Youth participation in regional development serves as a powerful tool for tackling critical issues like brain drain, climate change, and regional disparities. The Citizen Participation Peer2Peer Community, launched in March 2022, has decided to look closer on how to foster youth engagement through innovative initiatives and participatory mechanisms. This article underscores the importance of involving young people in decision-making processes and presents practical project solutions to ensure that their voices are heard, including highlighting experiences of young advocates. By enriching policies with fresh perspectives and innovative ideas, the Community aims to promote a sense of ownership and responsibility among the youth. 

In our Citizen Participation Peer2Peer Community, we are gearing up to explore a topic of significant importance: Youth Participation. Engaging youth in Cohesion Policy is essential for addressing pressing issues such as brain drain, climate change, and reducing regional disparities while promoting development across the EU. The benefits of involving youth into regional development are profound and diverse. From bolstering entrepreneurship and coworking spaces to leading climate change initiatives and enhancing public education, youth participation can drive resilience against disinformation and promote general awareness. By involving young people in decision-making processes, we enrich our policies with youth perspectives and innovative ideas, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility, which in turn improves the rate of youth returning to the regions, adoption of results by the public, and a better EU policy awareness overall. Empowering youth to contribute meaningfully to regional development is a good practice and multiplies impact of other ESIF interventions. 

Youth participation in Cohesion Policy is particularly relevant to Member States facing significant challenges with youth emigration, high levels of youth unemployment, or severe climate vulnerabilities. This includes Member States in Central, Southern and Eastern Europe, where many young people leave in search of better opportunities, as well as regions facing acute environmental issues. Last, but not least, representative youth structures have appeared in most Member States after the European Year of Youth in 2022, therefore interest in best practices and common pitfalls regarding youth participation is set to become more mainstream in the upcoming years. 

“Citizen participation enhances public awareness and understanding of the implementation of EU cohesion policy at the national, regional, and local levels. While our efforts have primarily focused on investors, engineers, and the general public, it is crucial to recognize that today's youth will shape the future. Young people need to be involved now to learn that their voices matter in administrative decisions and planning. The challenge lies in effectively reaching the youth, especially as the world rapidly changes. We must adapt to new communication channels to engage them” - comments Ewa Paderewska, Community Champion.  

"Unfortunately, in Poland, we still have much work to do when it comes to involving children and young people in designing transport solutions," comments Edyta Boratyńska-Karpiej, Community Champion. "The Centre for EU Transport Projects has recognized this gap and is actively participating in projects under the auspices of the European Commission and OECD. These initiatives aim to find modern tools to engage young people and raise awareness among investors about the importance of consulting with them. After all, they will soon be the primary users of our transport systems. We initiated these important conversations during the conference titled 'Children and Seniors in Public Transport - a Task for FEnIKS,' which we organized in June this year. We dedicated an entire day to discussing children in transport, engaging directly with young people to understand their needs. We highly recommend such debates, as they provide invaluable insights into needs that we, as adults, may never have considered." 

To illustrate the transformative power of youth participation, let's look at more outstanding examples from our experience. 

The efforts of the Centre for EU Transport Projects from Poland can lead the way, showcasing the significant impact of empowering young voices and actions within regional policy. Citizen participation is a one of criteria for evaluating applications for EU funding from the Infrastructure, Climate, Environment Program for 2021-2027 (FEnIKS). For infrastructural transport projects that require an environmental impact assessment, it is essential to verify that the public consultation procedure has been carried out in compliance with environmental regulations. Moreover, urban transportation projects can earn additional points if they ensure stakeholder and citizen participation in the preparation process of the city's Strategic Urban Mobility Plans. 

The story from the Upper Nitra region in Slovakia can providepractical examples on how to ensure the youth involvement in the region’s development and transformation.

The Just Transition Plan for the Upper Nitra region rightly observed a trend which is common for several Just Transition regions - youth leaving the region and indicating they see little or no future in the steel and coal regions. Or indeed, from another perspective, this trend shows how European regions compete for young talent, with the coal and ore mining sites pulling the short straws. One of the policies to address this issue is to engage youth in shaping their regions' futures - and thus allowing them to express what kind of changes they would need to see before coming back. During the European Year of Youth in 2022, the European Commission compiled a list of good practices from NGOs and municipalities across EU Member States to foster youth engagement as a Toolkit available online.

In Upper Nitra we engaged with regional youth councils to identify gaps in public policies. By creating a focused Youth Support Mechanism and amplifying good practices, we made these opportunities more accessible to young people. As in all youth work, young people respond to role models and their more active friends, and require recognition for the non-formal education, volunteering, and community activities they take part in. Through interviews with municipal youth parliaments, youth leadership programs, and student school councils, we found that while young people are stakeholders in community engagement, they often lack real participation opportunities. 

This effort culminated in a series of in-person hybrid workshops open to a range of stakeholders where a series of specific desired changes, wins, and constraints emerged that should inform a Youth Support Mechanism tailored to the regions. Bold participation by young people at official events and conferences showed that the most needed superpower in the whole idea of Just Transition is imagination. 

Ondrej Seban, Community Manager and Team Leader for Upper Nitra project, comments: “In Upper Nitra we wanted to transform young people from passive participants into active stakeholders in the green and digital transformation. This approach not only addresses the immediate challenge of youth retention but also ensures that young people are at the forefront of driving sustainable and innovative change. Their active participation, especially in the realms of art and culture, enriches the community and helps to overcome the limitations of being in a cultural periphery. Additionally, their digital nativity and entrepreneurial spirit open up numerous small business opportunities through social media, further contributing to the region's economic and social vitality”.  

