YMCA Europe was proud to be represented at the Youth Innovating Democracy event in Strasbourg between the 24th and 26th of June 2026, a key moment in the consultation process for the Council of Europe’s New Democratic Pact for Europe.
Through our Advocacy Lead, Dragos Tarta, we joined young people, youth organisations, and institutional actors in a space designed to place youth voices at the centre of Europe’s democratic future.
The event gathered 120 young leaders and representatives to reflect on how democracy can be renewed in ways that are more inclusive, participatory, and responsive to the realities young people face today.
The programme also created meaningful opportunities for direct exchange with senior Council of Europe leaders. We had the honor of exchanging views with Secretary General Alain Berset at the European Youth Centre, as well as in a separate exchange with the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Petra Bayr, alongside other participants and institutional representatives.
These conversations underscored the importance of keeping young people close to the decision-making spaces where Europe’s democratic future is being shaped.
The discussions in Strasbourg were rooted in a shared understanding that democracy cannot be strengthened without young people as active co-creators. The event focused on key themes such as rejuvenating politics, advancing equality, and empowering communities, all of which speak directly to the need for stronger youth participation in public life.
For YMCA Europe, this reflects a simple but urgent truth: young people must be meaningfully involved in shaping the institutions and policies that affect their lives.
During the event, Dragos delivered a significant intervention on young people’s access to social rights, underscoring the need for legal protections and sustained investment in their protection, considering the high degree of influence that access to housing and dignified employment have on democratic participation and civic engagement.
Through treating social rights as a precursor to democracy, we reshape our understanding of it and call for effective policies to support the lives of youth in communities all across Europe.
A major outcome of the event was the collective development of the Manifesto for a European Democracy in 2049, a forward-looking document that brings together young people’s ideas, concerns, and aspirations for the decades ahead. YMCA Europe was proud to contribute to this process and to support a vision of democracy that is shaped by solidarity, participation and justice.
The manifesto is a call to action for institutions across Europe to listen to young people and act on the crises faced by them.
