Information alone does not create participation. Young people engage when institutions become understandable, accessible and willing to listen. If participation is changing, democratic institutions face an equally important challenge: how can they reconnect with a generation that often feels distant from formal politics?
The easiest explanation would be to argue that young people simply know too little about democratic institutions or the European Union. The research conducted within ParticipACTION suggests that the reality is, once again, more complex.
Knowledge certainly matters. The Italian National Level Assessment found that many participants had only a limited understanding of European institutions, policies and opportunities for civic engagement. For many, the European Parliament, the European Commission and Erasmus+ were the only familiar points of reference. Awareness of the EU’s fundamental values and of the many participation opportunities available at European level was often fragmented or superficial. Yet information alone does not explain why some young people feel connected to democratic institutions while others do not.
Throughout the focus groups, a recurring pattern emerged. Participants who had encountered the European Union through meaningful experiences – whether civic education, mobility programmes, universities or youth organisations – often described a stronger sense of belonging and a greater willingness to engage. Institutions became relevant not because they had been explained in abstract terms, but because they had become part of lived experience. This distinction is important because it shifts the conversation from information to engagement. Participation cannot rely exclusively on communication campaigns or institutional outreach. Democratic literacy develops when people are given opportunities to experience participation directly, to discuss public issues, to question institutions and to understand how decisions are made and how they can influence them.
The opposite is equally true. When institutions remain distant, difficult to navigate or disconnected from everyday realities, information alone rarely generates trust. Across Europe, many young people report feeling that they have little influence over decisions affecting their communities, while a majority feel they have even less influence over decisions taken at European level. Feelings of underrepresentation are particularly strong among young people with migrant backgrounds, women and those facing social or economic disadvantage, for whom democratic participation is often shaped by additional structural barriers.
Language also plays an important role. During the ParticipACTION activities, participants repeatedly highlighted that institutions often communicate in ways that are difficult to relate to. Information about European opportunities is frequently perceived as fragmented or inaccessible, while the channels used to reach young people do not always reflect how they actually consume information or discuss public issues. The challenge, therefore, is not simply to communicate more, but to communicate differently.
This is particularly relevant for young people with migrant backgrounds. For many of them, participation is influenced not only by limited access to information but also by legal restrictions, language barriers, discrimination and the absence of spaces where they feel represented. Creating more inclusive democratic processes therefore requires addressing communication together with representation and equal access to participation.
ParticipACTION was designed around this understanding. Rather than treating young people as passive recipients of information, the project created opportunities for dialogue through research, interactive seminars, national roundtables, advocacy activities and exchanges between young participants and policymakers. In doing so, it embraced a simple but often overlooked principle: democratic participation is not strengthened by telling people that their voices matter. It grows when they are given meaningful opportunities to use them.
The challenge for European democracies, then, is to build relationships based on trust, accessibility and genuine dialogue. Participation begins long before people cast a vote. It begins when they believe someone is prepared to listen.