With the Benelux Debate Competition, we prepare young people from diverse backgrounds, ages, and educational levels to become active democratic citizens. They learn to express themselves clearly, collaborate effectively, and engage with different perspectives. Subject-matter experts from fields such as journalism and academia support them by answering questions and deepening the debates. A key goal is to connect students with their representatives, such as political youth organizations and LAKS (the National Student Action Committee for Secondary Students). This ensures that valuable ideas from participants do not disappear after the tournament, but are passed on to organizations. With this input, these organizations can align their work more closely with the needs and experiences of young people, and thereby strengthen their democratic role. Since these organizations must represent all young people—not just those who already know how to find them—we provide a bridge to a broader and more diverse group of students. Through a follow-up program with LAKS, young people are given the opportunity to further develop their ideas and present them to their representatives. In this way, their social and political engagement grows, while the debating skills they acquire equip them to continue making their voices heard in many other ways.