A call from 60 young Democracy Rapporteurs across Europe — National winner of Charlemagne Youth Prize 2026!
About the project
Existing assessments of European democracy are produced by institutions, think tanks, and academics. We wanted to know what it looked like through the eyes of young people living it. So we built a programme to find out and to say something about it publicly.
Across Europe, democracy is under pressure. Turnout among young people is falling. Justice systems are politicised or underfunded. Digital divides leave citizens vulnerable to disinformation. Discrimination persists. Climate commitments are rolled back. Too many young people lack education and economic opportunity. These challenges do not stop at national borders.
Three stages
-
Rapporteurs began with an intensive series of expert lectures from leading voices in democracy and rule of law, including Judge Síofra O'Leary, Professor Kim Lane Scheppele (Princeton University), Sophie Pornschlegel (European Policy Centre), MEPs Michał Wawrykiewicz and Tineke Strik, Barbara Grabowska-Moroz, Jakub Jaraczewski, and Joelle Grogan.
-
All participants gathered at Humboldt University Berlin for a two-day bootcamp combining comparative discussions, thematic working groups, and keynote addresses by Professor John Morijn (University of Groningen), Professor Silvia von Steinsdorff (Humboldt University), Daniel Hegedüs (German Marshall Fund), and Viktoriia Lapa (Bocconi University).
-
National teams produced their country chapters — combining quantitative indicators including V-Dem data with qualitative analysis of lived realities, enabling both national depth and meaningful cross-European comparison. Each chapter was supervised by a dedicated country mentor (see below).
What the report is
The Our Democracy Report brings together over 60 young Democracy Rapporteurs from EU Member States and accession countries to investigate the state of democracy in their own national contexts. It covers 17 countries and the EU institutions themselves, examining both the risks democracy faces and the sparks of resilience that show it can be defended and renewed.
The report is not only a diagnosis. It also identifies what is working — Austria lowering the voting age to 16, Belgium and France experimenting with citizens' assemblies, Spain accelerating renewable energy, Ukraine building digital democracy tools even during war. That dual perspective — honest about the problems, serious about the solutions -- is at the heart of what makes it different.
Countries covered:
Austria · Belgium · Czechia · France · Germany · Hungary · Ireland · Italy · Malta · Netherlands · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Slovakia · Spain · Sweden · Ukraine · and a dedicated chapter on the EU institutions themselves.
Themes covered:
Participation in Governance — the ability to vote, organise, and influence decisions
Justice Systems — access to fair, independent, and functioning courts
Digital Literacy — navigating the digital world without falling prey to disinformation
Equality and Non-Discrimination — the protection of rights in practice, not just on paper
Climate Transition — whether democratic systems are delivering on environmental commitments
Education and Economic Empowerment — opportunities for young people to build a future worth participating in
Explore some of our findings through the map!
Mentors
Austria — Katharina Pabel
Belgium — Wouter Wolfs
Czechia — Ladislav Vyhnanek
France — Sebastien Platon
Germany — Eva Martin
Hungary — Nora Novoszadek and Petra Bard
Ireland — Tom Hickey and Laurent Pech
Italy — Alberto Alemanno and Matteo Bonelli
Malta — Emma Portelli Bonnici and Steffi Vella Laurenti
Netherlands — Jasper Krommendijk
Poland — Anna Wojcik
Portugal — Filipe Marques
Romania — Raluca Bercea and Laura Stefan
Slovakia — Simona Demkova
Spain — Daniel Sarmiento
Sweden — Anna Sodersten
Ukraine — Yustyna Somahalska and Viktoriia Lapa
EU institutions — Aleksejs Dimitrovs and Akudo McGee
Project supporters
