Erasmus+ Youth
and active citizenship

A powerful catalyst for democracy

Erasmus+ Youth is the European Union’s learning mobility programme for young people and youth work organisations, networks and institutions. One specific objective of the programme is to promote active citizenship and participation of young people. Our research shows that Erasmus+ Youth is successful in achieving this objective and underpins and supports the ambition to give “young people greater freedom and responsibility within our societies and democracies”, as Ursula von der Leyen phrased it in her political guidelines for the European Commission 2024–2029.

34 Countries

The RAY Network is the open research network of National Agencies of the European youth programmes and their research partners.

to the same extent as before the project
more than before the project

Percentages that are left-aligned show the percentage for one response type, for example “agree”. Percentages that are right-aligned show the cumulative percentages of all responses included in the charts, for example “agree” and “strongly agree”, so all affirmative responses. The third value is not shown to avoid cluttering the charts, but can of course be easily calculated.

Effects on active citizenship of participants of youth projects

The 4.749 responding participants of youth projects strengthened their skills for and reaffirmed their commitment to active citizenship through their participation in Erasmus+ Youth:

I appreciate cultural diversity …

98%

22%

I actively stand up for my own rights …

99%

44%

I actively support diversity …

98%

44%

I actively stand up against discrimination and intolerance …

98%

44%

I engage in civil society …

97%

43%

I am interested in participating in democratic processes …

98%

56%

I actively push for environmental sustainability in society …

99%

60%

I am interested in participating in elections …

97%

63%

I am able to take care of my digital wellbeing …

98%

66%

I actively push for environmental sustainability in politics …

98%

72%

Effects on active citizenship of participants of youth work activities

The 5.296 responding participants of youth work activities also strengthened their skills for and reaffirmed their commitment to active citizenship through their participation in Erasmus+ Youth: