Erasmus+ Youth Participation Activities are built on one simple idea: young people leading change. This Erasmus+ action funds projects where young people do not just take part, they design, shape, and influence them, making their voices heard on the issues that matter to them, from climate and equality to mental health and local democracy. It is grass-roots, flexible, and open to young people aged 13 to 30. This guide explains what these activities are, how they differ from other Erasmus+ formats, what gets funded, and how to get involved.
What Are Erasmus+ Youth Participation Activities? 💥
Youth Participation Activities support activities outside formal education that encourage and enable young people to participate in Europe's democratic life, at local, regional, national, and European level. The core idea is that power is genuinely shared with young people: they have the right, the space, the means, and the support to express their views and influence the decisions that affect them.
These projects are non-formal learning activities focused on real participation. They can take many shapes: workshops, debates, simulations, digital democracy tools, awareness campaigns, meetings with decision-makers, consultations, and cultural events. What they all share is a single rule: young people are at the centre, planning, deciding, and taking responsibility. This is one of the youth strands of Erasmus+.
How They Differ from Youth Exchanges and Training Courses 🔍
If you already know the classic Erasmus+ formats, here is where Youth Participation Activities sit:
🔹 A Youth Exchange brings young people from different countries together around a theme for a short mobility
🔹 A Training Course and other youth-worker mobility build the skills of youth workers
🔹 A Youth Participation Activity is about young people influencing democratic and civic life, working with institutions rather than just learning in a group
The big difference is the focus on voice and influence: the goal is not only personal learning, but real participation in decision-making and civic action.
What a Youth Participation Project Can Look Like 🔥
Projects are flexible, and can combine several formats. Some examples:
🔹 💬 Youth forums, debates, or town hall meetings with local authorities
🔹 📲 Digital campaigns on issues young people care about
🔹 🎥 Podcasts, videos, or social media projects that give young people a voice
🔹 📚 Workshops on media literacy, critical thinking, human rights, and democracy
🔹 🧩 Local action plans where young people identify a problem and design solutions
🔹 🤝 Cross-border projects connecting youth from different countries on shared challenges
A few things cannot be funded under this action, including statutory meetings of organisations, partisan political events, and physical infrastructure.
National vs Transnational Projects 🌍
Youth Participation Activities come in two levels, and you choose based on your aims:
🔹 National projects happen at local, regional, or national level within a single country, and need a minimum of one participating organisation
🔹 Transnational or international projects involve informal groups and organisations from at least two different countries
Whichever level you choose, every project should connect with EU values and give the work a genuine European dimension. Projects run from 3 to 24 months.
Who Is It For? 👥
Youth Participation Activities are deliberately open and inclusive:
🔹 Young people aged 13 to 30 who want to be active, heard, and involved
🔹 Young people with fewer opportunities, whose voices are often missing, are a key priority, and their flexible grass-roots format is designed to include them
🔹 Youth workers, NGOs, schools, municipalities, and informal groups who want to work with young people, not just for them
Decision-makers relevant to the topics are also part of the picture, because dialogue between young people and those in power is central to the action. To check eligibility more broadly, see who can apply and the eligible countries.
What Erasmus+ Funds, and What It Does Not 🏆
Erasmus+ supports Youth Participation projects through several budget lines:
🔹 ✅ Project management and activity costs, based on the duration of the project
🔹 ✈️ Travel and subsistence for events that include a mobility component (events without mobility do not draw travel or individual support)
🔹 🧑🏫 A coach, particularly to support young people with fewer opportunities in developing and running their project
🔹 🤲 Inclusion support so participants with fewer opportunities can take part fully
🔹 📣 Support for communication, visibility, and digital tools
Exact budgets and rules are set each year in the Erasmus+ Programme Guide and by the National Agencies. As with any Erasmus+ project, the funding covers project costs rather than paying participants a wage.
The Four Stages of a Project 🧭
Every Youth Participation project moves through four stages, and young people should take an active role in all of them:
🔹 Planning: defining needs, objectives, learning outcomes, and activity formats
🔹 Preparation: practical arrangements, partner agreements, and preparing participants
🔹 Implementation: running the activities
🔹 Follow-up: evaluating, documenting the learning outcomes, and sharing results
The follow-up stage matters more than people expect, because it is where the project's impact gets captured and communicated.
Recognition: Youthpass and the Skills You Build 📜
Participants in Youth Participation Activities are entitled to a Youthpass certificate, which documents the competences they developed, from citizenship and communication to digital and critical-thinking skills. The reflection built into the follow-up stage is exactly what turns a project into recognised, describable learning you can use later in your studies or career.
Why It Matters 🚀
Youth Participation Activities give young people something rare: a real seat at the table. They:
🔹 Turn ideas into visible impact in a city, region, or country
🔹 Build leadership, teamwork, advocacy, and creativity
🔹 Connect young people with institutions, organisations, and European values
🔹 Strengthen the habit of active, democratic participation that lasts far beyond the project
If your instinct is "we see a problem, we have ideas, we want to act," this is exactly your playground.
How to Get Involved 💫
You do not need to be an expert or run a big organisation. Informal groups of young people can take part, often with the support of a coach or a host organisation. Start by shaping your idea, finding partners or an organisation to work with, and checking the annual priorities and deadlines with your National Agency. Our guide on how to prepare a strong applicationand how to apply will help you turn the idea into a project.
Frequently Asked Questions ❓
What are Erasmus+ Youth Participation Activities?
They are Erasmus+ projects, outside formal education, that let young people participate in and influence democratic and civic life. Young people design and lead them, working on real issues and often in dialogue with decision-makers.
What age do you have to be?
Participants are young people aged between 13 and 30 residing in the country of the participating organisations. Decision-makers relevant to the project topics can also take part.
How are they different from a youth exchange?
A youth exchange centres on a short international mobility around a theme. A Youth Participation Activity centres on voice and influence: young people participating in decision-making and civic action, at national or transnational level, over 3 to 24 months.
What does Erasmus+ fund?
Project management and activity costs, travel and subsistence for events with a mobility component, a coach, inclusion support, and communication tools. Budgets are set each year in the Programme Guide. It funds project costs, not a salary.
Do participants get a certificate?
Yes. Participants are entitled to a Youthpass certificate documenting the competences they developed, such as citizenship, communication, digital, and critical-thinking skills.
In Short 💙
Erasmus+ Youth Participation Activities put young people in charge of change. They are flexible, inclusive projects, national or transnational, that fund young people aged 13 to 30 to influence the decisions that shape their lives, with a coach, inclusion support, and a Youthpass to recognise what they learn. If you have a problem you want to solve and a voice you want heard, this is where you start.
👉 Find your next opportunity: Erasmus+ projects on Youth Works Hub