“Democracy here, democracy now” is an international campaign launched by the Council of Europe’s Youth Department with the goal of connecting young people, youth organizations, institutions, and other stakeholders, and providing them with a space to discuss the state of democracy in Europe as well as an opportunity to discuss ways forward in revitalizing democracy! The campaign focuses on access to rights, digitalization and meaningful participation of youth as one of the decisive factors when talking about revitalizing democracy. 

The campaign primarily targets youth, but it also includes different levels of government, beginning with national governments, and non-governmental youth and youth-focused organizations. The activities of this campaign are carried out on a local, national, and international scale. Please see this link to find out who the national contact points are: https://www.coe.int/en/web/democracy-here-now/national-campaigns.

If your country does not have a national contact point, please contact the Campaign Secretariat to find out how to get involved.

Aside from that, the Council of Europe’s European Youth Foundation is supporting youth organizations by funding campaign-related activities. Two open Calls for Projects related to the Campaign were already published in the first half of 2022. Please keep an eye on the EYF website to learn about potential additional Calls within the Campaign or other funding opportunities that are regularly published and open to youth organizations from all 46 Council of Europe member states.

The campaign is organized around three major themes: human rights access, digitalization, and youth participation. Activities are planned and carried out in accordance with these themes. Please be aware that the months of August and September will be dedicated to Democracy and digitalization: the opportunities and risks that digital technologies offer to young people, particularly in terms of democracy and democratic participation. Months of September and October will be dedicated to Young people’s rights and digitalization: opportunities and challenges. 

The central event of the campaign is “Democracy Action Week,” will be held in Strasbourg, France from June 27th to July 2nd, 2022. It will bring campaign activists and organizations from all over Europe together to celebrate democracy and discuss the role of young people in the democratic process.