<< Background >>The European Union has experienced a rapid change during the last 25 years. Today, the Union is a symbol of democracy and prosperity. This is because the power and drive for development and growth on a pan-European level is locked within the rights of EU citizens. Recent EU Parliament elections have suffered a significant decrease in voter turnout. According to Eurostat the voter turnout has shrunk from 56.7% in 1994 to 42.5% in 2019. The most recent EU research - Standard Eurobarometer 85, reports that:•18% of EU citizens are not at all interested in politics in general;•34% never discuss EU politics;•46% do not trust the EU Parliament.There is a decline in the level of civic and political engagement of young people across Europe and all over the world. Youth who are eligible to vote tend to do it less frequently than the representatives of the older generation. These trends have been used to argue that the future of democracy is in jeopardy, because political engagement in later life is rooted in the habits developed in youth, and the youth of today will eventually become the adults of tomorrow.Education (both formal and non-formal) that young people receive is critical. If youth workers enable young people to raise ethical, social, civic and political issues, allow them to discuss controversial topics, encourage them to express their own opinions and to listen to one another in order to explore a variety of different perspectives, youth will tend to acquire higher levels of political interest, trust and knowledge, which in turn will boost the likelihood of them voting in the future. It is also beneficial for their engagement if youth organisations themselves operate on democratic principles and provide opportunities for young people to contribute to formal decision-making, for example, through youth councils and youth representation in working groups.Educational effects are further amplified if youth organisations adopt a competence-based curriculum in which the competences required for civic and political engagement are targeted. Such a curriculum aims to enhance not only young people’s knowledge and skills, but also their values, attitudes and critical thinking, so that they are empowered to act as autonomous agents capable of pursuing civic and political action effectively.There have been different initiatives, which promote the understanding of governing bodies - mostly on an international level, through use of a mock assembly and role-playing getting into the position and mindset of policy and decision makers. Initiatives such as the Model of the UN and the European Youth Parliament showcase that there are great benefits to engaging young people through debates and creating grounds for active citizenship and true engagement in policy making in young people. What still is missing in this environment, and what could greatly boost these exact areas, are debate-focused clubs, which examine and role-play governance on a local and national level before moving up to the grand-scale world-changing scenarios. Civic Debate Club will focus on understanding both the similarities and differences in levels of governance through a form of role-playing and debate, much like the known format. Through this action, young people will be more involved in understanding and actively participating in democratic and decision-making processes that surround them.Early participation in decision-making processes affecting the lives of young people is essential to their development into active citizens aware of their rights and duties and capable of exercising them responsibly. In this context, debate clubs can play a major role as practice spaces where young people can acquire knowledge and experiences of citizenship in a learning-by-doing way.<< Objectives >>The project aims to increase the awareness of young citizens regarding active citizenship and civic responsibility, as well as to stimulate their participation in political and social activities. The project objectives could be summarised as follows:-Reduce barriers which hinder young citizens in active participation in local governance, EU democratic processes, dis-enfranchisement and causes exclusion of youths with fewer opportunities and social obstacles;-Promote young people’s active citizenship and social responsibility in their local communities with the Civic Debate Club initiative and specifically created instructions on how to create groups (committees) and how to choose topics that are most relevant to their community;-Foster mutual understanding through inclusivity, constructive engagement and networking - all of these will be integrated in the Civic Debate Club open-educational materials on the role of governance in our lives;-Encourage youth participation and advocacy via practical application of digital youth work strategies;-Raise awareness of active citizenship and civic responsibility within the youth work sector and to policy makers and funders nationally and EU wide.Furthermore, the project implementation will compliment and contribute to the attain of priorities set on an international and European level, such as:- EU Youth Strategy for 2019-2027;- Europe 2030, namely smart growth based on knowledge and innovation for young people;- DG Education, Youth, Sport and Culture Strategic Plan 2020-2024;- European Commission Priorities 2019-2024;- The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, namely Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.<< Implementation >>The project methodology will unfold in 6 distinct Activity groups (A), whose execution will be coordinated by efforts, grouped under A1 “Project management and coordination”. Each activity group will aim at a number of results to be achieved, linked to respective qualitative and quantitative indicators.The second activity is concentrated towards the “Curriculum on Civic Debate Clubs” led by UoP. Tasks envisaged under this work stream aim to combine the individual approach, vision, creativity and expertise of all partners through brainstorming sessions, research and mutual work over the content development of the Curriculum. Its elaboration is essential, as it will serve as a reference point and a backbone of the simulation game content. At the same time, it will constitute a valuable training material for both youth workers and educators. Additionally, the online platform that is planned to be developed within this Activity (by TFN) shall enable the massive promotion of all Project results and the collection of audience feedback.The third activity “Research & interactive infographics on attitudes, perceptions and misconceptions of governance among young people” will be