As an annual gathering of policy-makers, academics, activists, youth representatives and democracy innovators, in the Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg, the World Forum for Democracy contributes to the implementation of the Reykjavik Principles of Democracy.

 The participation of a youth “delegation” in the Forum is rooted in the history of youth participation and of the inclusion of a youth perspective in the work of the organisation and of the forum itself. The role of young people and youth civil society organisations in contributing to the revitalising of democracy has been recently most visible in the campaign Democracy Here, Democracy Now as expressed in the Call for Action, and in the youth event Confidence in Tomorrow organised on the occasion of the 75^th anniversary of the Council of Europe.

 Meaningful youth participation implies that the youth participants are prepared, motivated and confident about their role. To support this, the Youth Department organises a preparation the youth delegation in the forum. The specificity of the preparatory activity is that it combines highly intercultural activities in a non-formal learning setting with participation in a large-scale institutional event.

 The participants of the youth delegation will gather in Strasbourg two days before the start of the Forum to learn about the Council of Europe and its work with youth, to get to know each other, to develop their ideas, work together and prepare for the Forum.

Altogether, the youth delegates should be active partners and contributors to the Forum, bringing in their own ideas and experiences. Beyond the labs and side-events, the participants may organise parallel activities to make their voices heard and present their visions on democracy.

 Objectives of the activity

The organisation and participation of the youth delegation in the World Forum for Democracy 2024 pursues the following objectives:

• To secure a meaningful participation of youth leaders and young people in all the aspects of the World Forum for Democracy
• To promote a youth perspective in the work of the forum, in particular on matters related top democracy and diversity
• To identify and share current trends, concerns and priorities of young people across the globe regarding democracy, diversity and the challenges to both concepts
• To enhance intercultural dialogue and cooperation by young people within a framework of democratic participation and human rights.