The Youth Support Mechanism consists of several strategic components that support this objective: 

1. Microgrant Scheme: Providing financial support to grassroots initiatives and projects empowers young people to engage in local development. This enables them to implement innovative ideas contributing to the green and digital transformation, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility towards their community. Young people generate numerous ideas for local improvements, particularly in art and culture, and leverage their digital skills to create and promote local enterprises. 
2. Local Alliances: Forming local alliances creates a collaborative environment where young people can work alongside local governments, businesses, and community organizations. These alliances encourage youth to actively shape the region's future, making them integral to decision-making processes driving the green and digital transformation. 
3. Transfer of Best Practices: Sharing successful strategies among EU Member States and Just Transition Fund (JTF) regions equips young people with the knowledge and tools needed to lead the transformation. This includes: 

• Reverse Mentoring: Young people mentor older generations in digital skills and new technologies. 
• Youth Media and Civic Journalism: Initiatives empowering young people to create media content and engage in journalism. 
• Social Entrepreneurship: Programs supporting young entrepreneurs in developing businesses addressing social issues. 

4. Decentralized Approach and Regional Allocations: Accommodating the regional JTF allocations and a low preference for centralized approaches ensures local authorities can manage youth-focused initiatives effectively. This allows for more responsive and context-specific strategies, enabling young people to contribute to regional development relevant to their unique challenges and opportunities.  

Martin Kuštek, a Junior Community Manager, comments: “Establishing a solution around administrative capacities was quite challenging, as creating effective youth participation mechanisms demands extensive experience, which is uncommon in Just Transition municipalities. Additionally, feedback from youth stakeholders indicated a strong preference for managing these efforts locally and regionally. Previous centrally managed national projects in youth participation were often too dispersed and executed only formally at the local level”.

Let’s hear from youth representative directly: Erika Bridová, an 18-year-old, dedicated to advocating for just transformation among her peers, vividly recalls her experiences as a participant: "At the workshops, we passionately encouraged younger students to envision a future in our region that they could shape themselves," she says. Erika and her peers brainstormed several innovative ideas, including an arts festival, a youth center, and an environmental education project. These concepts were later presented to influential adults at a conference, culminating in an exciting photography contest. 

Although Erika prefers to downplay her own role, the benefits of participating in this activity, supported by the EUTEENS4GREEN initiative, were substantial. This initiative funds youth-led actions that advance the green transition in EU carbon-intensive regions covered by the Just Transition Fund. "Through our exploration of regional transformation, we had the chance to experience neglected areas like the former shoe factory and an orchard that once symbolized our region's fame," Erika explains. 

She carried this metaphor of planting to the official project closing conference, confidently addressing a room full of mayors and politicians. "Participation means they are the ones tilling the soil, allowing me to plant the seeds of a possible future. Without their groundwork, no plants, flowers, or fruits of change can flourish," she boldly stated. 

Depending on the success of the youth support mechanism, Erika might consider returning to her hometown after her studies in Bratislava, where she will begin studying humanities and art in September 2024. 

Citizen Participation Peer2Peer Community plans to continue exploring and implementing strategies to enhance youth participation. By fostering an environment where young people can actively contribute to local development, we aim to create a vibrant, resilient, and forward-thinking community. Our intention is to work on an update for the EU Toolkits for Youth Participation, specifically tailored for Managing Authorities and related bodies. We will gather comprehensive data on current levels of youth participation and identify barriers and gather insights from key stakeholders, including young people, policy makers and community leaders. The first step will be a tailored training for Community Members that will specifically tackle on how to include young people in the regional policy planning. The next Community meeting is planned for early October 2024. 

Please register to the Citizen Participation Community website on Futurium to stay informed about the Community activities.  

About Community:  

Citizen Participation Peer2Peer Community was launched in March 2022. It is focused on citizen engagement and tools to improve communication, collect input, and spread results towards citizens. The Community had held 5 community meetings that discussed e.g. creating of culture of participation, methods for fostering deliberative democracy and participatory tools. Last Community meeting was held on 20 June 2024 with participation of 28 Community Members. 

About Authors: 

• Ewa Paderewska:  Community Champion, Head of Environmental Protection Unit, Centre for EU Transport Projects, Poland. A passionate advocate for citizen engagement in particular environmental protection in planning road projects and climate change adaptation. 
• Karolina Ptaszyńska: Community Champion, Head of the Analysis and Partnership Projects Unit, Centre for EU Transport Projects, Poland. With a background in public policy, Karolina brings a wealth of experience in fostering youth participation. 
• Edyta Boratyńska-Karpiej: Community Champion, Coordinator for equality and accessibility principles,Centre for EU Transport Projects, Poland. With a background in public policy, Edyta has an experience as an analyst, researcher, propagator of accessibility and equality in public space also for Youth and about youth needs.
• Ondrej Seban: Community Manager, Strategy Director, PwC. Green and Just Transition. Ondrej's expertise in digital transformation has been pivotal in mentoring young entrepreneurs. 
• Martin Kustek – Junior Community Manager, Consultant, PwC. Green and Just transition, Citizen, and youth participation. Martin's work with regional youth councils has helped shape effective youth support mechanisms.