At the crossroads of tradition and innovation, Europe’s democratic landscape is experiencing a meaningful transformation. Innovative participatory and deliberative democracy models in Europe are still evolving and expanding unevenly, and some regions excel as changemakers while others face unique challenges.
To support the next generation of changemakers, People Powered and Coglobal are leading the Democratic Innovations Accelerator – Youth participation in policymaking and governance (DIA). The program is part of the Nets4Dem project and will select up to 40 participants to receive free capacity-building assistance for developing participatory programs that engage youth in policymaking and governance, whether in schools, local communities or local government, in the European Union (EU) and Horizon Europe countries (Albania, Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Türkiye, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom).
Over the course of six months, a cohort of 40 civil society and government organizations will develop and deliver an action plan for implementing democratic innovations that enhance the engagement, participation, and influence of citizens — particularly youth — in democratic processes. Participants will have free access to:
- A dedicated mentor to assist in the development of the action plan.
- Step-by-step resources including the Participation Playbook , our interactive, online tool for designing participatory programs.
- Practice-oriented live sessions and online courses.
- International peer-learning opportunities.
Learn about current DIA participants.
What is the application process?
- Read through the program requirements and selection criteria below.
- Complete the application form by November 30, 2025, 11:59 pm UTC (check your timezone here).
Learn more about our DIA Mentors
- Aleksandra Zietek: Eurocities, Belgium
- Alisa Aliti Vlasic, Coglobal, Croatia
- Andrés Falck: Coglobal, Spain
- Anya Yemelyanova, Center for Innovations Development, Ukraine
- Damir Kapidzic, University of Sarajevo
- Domenico Di Siena: Demsoc, Italy
- Emma Quaedvlieg: EPD, Belgium
- Eva Bordos, DemNet Hungary
- Johannes Jauhiainen, Demos Helsinki, Finland
- Juan López-Aranguren: Demsoc, Spain
- Jeremy Apert, EPD, Belgium
- Reema Patel: ESRC Digital Good Network, UK
- Seona Candy: Demos Helsinki, Finland
- Pier Paolo Fanesi, Studio TIKE, Italy
- Vincent Labrevois-Simonetti: EPD, Belgium
Learn more about the program here.
Funded in part by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EU Horizon. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
