Enhance youth civic and political participation through online deliberation

What problem are you solving?:

The project’s main goal is to bring young citizens into the public debate by offering them an online and interactive way of getting involved into the public arena. Recent research shows that young citizens tend to be more responsive to online interactions, consequently we chose as means of involving them into the public debate through online petitions and deliberations. A secondary objective is that educating and developing democratic attitudes and values through involving in a virtual community. The project will create an interactive and innovative way of involving youth in the public debate that will further develop democratic values and attitudes and will enhance their civic and political participation.

Describe your idea:

There is a widespread agreement within social sciences on the essential role that political culture of a society plays in the sustaining of democratic governance. In the case of Romania there are many deficiencies in terms of pro-democratic attitudes and values among youth.
The main target group: teenagers and high school students
The secondary target groups: NGOs as well as public and education institutions dealing with youth problems and issues.
– identify and create an online database with NGOs, public and education institutions focused on the issues of the youth
– create an online interactive platform with 2 important components: one component designed as a place for petitioning or initiating resolutions ; – create a model of online interactive platforms that can later be used for involving non-organized civil society in the policy-making process through online public debate.

What country will this operate in?: Romania

Who are you?:

Asociatia Pro Democratia (APD) is a non-governmental, non profit and non-party affiliated organization established in 1990. APD currently has 31 clubs in which more that 1000 citizens (members and volunteers) participate in implementing our projects.
The mission of Asociatia Pro Democratia is to strengthen democracy at national and international level by encouraging civic participation. The main fields of interest of APD are: strengthening the relation between the electorate and its elected representatives, observing the correctness of the electoral process, civic education; citizens’ participation in the process of public policies drafting, the transparency of public institutions and their control by the civil society; protecting human rights.