The project “ Democracy in Action” aims to establish sustainable democracy mechanisms, models and practices, and strengthen youth work which create a solid ground for youth participation and engagement, so that young people can move from being mainly participants in democratic life to becoming contributors and structural actors in local and european democratic arenas. Building on the proven results from the 2025 mobility ( Transform Youth Work), this proposal focuses on developing youth workers’ advanced competences in democratic facilitation, cross-sector cooperation, and participatory democracy festivals/platform design, inspired by Norwegian models of public dialogue and transparency. The overall objective is to equip youth workers with concrete methods, tools and partnerships that help them build trust with young people and support more meaningful youth participation—especially in contexts where democratic engagement is declining and institutional support is limited. The participating organisations bring similar needs and a joint commitments to address, they all work with young people who want to be taken seriously in democratic life, but who often meet the same barrier: low trust, high frustration, and weak/uneven “interfaces” between youth and decision-makers. Across contexts, youth workers are the key enablers, yet they need updated methods, stronger networks, and credible arenas where young people can hold structural roles, not only attend events.