Democracy Reloading Webinars 2026: Developing youth participation in municipal decisions

Democracy Reloading is organising four webinars in 2026. Each webinar focuses on one of the 4 key competences that ensure a more successful implementation of youth participation in municipal decision-making. You can read further details about the four focus topics below.

Each webinar will be 90 minutes long and will include a presentation of practice of a local municipal youth policy officer and an introduction to one of the key tasks to be implemented for better success based on the Democracy Reloading approach.

You can register for the webinars if you click on APPLY NOW. If you register, you will receive invitation to all four webinars in 2026. Three days before each webinar all the registered participants will receive an invitation email with the meeting link.

Facilitators of the webinars: Carolina Loureiro (youth participation expert, Portugal) Dorka Vaczi (youth participation expert, Hungary)

THE SPECIFIC TOPICS AND DATES:

WEBINAR 1. The supportive municipality -  22nd April (Wednesday) between 15.00-16.30  CET

Focus questions of this webinar: What are the benefits of engaging young people in municipal decisions? What are the typical doubts and how can you argue them? Who are the kep actors of a municipal authority that should support the idea? What are the initial conditions that the municipal authorty should provide before reaching out to young people?

Guest speaker:  Maja Björkebäck, Sustainability Strategist – Human Rights, Children's Rights, Public Health, Jönköping Municipality

WEBINAR 2. Empowered young people - 20th May (Wednesday) between 15.00-16.30 CET

Focus questions of this webinar: Where to find the right young people to be involved? How to ensure representativity and inclusion of less privileged youth? How to empower young people to be able to give their voice and influence municipal decisions? How to motivate them and keep them engaged? How to support them in their further carrier?

Guest speaker:

WEBINAR 3. Strategy and structure - 7th October (Wednesday) between 15.00-16.30 CET

Focus question of this webinar: How to build and optimize a youth participation strategy that ensures sustainable and meaningful youth participation in municipal decisions? How to prepare an efficient strategy that is shared by all stakeholders? How to design the youth participation structure that fits both for municipal decision makers and the young people involved?

Guest speaker:  

WEBINAR 4. Managing youth participation - 25th November (Wednesday) between 15.00-16.30 CET

Focus topics of this webinar: What are the minimum financial conditions your municipality has to provide each year? How can you use Erasmus+ grants to develop your youth participation? How can you manage the collaboration between municipal decision makers and young people? How and what can you show to the wider public about youth participation?

Guest speaker: 

Democracy Reloading helps municipalities engage young people in decision-making through tools, training, and support. You can read more on our website: https://democracy-reloading.eu