CIVIC

How many of you feel like your voice doesn’t matter in politics? Be honest. You might care deeply about issues like climate change, economic inequality, or education reform. You might have strong opinions about the direction your country is heading. But when you look at politics, do you feel like there’s actually space for you to make a difference?

It starts small. Someone makes a comment that seems like a joke. Then another person shares something “edgier.” Before long, a thread that started with humor has turned into something genuinely hateful – directed at a specific group of people because of their ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or gender.

Are you curious about how young people across Europe can work together to build stronger communities? Then we have something exciting to share with you.

You scroll through social media and see a shocking headline about a celebrity, a politician, or a major news event. Your first instinct is to share it with your friends. But what if it’s not true?

Take a moment and think about the last conversation you had with someone who grew up in a completely different culture, spoke a different language, or had a radically different worldview than yours. If you’re drawing a blank, you’re not alone. Many of us tend to spend most of our time around people who are similar to us – people who share our background, our beliefs, and our way of seeing the world. It’s comfortable. It’s familiar. But it’s also limiting.

Imagine you’re in a job interview. The interviewer asks you: “What makes you stand out as a candidate?” You could talk about your technical skills, your qualifications, or your work experience. But increasingly, employers are looking for something else.