executed under the coordination of TFN. Elaboration of PR2 includes meetings with stakeholders and collective brainstorming, which are related to research and its presentation via interactive infographics and animated videos.Another key activity of the project is Activity 4 named “Training Youth Workers”. UoP which is experienced in conducting and facilitating trainings and elaborating innovative training methodologies will lead this activity. The core of this activity revolves around the elaboration of PR3 “Open-educational and promotional materials on the role of governance”, as it ensures constructive feedback from partners.Simultaneously with the implementation of the aforementioned activities a wide dissemination will be undertaken to ensure on time update of the project progress and promotion of project results.Taking into account the quantitative and qualitative aspects of project’s direct results and long-term outcomes, the project implementation will lead to achievement of both tangible and intangible results for several target groups:1. Youth workers and youth organisations staff will improve their skills and competences in the field of youth work and encouragement of civic responsibility among young people. The Curriculum on Civic Debate Clubs will offer a flexible and freely accessible opportunity for youth workers to improve their skills and competence. On the other hand, the open-educational and promotional materials, interactive infographics and animated videos will be distributed freely and will be available on the project platform and through all social media accounts.2. Partners’ staff will improve their knowledge on international know-how in the field of the project, as well as their skills in digital youth work. This will be achieved by organisation and conduct of Joint Staff Training in Greece, which will be a mixture of theoretical and experiential sessions, focused on key topics related to the curriculum, open-educational materials, and civic debate clubs as a tool for youth work.3. Other stakeholders (youth training providers, youth work platforms, mentoring communities) will improve their awareness of the methodological aspects of encouragement of active citizenship, democracy, and responsibility among young people. Participants in MEs will have the opportunity to discuss the project direct results and long-term impact, as well as create networks with possibility for future initiatives multiplication. 4. National and EU policy- and decision-makers will improve their understanding of the needs in the youth sector. PR2 will be aimed also at this target group offering a new set of evidence base for the ongoing discussion on enhancing the digital environment for successful civic engagement of young people.<< Results >>The expected outcomes during the project implementation and in the conclusive stage can be outlined in two main categories, highlighting both quantitative and qualitative aspects, as follows:Tangible results:1. Curriculum on Civic Debate Clubs in four partner languages and in English (SK; EL, BG; RO)2. Research, interactive infographics and animated videos on attitudes, perceptions and misconceptions of governance among young people (EN)3. Open-educational and promotional materials on the role of governance in four partner languages and in English (SK; EL, BG; RO)4. 10 youth trainers form partner organisations trained to facilitate civic debate clubs (2 from each partner)5. 180 stakeholders and policy-makers from partner countries and across Europe informed of project results and invited to sustain the platform through 5 MEs6. 4200 partner staff members, target groups and stakeholders on both national and European levels informed of project results through dissemination activities carried out during the whole project lifecycle7. Project social media profiles – Facebook and Instagram accounts for young people and other relevant youth practitioners8. 30 info items related to project goals and results, published on the project platform and social media profiles within project lifetime9. Project management documents - Implementation plan, Quality Assurance plan, Risk management strategy, Dissemination and exploitation plan, Interim progress reports, and Final report.10. Other documents - research synthesis reports, visual identity guidelines, events agenda templates, feedback forms, online statistic reports.Intangible results:1. Young people will improve their:- awareness of their active citizenship, democracy, youth participation and advocacy. - engagement in the political and social life of their local communities;- recognition of youth work means to increase the engagement of other young citizens and facilitate their participation;- knowledge and skills to participate and lead civic debate clubs on important topic such as sustainability, global citizenship, global perspective and climate change, etc.2. Youth workers and youth organisations staff will improve their:- knowledge and skills in delivering youth work in a format of civic debate clubs as innovate practice through the use of digital technology and media to actually engage young people from different communities with the aim of active citizenship and youth advocacy;- skills in planning, designing, and evaluating digital youth work; - motivation and skills to engage in international collaboration work with other youth workers in the field of civic participation and responsibility;- different skills in the field of community-building and maintaining a diverse and inclusive youth network or youth project.3. Other partners’ staff will improve their: - awareness on planning, designing, and implementing youth work for active citizenship, participation and civic responsibility;- motivation to use the Project results and engage in the planned activities.4. Other stakeholders (youth training providers, youth work platforms, mentoring communities) will improve their:- awareness as to the methodological aspects of engagement of young people from different communities;- understanding of the benefits of participation and youth advocacy for enhancing and facilitating the environment for sustainable youth organisations across Europe; - cooperation prospects with peer organisations from different countries and sectors.5. National and EU policy makers will improve their:- evidence base to promote, multiply and mainstream civic participation, responsibility and youth advocacy.- understanding of the needs for strategic investment in youth participation in social and political life. Resources should be allocated to training, development of innovative digital youth work methodology, working time, infrastructure, and devices/technologies.