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GrowingUP: young people, media literacy and a vibrant democracy

How can we strengthen our democracy? And how do we ensure that young people feel engaged, heard and equipped to participate? With the European project GrowingUP, the city of Tilburg, together with Celje (Slovenia) and Budapest (Hungary), is working on this challenge. GrowingUP focuses on enhancing media literacy, critical thinking and active youth participation.

Youth with their smartphones
(Picture: Jules van Iperen)

Flexible and inclusive

GrowingUP aims to develop and test a flexible, inclusive and responsible youth participation mechanism. This mechanism connects young people directly with municipalities and local stakeholders, such as teachers, youth workers, policymakers and media professionals.

The project started on 1 February 2026 and runs until 31 January 2028.

Pillars

The approach is built on 2 main pillars:

  1. Practical training and skills development
    Young people take part in hands‑on activities that strengthen their media literacy, critical thinking and civic skills. These civic skills include respectful interaction, learning to debate and showing empathy.
     
  2. Young people have a voice in local democracy
    Young participants create content, such as articles, videos and podcasts, in which they share their views on current issues. They develop and steer the project activities themselves, ensuring that discussions focus on topics that matter to them. Along the way, they learn how to shape and present policy proposals and collaborate with local decision‑makers to find solutions. This also helps build young people’s trust in politics and local government. Throughout the project, continuous attention is paid to gender balance and cultural sensitivity.

Engaging young people more closely

At the end of the project, we will share the collected and tested methods and practical tools with other local organisations. This enables them to involve young people, an important but often overlooked group, more closely in shaping their policies. By testing and refining the approach in different national contexts, the project aims to create a scalable model that can be applied by cities across Europe.

Collaboration

All 3 municipalities work together with local partners and young people. In Tilburg, we collaborate with Bibliotheek Midden‑Brabant, Omroep Tilburg, Fontys School of Journalism, Fontys School of Economics and young people aged 12 to 15. 
Tilburg’s ambition is to embed the outcomes of GrowingUP sustainably in the programmes of organisations such as Omroep Tilburg, Bibliotheek Midden‑Brabant and the ‘democracy’ programme line of the Masterplan Paleis van de Tilburgers.

GrowingUP partners