The aim of the EU Youth Strategy 2021-2017 is to encourage "the participation of young people in democratic life", coupled with the desire to support their "social and civic commitment" and to "ensure that all young people have the necessary resources to take part in society.

Starting from this general objective, the EU Youth Strategy 2021-2017  identifies participation as one of the guiding principles that "should be applied in all policies and activities concerning young people". The following is emphasized: “Recognizing that all young people are an asset to society, all policies and activities concerning young people should defend their right to participate in the design, implementation and follow-up of policies that affect them through a meaningful participation of young people and youth organizations. In this context, policies should be developed taking into account the changes caused by digital communication, which affect democratic and civic participation”.

It is therefore important to remember that the programme of the current France -Czech Republic -Sweden trio of Presidencies (1 January 2022 - 30 June 2023) also aims at further developing the European Education Area, including through cooperation and exchanges in the Erasmus+ programme and European universities, as well as recognising the fundamental role of quality investment in education. 

The trio will also support work for the benefit of the youth, improve the dialogue with young people and encourage their participation in policy decisions. In this regard, the trio promoted the activities scheduled during the 2022 European Year of the Youth.

In addition, the three Presidencies will support work towards the recovery of the sports sector. With this in mind, it will promote its role in society and its power to contribute to the improvement of health, the wellbeing of citizens and a more inclusive society.

In this chapter, the term "participation" refers to a broadly defined concept: in addition to the political participation of young people in the formal structures of representative democracy (i.e. as an elector and/or candidate for public office), the term also refers to the civic commitment and participation in civil society in general.