Based on the testimonies of four young people, we will discuss how they experienced participating in a citizen assembly. Was it difficult to express their ideas? Did they feel listened to and legitimate? Did they experience any kind of special treatment (positive or negative)? We will also discuss how participating in a citizen assembly (at a European or a local level) has transformed their understanding of democracy, their day-to-day life and their political and civic engagement.

Moderator: Sarah Grau (co-director of Décider ensemble)

Speakers: Ariane De Backer (member of a deliberative commission in the Brussels French speaking parliament), Ilias Qacham (member of the Occitanie Citizens' Convention), Joy Clara Schäflein (member of the European Citizens’ Panel 2, cofoe), Quentin madi (member of the paris citizen assembly)

Could you imagine being unable to influence policies that affect your day to day life? This is currently the case for about 22 million third country nationals living in the European Union but being excluded from EU decision making! In our session we are focusing on existing spaces for the political participation of youth with lived migration experiences and what these spaces need to become inclusive. We are also exploring how we can support self-organisation of young people with lived migration experiences as a tool for self-representation.

Moderators: Alexandre Beddock (Advocacy and Communications director at Voicify & Freelance Journalist), Cihan Kilic (board member at Voices of Young Refugees in Europe), Syrine Rekhis (civic education and advocacy freelance educator)

“You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed,” wrote Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in “The Little Prince”. Once we cherish our deliberative democracy values that in turn attract people from other parts of the world to migrate, we become responsible for their being here with us. Don‘t they become our friends and family members, maybe younger ones, and from that moment they are unique for us? Let‘s discuss the being-on-the-same-boat with young immigrants while finding inspiration for the discussion from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s “The Little Prince”.

Moderator: Eglė Stonkutė (Director of the Baltic Institute for Research and Development, Lithuania)

speakers: Aistė Motekaitienė (Executive Director for Business Development, LCC International University, Lithuania), Javier Gutiérrez Espinosa (President of AISD, Spain), Mariana Drăgotoiu  (specialist in Social Anthropology and Cultural Management, volunteer for the Association for the Promotion of Traditions, Romania), Mariana Rosca (Project Manager and President of the Association INCREDERE, Italy)

This panel brings together scholarly, practitioner, activist and citizen perspectives on young people's efforts to deepen democracy. Insight from social science research as well as lived experience will inform a discussion on youth's quest for democratic change. The panel will highlight young people's drivers, the key resources at their disposal and the main obstacles they face when trying to improve democracy. This panel is addressed at activists, practitioners, academics and citizens who want to reflect on the work young people are doing to change democracy in a participatory and deliberative direction.

Moderator: Andrea Felicetti (Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore)

Speakers: Fiona Beullens (Student & Brussels Citizens’ Assembly participant), Hannah Vanbelle (Co-organiser of Brussels Citizens’ Assembly & employee at Agora.Brussels), Martina Francesca (Group facilitator & participation expert at La Prossima Cultura), Martín Portos (Conex-Plus Marie Curie Fellow in Social Sciences, University Carlos III of Madrid)

Cities are an important focal point for citizen engagement, often giving those who participate a way to directly and concretely influence their daily lives. In this panel we will hear lessons from several cities across Europe on the implementation of co-creation processes involving marginalised, vulnerable and young citizens. From Adazi in Latvia we will see examples of how a small municipality bordering the capital through drawings and art successfully involved citizens in the development of planning documents. Amsterdam and Barakaldo will illustrate the ways and means of engaging vulnerable young people into co-creation of policies on the topic of housing affordability, starting with the mapping of existing problems, through empowerment of vulnerable individuals and decision makers to drafting of alternative and feasible solutions. Finally, on the example of Molenbeek we will see how a politically disenfranchised city area can transform itself from the inside, with youth at the forefront of this transformation, gaining greater ownership of their futures and environment. The panellists, reflecting on and comparing these examples, will offer insights on what works and what doesn't, how best to involve institutions and decision makers and what’s the state-of-play in co-creation methods.    

Moderator: Anna Paola Quaglia (Policy Analyst at JRC)

Panellists: Gilles Nöel (Participation collaborator and support to the production at Ultima Vez dance house), Jad Zeitouni (Political Advisor at the Cabinet of Brussels Minister Van den Brandt), Karīna Miķelsone (Municipality of Ādaži, Latvia), Martina Gentili (Department of Management in the Built Environment, Faculty of Architecture, Delft Technical University), Usue Lorenz (Orkestra - Basque Institute of Competitiveness)

During this online workshop, participants will use an interactive app to learn about the "wisdom of the crowd" through a practical exercise. Participants will also learn about forecasting tournaments, how anyone can become a good "forecaster" and how can forecasting tournaments be used to effectivelly engage citizens and make more robust predictions of future trends or events.

Moderators: Blanka Havlíčková (Director at Confido Institute), Jan Kleňha (Director at České priority)

In this interdisciplinary and participatory session, the views, arguments and initiatives from the next generation, the students, are central. Students from all disciplines, educators, artists, policymakers, city representatives, urban planners, climate experts, civil society are welcome to join and explore how to achieve climate-neutral transformations of cities, together. This session kicks off the CrAFt student think/do tank initiative, consisting of pan-European conversations across all disciplines about climate neutrality in cities. Powered by the CrAFt Horizon Europe project, contributing to the 112 Climate-Neutral Cities Mission and New European Bauhaus, the think/do tanks promote youth-driven, participatory methods for resilience, sustainability and climate neutrality.

Moderator: Andrea Thilo (freelance journalist & documentary producer)

Speaker: Maria Hansen (Executive Director at ELIA)

student panellists: Alexey Kotegov (Czech Technical University in Prague), Aneta Špinka (CHARLES UNIVERSITY), Astrid Karolina Paulsson (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Boudewijn van den Breemer (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences), Galina Voitenko (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Jean DANTON Laffert Parraguez  (St. Joost School of Art & Design), Konstantina Douka (NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS, UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA), Leonardo Cameli (University of Bologna), Lorena Rege Turo (CENTER OF EXPERTISE FOR CREATIVE INNOVATION, GRADUATE FROM AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES)

Being young can sometimes mean it is more difficult to create concrete change. But it does not have to be that way! In this session we aim to give you the tools to find solutions to real-life problems when it comes to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Join our interactive session to lead and identify your own solutions!

moderators: Marie-France Rodier (policy officer at DG COMM, European Commission), Nikolaos Theodosiadis (policy officer at DG SG, European Commission), Sevim Aktas (policy officer at DG CLIMA, European Commission) 

guest speaker: Katarina Polomska (specialist in Strategic Regional Support at the Regional Representation for UN FAO RLC)