Ahead of the European elections, the European Commission requested that Ipsos European Public Affairs create a new Eurobarometer on youth civic participation.
They asked youngsters between 15 and 30 years old questions to evaluate their relation to the European Union and democracy. They wanted to know more about youth’s intention to vote in the European elections and why some might hesitate to vote, as well as about youth’s participation in civic life and how they think they can make their voice heard.
They shared the survey between the 3rd and 12th of April 2024 and interviewed 26 189 people.
According to how familiar young people are with ways to engage with the EU, 46% of youngsters who responded to the survey said they are aware of European elections, and 24% are familiar with EU social media channels and websites, such as the European Youth Portal.
The survey also shows that young people with higher educational levels are more aware of engagement opportunities with the EU than youngsters with lower educational levels. Indeed, 56% of young people who answered that they were aware of European elections have higher educational levels, while only 38% who responded positively have lower education levels.
Concerning young people’s voices, 38% answered that voting in local, national, or European elections is the most effective action for making their voices heard by decision-makers, while 32% said they prefer to engage in social media to express their opinions, using hashtags and changing their profile pictures. Other ways to be heard are:
- to participate in student or youth organisations for 26% of respondents,
- to take part in a public consultation on proposed political initiatives for 25% of respondents,
- to participate in political movements, parties or unions for 25% of respondents,
- to volunteer for a charity/campaign organisation for 22% of respondents,
- to boycott or buy certain products for political, ethical or environmental reasons for 16% of respondents,
- to contact a politician about an issue for 11% of respondents.
These results are very interesting and teach us much about youth civic participation today. If young people are engaged in diverse topics, the work is still in progress to give them all the tools and knowledge to be entirely involved in civic life. Through EUtopia, we want to promote and increase this youth’s civic participation and help them to take action and make their voice heard. The goal is to encourage young people to create their own impactful project to participate in society and understand their role.
You can find all our resources on our website here.
To learn more about the Eurobarometer results, you can read the full report or the summary on the Website of the European Union here: https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/3181
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