Erasmus+ Youth participation activities support activities outside formal education and training that encourage, foster and facilitate young people's participation in Europe's democratic life at local, regional, national and European level. Erasmus+ supports youth-driven local, national, transnational and international participation projects encouraging youth participation in Europe's democratic life. Youth participation is about individual young people and groups of young people having the right, the means, the space, the opportunity and, where necessary, the support to freely express their views, contribute to and influence societal decision making on matters affecting them, and be active within the democratic and civic life of our communities. Youth participation activities are non-formal learning activities revolving around active participation of young people, and supported activities should help the participants strengthen their personal, social, digital and citizenship competences. Youth participation activities aim to enable young people to experience exchanges, cooperation, cultural and civic action. Our guide on what Erasmus+ is introduces the programme, and young people as a voice of change in Europe shows what participation looks like in practice.
Last updated: October 2026.
Who can take part in Erasmus+ Youth Participation Activities?
Erasmus+ Youth participation activities are open to young people aged between 13 and 30 at the start date of the activity residing in the country of the participating organisations and to decision-makers relevant to the topics addressed by the project.
📅 Age limits: for lower age limits participants must have reached the minimum age at the start date of the activity, and for upper age limits participants must not be older than the indicated maximum age at the start of the activity.
👥 Informal group of young people: a group of at least four young people between 13 and 30 years old at the start date of the activity, where one of the members of the group who is at least 18-years old assumes the role of representative and takes responsibility on behalf of the group.
🙋 Facilitators and accompanying persons: not to be considered as participants of the activity but eligible for support under certain budget categories.
Our guide on who can apply to Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps puts the Youth participation rules next to the other Erasmus+ and ESC formats, the age limits by activity shows where the 13 to 30 range sits among them, and the list of eligible countries shows which countries the young people and organisations in a project can come from.
What do Youth Participation Activities actually look like?
Supported Youth participation activities can take the form of (or a combination of) workshops, debates, role-plays, simulations, use of digital tools such as digital democracy tools, awareness raising campaigns, trainings, meetings and other forms of online or offline interaction between young people and decision-makers, consultations, information and cultural events.
💬 Dialogues with decision-makers: Youth participation activities can be used to conduct dialogues and discussions between young people and decision-makers. Dialogues should aim to improve the awareness of decision-makers regarding the importance of discussing with young people and taking into account their needs and opinions, as well as to improve the decision makers competences in this area.
📣 Civic action and youth activism: Youth participation activities can also take the form of civic action and youth activism, allowing young people to engage in various ways to raise awareness of issues that matter to them and impose change. Young people should be able to make their voices heard through the formulation of positions, proposals and recommendations, especially on how youth policies should be shaped and implemented in Europe.
🗳️ Examples of activities: face-to-face or online workshops and meetings, seminars or other events offering space for information, debate and active participation of young people on issues relevant to their daily lives; consultations of young people identifying topics of specific relevance to them and identifying their needs related to participation in addressing such topics; awareness-raising campaigns revolving around participation of young people in democratic life; simulations of the functioning of democratic institutions and the roles of decision-makers within such institutions; and awareness-raising and competence-building activities for decision-makers on youth participation as a right, its importance and opportunities for implementing across all sectors.
🚫 Not supported: statutory meetings of organisations or networks of organisations, organisation of partisan political events, and physical infrastructure such as the cost of construction or acquisition of buildings and their permanent equipment may not be supported under this Action.
Our guide on what non-formal education means explains the learning approach behind these activities, and what a Youth Exchange is covers the other Erasmus+ format built around groups of young people.
Do Youth Participation Activities have to take place abroad?
No, Youth participation activities can be either transnational, implemented in one or more participating countries and involving informal groups of young people and/or organisations from several participating countries, or national, implemented at local, regional or national level and involving informal groups of young people and/or organisations from a single participating country, depending on the aims of the project and the actors involved. All Youth participation activities, regardless of the level at which they are implemented, should provide an opportunity to reflect on and connect with EU values and topics related to them, infusing each project with the added value of a European dimension. Mobility in Youth participation projects may be either national or transnational and international and should always support other project activities.
📍 Venue: the activities must take place in the country of one or more participating organisations, and activities can also take place at the seat of an Institution of the European Union if the activity is organised at or in cooperation with an EU institution, even in a national youth participation activity or if in the project there are no participating organisations from the country that hosts the Institution. Seats of the Institutions of the European Union are Brussels, Frankfurt, Luxembourg and Strasbourg.
🚫 Exception: activities cannot take place in Belarus or Russia.
Our guide on green travel in Erasmus+ and ESC explains the sustainable transport top-up, and online and virtual opportunities covers what you can join without leaving home.
What is a youth participation event?
Projects may also include the organisation of youth participation events, and these events can vary in their scope and duration but they should clearly stand out from the ongoing project management related activities and must be essential for achieving the overall objectives of the project. Youth participation events should involve the physical presence of a wider target group of young people and/or decision-makers, and they should not be attended only by the members of the informal group or young people in the beneficiary organisations that are directly involved in the overall project activities. Attendance of an event organised by a third party should not be considered a youth participation event and cannot trigger event-specific funding. Applicants planning to include youth participation events in the design of their project should define the duration and scope of each event based on the needs of the project and expected achievements.
🏠 Events without a mobility component: these events can be implemented without individual support and travel support for participants as they are not linked to expenditure related to travel or overnight stays.
✈️ Events with a mobility component: these events require significant travel and/or at least one overnight stay of some or all participants and cannot be implemented without individual support linked to subsistence and/or travel support for some or all of the participants.
Our guide on how travel distance bands work shows how the travel amount is calculated for Erasmus+ youth activities.
