ParticipACTION

ParticipACTION is primarily addressed to young people aged 16-23 from diverse backgrounds, particularly young migrants, and especially young women and girls. Additionally, it targets stakeholders such as civil society organizations, grassroots and women-led groups, migrant-led organizations, activists, educators, local authorities, and cultural and research institutions who support or engage with youth. Policymakers at local, national, and EU levels are also key participants, as the project fosters dialogue and collaboration between them and young people. 

You may be able to join the project if you fit within the target group! The project is open to young people aged 16-23 from diverse backgrounds, with a particular focus on third-country nationals, and especially young women and girls, in Italy, Cyprus, France, and Lithuania. If you’re interested and meet these criteria, you could participate in events like workshops, roundtables, and advocacy activities designed to build skills and foster engagement in EU democratic processes. 

Stakeholders such as educators, activists, or representatives from civil society organizations and local authorities are encouraged to get involved in the project, especially if they work with youth or support democratic participation and inclusivity. 

Reach out to the project’s focal points via the contact details below to receive additional information on eligibility and involvement. 

We suggest you follow the social media channels of all the partners: 

• IRC Italy: X 
• Glocal Factory: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn
• Generation for Change: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn
• PLACE Network: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn
• Mano Europa: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn 

For more direct inquiries, please feel free to reach out to the project’s focal points mentioned in the contact section! 

For further questions about ParticipACTION, you can reach out to the project’s focal point: 

Italy: Tessa Piccinin - Information Assistant and Project Assistant - Tessa.piccinin@rescue.org 

As part of the national assessment of the ParticipACTION project aimed to gather first-hand insights from young people (aged 16-23) on their understanding of civic engagement and the barriers they face in participating in democratic processes. Through Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), we sought to assess their awareness, explore their experiences, and co-develop ideas on how to foster solidarity and active participation in decision-making at the national and EU levels.  

Participants across different FGDs displayed a general awareness of major EU institutions. Many were familiar with youth-focused programs like Erasmus+, the European Solidarity Corps, and EU traineeships but still a lot of other initiatives were unknown or people never engaged with them because of a lack of knowledge on how to do so: "Many young people don’t even know these programs exist, let alone how to access them."  

A recurring theme was the knowledge gap about how these institutions function and their impact on non-EU citizens. Young people, both Europeans but particularly those from marginalized backgrounds, find EU institutions distant and bureaucratic, as one girl said “The EU is like my old uncle that I only see when I go back home for Christmas. I know he is there and I care about him but I don’t think about him every day” but direct exposure and peer-to-peer learning enhance engagement. Many participants advocate for structured political education and more accessible avenues for civic involvement, especially in schools.  

Engagement in civic and political participation is valued across diverse groups of young people, yet barriers such as misinformation, lack of political education, and institutional inaccessibility hinder effective involvement, but among the findings that highlighted the importance of confronting directly with youth there is a statement that one person said during the FGDs: “We talk about access barriers, but sometimes the biggest barrier is psychological - young people don’t see themselves as belonging in these spaces”.  

Grassroots organizations and peer mentorship are the most trusted engagement methods. “If you want to engage marginalized youth, you need to go to them. They won’t come to you.” said another youth interviewed. Proposed solutions include better political education, storytelling, and inclusive youth-led initiatives to make participation more accessible and meaningful.  

And that is what ParticipACTION is here for! 

The Focus Groups 

Between January and March 2025, we brought together 151 young people, aged 16-23, from Italy, Cyprus, France, and Lithuania and asked them about their understanding of civic engagement and the barriers they face in participating in democratic processes. We sought to assess their awareness, explore their experiences, and co-develop ideas on how to foster solidarity and active participation in decision-making at the national and EU levels. 

To foster rich and dynamic conversations, we carefully designed the groups with varying compositions—some sessions included only high school students, others only university students, while some mixed both to observe how discussions evolved in different settings. In total, 21 FGDs were organized by IRC and its partners Glocal Factory, Generation for Change, Mano Europa and Place Network.  

Additionally, the nationality of participants varied, ensuring that in some cases, a safe and comfortable space was prioritized, while in others, a stimulating and thought-provoking debate was encouraged. This diversity allowed us to capture a broad spectrum of perspectives, making the discussions even more insightful and reflective of young people's realities across Europe. 

During the Focus Group Discussions, we had the chance to dive deep into how young people truly feel about Europe, politics, and civic engagement. Their perspectives—ranging from curiosity to skepticism—shed light on the barriers they face and the motivations that drive them. Through open dialogue, we explored key themes such as youth political participation, barriers to civic engagement, representation and inclusion, the role of social media in activism, and the impact of EU policies on young people’s lives. 

Social media, especially Instagram and YouTube, plays a crucial role in shaping political awareness and give youth the feeling of having first-hand and reliable information, even if they are aware of the risk of misinformation: "It’s insane that Bosnia is so close [to Italy], but people here don’t know what has happened there. That’s why I inform my community on Instagram." This is what a participant from Bosnia living in Italy said regarding the lack of information on what is going on outside of Italy in the mainstream media. 

This firsthand input was invaluable, allowing us to gather real insights and fresh perspectives that will shape the next steps of the ParticipACTION project. All of this work has laid the foundation for our National Assessments on the level of awareness, gaps in knowledge, and barriers to young people’s participation in civic democratic life and decision-making process in Europe, an in-depth analysis that compiles both research and youth-driven reflections. Once finalized, the National Assessments will be published on this website—stay tuned!