The Online panel as a kick-off event was held on the 19th of March 2024 on Zoom. The purpose of this online panel was to introduce the project and to provide a platform for stakeholders from various countries to come together and exchange their ideas and experiences regarding models and mechanisms of youth engagement. It brought together a diverse range of stakeholders in the youth field, including non-governmental organizations, municipality representatives, researchers, youth workers, and youth leaders.

The study visit in Bodø, Norway will be held in August 2024, gathering 10 international participants from the project consortium. It will be organized in combination with the AER summer academy 2024, which is an activity aiming at bringing youth leaders, policymakers and youth leaders together for a few days of sharing, learning and creation of new initiatives and partnership building.

As Bodø is one of the European Capitals of Culture this year, the main focus will be on youth, culture and participation.

The study visit in Bratislava (Slovakia) and Vienna (Austria) from October 7 to 11, 2024, brought together 12 international participants from six countries as part of the consortium project.
The visit offered an opportunity to learn from best practices in youth engagement, participatory budgeting, and youth-centered policies. The aim was to observe and engage with youth leaders and policymakers involved in participatory budgeting and youth-centered policies, utilizing innovative participatory mechanisms.

The activity was conducted through meetings with policy-makers, diplomats, youth delegates, think tanks, and national youth councils, by engaging in interactive sessions with our twelve participants, sharing best practices and lessons learned from the programs and models they implement on youth engagement.

Developed and designed within the Climbing the Ladder project activities, the third and last study visit of the project was specifically structured to observe and learn how the EU institutions are addressing the youth engagement topic and how many institutionalised structures and mechanisms of youth engagement there are at the EU level and the national level in Belgium. It gathered 10 international participants from December 2nd to 6th.

The study visit to Brussels was a hands-on experience for participants to connect with relevant EU institutions active in the field of youth engagement while also meeting important stakeholders such as different regional authorities, the European Youth Forum – a focal point in advocating for youth participation and engagement – and a representative from one of the three Belgian Youth Council, the ‘Conseil de la Jeunesse’.

The itinerary included tours and interactive sessions at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), the Committee of the Regions (CoR), and the Council of Europe liaison office in Brussels. Participants gained insights into how these institutions address youth issues and promote active participation, while acquiring new connections with external stakeholders to foster cooperation in the field.

DYPALL Network hosted the first training course for the Pool of Youth Facilitators for Democracy from 7th to 12th April in Portimão, Portugal, bringing together 16 young leaders from 11 different countries, all of whom are actively engaged in the youth sector within their local communities.

The primary objective of this training was to equip young people aged 18 to 25 with the necessary tools, knowledge, and skills to support organisations in implementing or enhancing mechanisms for youth engagement. Using non-formal education methodologies and guided by experienced trainers, participants were immersed in a dynamic learning environment where they could share experiences, develop competencies, and build networks with peers from across Europe.

Key sessions of the training included:

• Exploring skills and competencies of a Youth Facilitator
• Parallel workshops on EU funding and research in the youth sector
• Introduction to the CL-YE publication “Guidelines on Models and Mechanisms of Youth Engagement”
• Development of the “Toolbox for Youth Facilitators”

This initial training is an important step in the CL-YE initiative. The pool of facilitators will meet again for a strategic meeting in Italy in September 2025, organised in cooperation with Europiamo ETS, to continue capacity building and further develop the project outcomes.

From 3rd to 6th June 2025, we welcomed at the European Youth Centre Strasbourg (France) our Network of Young Elected Officials, a key element of the CL-YE project. Through this initiative, we aim to connect like-minded policymakers from across Europe and create an informal yet impactful network of elected officials who stand out for their commitment to inclusive governance and youth participation.

The in-person seminar brought together 27 participants from Portugal, Italy, France, Estonia, Poland, Greece, Ireland, Romania, Austria, Malta, and the Netherlands, who shared a common goal: to engage young people in policy-making meaningfully. 

The event offered spaces to exchange experiences and to reflect on different structures of youth participation and their adaptability in different contexts. Participants started the event by exploring the CL-YE project, its background, activities and resources, with a focus on the two main project outcomes:

• Models and Mechanisms of Youth Engagement
• Good practices and case studies

The program was enriched by study visits to the Palais de l’Europe, headquarters of the Council of Europe, and to the municipality of Strasbourg. Finally, our guest speakers presented the work of the Council of Europe on youth participation through the Council of Europe Youth, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, the European Youth Foundation, and the EU-CoE Youth Partnership.

The Network of Elected Officials is coordinated by the two project partners DYPALL Network and the European Democracy Youth Network (EDYN).

You can check the full report here

Within the “Climbing the Ladder – Fostering a Culture of Youth Engagement (CL-YE)” project, Europiamo ETS and DYPALL Network co-hosted the strategic meeting for the Pool of Youth Facilitators for Democracy. The activity took place from 1st to 6th of September in Altamura, Italy, bringing together the same 16 young leaders from 11 different countries (already trained last April in Portugal), all of whom are actively engaged in the youth sector within their local communities.

The two key objectives of the strategic meeting were:

– to re-connect and explore recent project developments;

– to create a strategic plan with common objectives and possible (local) actions to generate an impact in their communities, thus contributing to high-quality youth engagement mechanisms.

You can read the strategic plan here

Key sessions of the activity, supported by two experienced facilitators, included:
– creating a group manifesto to reflect on shared vision and group identity;
– parallel workshops on youth policy development and key steps to apply for EU funding opportunities;
– drafting a strategic plan for the pool of youth facilitators for democracy;
– preparing an inspirational letter for the stakeholders that will make use of the project’s digital platform;
– updating the structure and content of the individual “Toolbox for Youth Facilitators”.

This second in-person activity has been a crucial step in the project, allowing the pool of facilitators to continue investing in capacity building, further developing the project outcomes and designing follow-up actions.

The CL-YE project is coordinated by DYPALL Network in partnership with Europiamo ETS (Italy), YEPP EUROPE (Germany), Nordland fylkeskommune (Norway), EDYN (Slovakia), Assembly of European Regions – AER (France), and SQLearn (Greece), and is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme.

An international online multiplier event for at least 100 participants will be organized to share the key outcomes and outputs of the project and allow stakeholders from different countries, beyond the local level reached through the local multipliers, to meet and exchange. They will have a chance to share their experiences with the project results, their views and actual use of the tools, guidelines and mechanisms for the engagement of young people in policy-making and decision-making processes.

The final international conference in Portugal is set to bring representatives from partners’ organisations and different stakeholders to participate in the event and present their views and contributions on the topic. Officials from relevant organisations and institutions will be invited, together with representatives from all partner organisations. The conference will also serve to discuss different participation approaches and present project results. It further aims to develop synergies and further actions as well to support relevant activities and to enrich the formal network of the project. The final event and the partner’s meeting will be organised by DYPALL Network, in Portugal. A minimum number of 50 people is expected to attend the Conference.

Each partner will implement a local multiplier event to share the main outcomes of the project and the produced outputs (Collection of models/mechanisms, good practices and case studies, qualitative guidelines, digital platform).