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A three-year Horizon Europe project, November 2026 to October 2029, on learning democracy by practising it in schools, vocation colleges, universities and youth work.
Democracy under strain
Polarisation is rising and trust is falling, young people need to shape democratic life, not just watch it.
Knowing isn’t doing
Most citizenship education programmes teach about democracy but rarely build the confidence and skills to take part in it.
Too many are left behind
Disadvantaged youth facing barriers of class, race, gender, migration or disability get the fewest chances to practise democracy in Europe.
Learning in silos
Young people from different backgrounds rarely learn together. Dialogue, empathy and problem-solving grow when diverse young people learn side by side.
This is why DEMOCREATE works with schools, vocational colleges, universities, and youth organisations in five different European countries to allow students, educators, and community partners to research issues that affect them and act on them together.
In numbers
36 months
October 2026 to September 2029
12 partners
from 9 countries
5 CLRA countries
UK, Netherlands, Finland, Czechia, Poland
50 institutions
schools, TVET, universitites, youth work
220 CLRA cycles
each 12 weeks long
5500 students
with 220 educators and 200 professionals
Transform democratic learning across five European countries by embedding CLRA in 50 institutions spanning secondary, technical and vocational, higher, and non-formal education.
1
Transform democratic practice and institutional culture in education:
shift institutions from teaching about democracy to practising it, in classrooms, governance, and everyday relationships.
2
Generate robust evidence on citizenship competences and democratic learning:
produce comparative research on how these competences are developped, using surveys, case studies, and co-designed inquiry tools.
3
Bridge formal and non-formal education through partnerships:
build lasting partnerships between schools, universities, NGOs, and municipalities that connect classroom learning with civic life.
4
Scale up for systemic change:
embed CLRA in teacher training, accreditation systems, and EU policy frameworks so that the transformation continues beyong the project.
DEMOCREATE aims to transform how democracy is learned and lived across Europe. This is how we will do it:
1
Stronger citizenship competences:
engaging 5500 young people, 220 educators, and 200 professionals across five European countries in co-creating democratic learning experiences.
3
Sustainable democratic networks:
building 25 cross-sectoral partnerships between educational institutions, NGOs, and municipalities.
2
Transformed institutions:
embedding CLRA into formal curricula, assessment, and governance structures of 50 institutions.
4
Greater inclusion and trust:
creating targeted pathways into democratic participation for migrant, rural, LGBTQI+, disabled, and low-income youth.
5
Systemic policy change:
delivering comparative evidence and policy roadmaps that feed into EU frameworks, national curricula and teacher accreditation programmes.
Young people, 15 to 29
Especially those facing disadvantages, as co-researchers not just participants.
Educators and professionals
Teachers, trainers, youth workers and NGO staff as co-learners.
Institutions
Schools, colleges, universitites and your organisations changing how they make decisions.Â
Policymakers
Ministries, accrediation and quality assurance bodies, municipalities.
CLRA is the methodology at the heart of DEMOCREATE. Rather than researching about young people, we research with them. We are giving communities the tools to identify what matters, design solutions, and drive action themselves.
Week 1 to 4
Define
Agree the purpose, the ground rules and the issue to work on
Start by getting to know each other, clarifying what participants need in order to take part fully, and agreeing on a shared goal. Together, set the ethical ground rules and decide on the democratic question you want to explore.
Week 1 to 4
Discover
Map the strengths that exist, and who is left out
Look at what already works, what feels excluded and what possibilities exist. Methods such as asset mapping, PhotoVoice or research walks can help bring these experiences to the surface.
Week 5 to 8
Dream
Imagine what could be different
Turn what you’ve learned into possibilities. Art, storytelling and speculative design can help participants picture inclusive democratic futures that remain grounded in their own realities.
Week 5 to 8
Design
Turn ideas into a change people can make
Move from “why” to “what, when and who”. Shape the group’s visions into realistic, accessible prototypes that everyone feels ownership of.
Week 9 to 12
Destiny
Put it into practice, share it and make it last
Bring the results into public life through exhibitions, showcases or policy dialogues. Then reflect on what happened and embed the outcomes where they can last: in curricula, governance or policy.
DEMOCREATE does not treat yout people as citizens in training. In a CLRA cycle, students, educators and community partners make real decisions together about curriculum, thewir institution and their community. The way the work is done is itself democratic, and that is how democracy is learned.Â
Story circles, photovoice, theatre, zines, podcasts
Students and staff study their own institutions together
Online exchanges that connect cycles across countries
In each country, a partner work with a school, a voication college, a university and an NGO. After the first year, each of these twins with a new institution.
Country partner lead
School
TVET
University
NGO
Project starts
First CLRA clycles
Twinning begins
Mid-term review
Summit in Prague
Project ends
The project is structured into nine work packages, each focusing on a specific area of work and contributing to the achievement of the project’s overall objectives. Each work package is led by a designated consortium partner.
WP1
Project Coordination and CLRA Participatory Decision-Making Structures
Coventry University (CU)
WP2
Research Design and Assessment Pilots
Academica University of Applied Sciences (AUAS)
WP3
Assessment and Impact Evaluation
Academica University of Applied Sciences (AUAS)
WP4
Operationalising CLRA Across Four Educational Levels/Pilots
The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS)
WP5
Operationalising CLRA Across Four Educational Levels/ Twinning and scaling
The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS)
WP6
Professional Educator Development
Mestenhauser Institute for International Collaboration (MIIC)
WP7
Evidence-Based Scaling and Policy Integration
Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK)
WP8
Communication Infrastructure and Multi-Stakeholder Network Building
Knowledge Innovation Centre (KIC)
WP9
Communication, Dissemination & Exploitation
Knowledge Innovation Centre (KIC)
Coventry University
UK, coordinator
National Accrediation Bureau
Czechia
Academica University of Applied Sciences
Netherlands
The haufe University of Applied Sciences
Netherlands
Mestenhauser Institute
Czechia
Tempere University of Applied Sciences
Finland
Knowledge Innovation Centre
Malta
University of Lodz
Poland
EfVET
Belgium
Ghetto Foundation
Kenya
The Civics Innovation Hub
Germany
Movisie
Netherlands