MSCA lunchtime conversations - The future of democracy: youth participation, political discourse and active citizenship

This event will focus on the future of democracy in the context of youth participation and political discourse needed to address young people’s values, interests and forms of engagement. The session will also identify needs for research and follow-up to better reach and engage young people.

Speakers will present the knowledge developed in EU-funded projects, which will serve as a basis for the discussion and exchange among the panellists and with the audience.

The aim of the MSCA lunchtime conversations is to provide a space for exchange between researchers and policymakers on the proposed topic through close interaction between science and policy.

This specific series of lunchtime conversations will explore the meaning of democracy and different forms of democratic participation for citizens of diverse demographic groups, institutional and societal contexts.

Each MSCA lunchtime conversation will bring together representatives from different Commission services and scientific leaders/coordinators of EU-funded projects, who will present their work on the given topic and engage in an active discussion with each other and the audience. 

Preserving and strengthening democracy remains one of the key priory for the EU, as evidenced in the EU Strategic Agenda and Political Guidelines for 2024-2029 This framework  defines EU priorities and will guide the work of the European Commission in the next five years. 

The R&I community and organisations active in the area of democracy can contribute to supporting EU policymaking with relevant knowledge and evidence on the topic. The European Commission is actively mapping EU-funded projects that contribute to the topic of democracy and that could support EU policymaking with new knowledge and evidence. 

Within Horizon Europe specifically, several ongoing initiatives aim to map democracy-related projects and emerging trends, including in bottom-up programmes such as MSCA and the European Research Council.

The aim of the MSCA lunchtime conversations is to bring together EU-funded projects supported by different programmes and engage in an informed discussion based on the valuable work and evidence they provide.