The exercise of full citizenship demands knowledge and awareness of the rights and duties of citizens, as well as the conditions to exercise them.  Therefore, it is essential to invest in the integral training and development of young people that creates conditions for their autonomy and enables them to make choices, actively participating in the strengthening of democracy.

In this perspective, the youth policy in Portugal has been designed and implemented in an integrated manner, so that it is possible to face the several challenges that young people encounter, counting on their own participation for the solution of the problems as people with rights, through youth organisations and representative structures.  In the light of the high unemployment rates, risk of poverty or school failure, an inter-ministerial coordination and cross-cutting policy measures are essential, corresponding to the necessary transversality of the youth policies. On the other hand, in addition to working to address problems, youth policy now knows the ambition of enhancing the opportunities aimed at, and created by, young people and the opportunities that they create, taking into account the energy, innovation and social transformation that young people have as strategic political actors for the development.

Because of the importance that young people have in the country's future, as actors of change and development, the youth policy sector has established and strengthened itself over the years, with the first National Youth Plan  launched in 2018, framed in the European priorities and in the needs of young Portuguese, after being sounded out.

The data collection work about policy measures targeted at young people developed in the framework of Youth Wiki has highlighted the intrinsic transversality of the this sector and has strengthen the inter-ministerial coordination.