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Youth in Action programme
Active Participation
The Youth in Action programme supports and encourages young people to participate more actively and get more closely involved in democratic life. This links closely with the aim of promoting active citizenship among the young.
The EU outlined its goals in a Council Resolution of November 2003, which “sets common objectives to develop and improve young European’s effective participation in democratic life and their access to information”.
This is instilled in the Youth in Action programme priorities, which aim to:
- Increase the participation of young people in the civic life of their community
- Increase the role of young Europeans in representative democracy
- Provide greater support for various forms of learning to participate.
Meeting the challenge
The general EU consensus was further refined in a more recent Council Resolution 
of May 2005, which seeks increased “participation by young people in the system of representative democracy”. Youth in Action answers this challenge through its Actions which offer scope to:
- Encourage regional and National Authorities to support young people’s participation in the democratic process
- Raise general awareness among young people of the importance of democracy, its institutions and processes
- Strengthen dialogue between young people, politicians and policy-makers
