EU Youth Green Paper launched in Dublin to strengthen how Europe listens to young people

A new European Green Paper launched today in Dublin calls for the creation of an EU-wide system to track youth sentiment and ensure young people’s experiences are reflected in public decision-making. The launch was attended by a diverse group of stakeholders from government, education, business, and non-profit sectors, including Dublin City Council, Belfast City Council, the Spanish Embassy, Microsoft, Accenture, Eirgrid, Leargas, Gaisce, National Youth Council of Ireland and others, underscoring broad support for the initiative.

Titled “Enabling Young People to Have a Voice - An EU Perspective,” the Green Paper was launched at an event hosted by Young Social Innovators (YSI) and the Agirre Lehendakaria Centre (ALC) at the Trinity Innovation Centre. Policymakers, youth organisations and technology leaders attended to examine how ethical digital tools can improve youth participation, drive social innovation and democratic engagement across Europe. 

I'm absolutely impressed by the possibilities of the cooperation of these different tools so as to really have a clear picture and meaningful participation in decision-making. It's impressive. Looking forward to how it develops.

The report concludes that while youth consultations are common across Europe, no shared infrastructure consistently links young people’s views to policy action. As a result, participation often feels symbolic rather than impactful.

Research behind the Green Paper shows that many young people are worried about climate change, inequality, mental health and their future prospects, yet feel they have limited influence over decisions that affect them. Youth consultations in Ireland and the Basque Country highlighted frustration with processes that gather opinions without clear follow-through.

YSI’s youth engagement work reflects similar priorities among Irish young people, particularly around mental health, the cost of living, climate anxiety and unequal access to opportunity. The report argues that collecting views is not enough; systems must also interpret youth experience and connect it to innovation and policy learning.

Young people are not disengaged. They are trying to participate in systems that often don’t respond. This Green Paper is about building the infrastructure to listen properly. If we want stronger democracies, we need to treat youth voice as core public insight, not an afterthought.

The proposed model combines real-time youth insight with shared analysis and social innovation tools. Funded through Erasmus+, the initiative is delivered with YSI’s partners at the Agirre Lehendaaria Center in Bilbao and is designed as a cross-border collaboration.

YSI has supported youth social innovation in Ireland for more than 25 years and is recognised in the current Programme for Government for its work strengthening youth voice and civic participation. The Green Paper positions Ireland as an active contributor to shaping future European approaches to youth engagement.

The authors describe the report as an open invitation to co-develop a listening system that young people trust and actively use. To find out more and read the report, please visirt the link below.