How do young people start a Youth Participation project?
A project is implemented by one or more informal groups of young people, one or more organisations with strong involvement of young people, or a combination thereof, and the informal groups of young people and/or participating organisations must be identified at application stage.
📝 Who applies: if only an informal group of young people is involved, one of the group members applies on behalf of the group, and if several groups or organisations are involved, one of them takes the role of coordinator and applies for the whole project on behalf of the partnership.
🏢 With or without an organisation: informal groups of young people can apply for funding for projects independently or they may be supported in designing a project by an organisation that will apply for a grant on their behalf and later support them in implementing the project.
🧩 Four stages: planning, which defines the needs, objectives, learning outcomes, activity formats, development of work programme and schedule of activities; preparation, which covers practical arrangements, set up of agreements with partners, confirmation of the target groups of envisaged activities and linguistic, intercultural, learning and task-related preparation of participants; implementation of activities; and follow-up, which covers evaluation of the activities, identification and documentation of the learning outcomes of participants, as well as dissemination and use of the project's outcomes.
🔁 Feedback to participants: as a part of the follow-up phase, each project should envisage providing feedback on concrete project outcomes to the young participants, including on how such outcomes have been communicated to other relevant stakeholders and/or used by them.
🏛️ Where to apply: apply to the National Agency of the country in which the applicant organisation is established.
⏰ When to apply: applicants have to submit their grant applications by 12 February at 12:00:00 (midday Brussels time) for projects starting between 1 June and 31 December of the same year, and by 1 October at 12:00:00 (midday Brussels time) for projects starting between 1 January and 31 May of the following year.
Our guide on how to apply for Erasmus+ or ESC takes the steps one by one, how to write a strong Erasmus+ application covers the form itself, and how to find partners for a project helps when you need a partner.
Project duration is from 3 to 24 months.
What support do you get while running the project?
Young people implementing a Youth participation activities project may be supported by a coach, and the services of a coach could be particularly relevant and helpful to support young people with fewer opportunities in developing and carrying out their projects.
🏅 Recognition of learning: a Youth participation activities project needs to envisage support for the reflection process, identification and documentation of individual learning outcomes of all participants, also participants beyond the informal groups of young people implementing the project and/or beyond the young people actively involved in the preparation and implementation of the project, in particular through Youthpass.
🛡️ Protection and safety: during the planning and preparation of a project, the issue of protection and safety of the participants should be addressed and all necessary measures to prevent and reduce risks should be foreseen.
🤝 Community-building: inclusion of community-building activities in Youth participation activities projects is strongly encouraged, and wherever possible such activities should strive to survive beyond the duration of supported projects and become self-sustainable.
💶 Maximum grant: the maximum grant awarded per project for Youth participation activities is 60 000 EUR. The maximum grant awarded per project for Youth participation activities does not include costs corresponding to the category "inclusion support for participants".
Our guide on what Youthpass is explains the certificate, getting your learning recognised covers recognition more widely, inclusion support in Erasmus+ and ESC covers the extra support for young people facing barriers, and how lump sum funding works explains how a grant is built.
Frequently asked questions
Can a group of friends apply without an organisation?
Yes, informal groups of young people can apply for funding for projects independently, or they may be supported in designing a project by an organisation that will apply for a grant on their behalf and later support them in implementing the project. An informal group of young people is a group of at least four young people between 13 and 30 years old at the start date of the activity, where one of the members of the group who is at least 18-years old assumes the role of representative and takes responsibility on behalf of the group. Our guide on who can apply for Erasmus+ and ESC funding explains the difference between individuals, informal groups and organisations.
How long does a project last?
Project duration is from 3 to 24 months. Our guide on running an Erasmus+ project walks through each phase of a funded project.
Do you need to travel to another country?
No, Youth participation activities can be either transnational or national, depending on the aims of the project and the actors involved. National Youth participation activities are implemented at local, regional or national level and involve informal groups of young people and/or organisations from a single participating country. Our guide on Erasmus+ opportunities for young people compares activities at home and abroad.
Can decision-makers take part?
Decision-makers relevant to the topics addressed by the project are eligible participants, together with young people aged between 13 and 30 at the start date of the activity residing in the country of the participating organisations. Decision-makers can be specifically targeted by some events, insofar as their competence building can contribute to developing more sustainable mechanisms and structures for youth participation and it directly links with the overall objectives of the project. Our guide on Erasmus+ Youth Participation as a voice of change shows how young people and decision-makers work together.
Where do the project topics come from?
The topics and priorities identified in the context of the EU Youth Dialogue may serve as inspiration for Youth participation activities at all levels. A similar source of inspiration might be found in the EU Youth Goals developed in the EU Youth Dialogue, which identify cross-sectoral areas affecting young people's lives and point out challenges. Our guide on how Youth Participation gives young people a voicecovers how young people turn their concerns into projects.
Can young people with fewer opportunities take part?
Youth participation activities are particularly suitable for inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities. Youth participation activities are designed as a grass-root action format with very flexible parameters such as duration, number of participants and national or transnational activities, which can be easily adapted to the specific needs of young people with fewer opportunities. Our guide on inclusion support in Erasmus+ and ESC covers the extra support available.
Start with the issue you care about
Our guide on how to apply for Erasmus+ or ESC walks through the application itself, and how to find partners for a project helps when you want someone experienced beside you. Our guide on how to find Erasmus+ and ESC projects is the next Youth Works Hub page to read.
Related pages: what Erasmus+ is · young people as a voice of change in Europe · how to apply for Erasmus+ or ESC · how to find Erasmus+ and ESC projects · what Youthpass is
👉 Erasmus+ projects: youthworkshub.org/category/erasmus-projects
