform and collaborative digital tools support participants before and after seminars while also fostering long-term networking and exchange among participants. Our international seminars are facilitated by experienced freelance trainers. Many of them were once participants in our own programmes and later became trainers through our qualification schemes or other professional training programmes. As a result, they combine strong professional expertise with first-hand experience in international youth work. The development of our seminar concepts is participatory and involves both trainers and participants. Experiences from previous projects, as well as current political challenges, continuously inform the design of new programmes. Participants are regarded as active co-creators of their own learning process and experience that their interests and ideas have a tangible impact. The content of our projects is closely aligned with the objectives of the EU Youth Strategy. Particular emphasis is placed on equality, inclusion, participation, and the active involvement of young people in democracy. Our goal is to empower young people to engage actively in democratic processes and to experience Europe as a shared space of dialogue, solidarity,cooperation, and participation.