Y-IMPACT is much more than a European project: it is a seed of young democracy.
Its main goal is to create the first Youth Council for 13–18-year-olds in Cyprus, in the municipality of Parekklisia —a space where young voices are not only heard, but also lead and shape the future of their community.

The Parekklisia Youth Council will be a stable, open and representative space where young people can think collectively, share concerns, and propose real actions to improve their surroundings. It will be a participation laboratory —a place to learn to listen, deliberate and build together, grounded in respect, diversity and commitment.

Driven by the Community Council of Parekklisia and developed together with estel (Catalonia) and Kvam Municipality (Norway), Y-IMPACT connects three different realities to explore a shared question:

How can young people become protagonists of local decision-making?

The project promotes a new democratic culture based on meaningful participation, co-responsibility and inclusion. Participants will receive guidance, training and resources to define the topics that matter to them and to develop their own initiatives.
Over two years, Y-IMPACT will implement diagnostic and co-creation workshops, digital exchanges among young people from Cyprus, Catalonia and Norway, training sessions for educators and municipal staff, and a pilot participatory budgeting project led by the Youth Council itself.

This process will lead to two open-source tools:

• a Youth Participation Toolbox, with methodologies and practical examples;
• and a Transferability Guidebook, to support other rural European municipalities in creating their own youth councils.

For *estel, Y-IMPACT is an opportunity to rethink participation from the first experiences of active citizenship —an invitation to understand that local democracy is not only taught, but practised, through trust, listening and cooperation.
The project aims to inspire a new generation of active, engaged young people, showing that democracy can also grow at the pace of their energy and creativity.

 Project status

This project is currently in progress within the Erasmus+ (KA210-YOU) framework.

Local needs assessment and comparative study on youth participation

Between December and January, the Y-IMPACT project carried out a local needs assessment in the three participating countries —Cyprus, Norway and Spain— focusing on youth participation and young people’s perceptions of their role within the community.

This work is part of the study Youth Participation and Civic Engagement in Local Communities, which examines youth participation across three different local contexts with the aim of understanding young people’s willingness to participate, the conditions that shape their engagement, and the main barriers they face.

The study combines a quantitative survey of 127 young people aged 13 to 18 with a qualitative local needs assessment in Parekklisia (Cyprus). The findings reveal a shared pattern: young people show a strong interest in participating, yet actual participation is constrained by structural barriers such as lack of time, unclear participation pathways, and the perception that adults only listen occasionally.

Across all contexts, young people express greater interest in influencing areas closely linked to everyday life—such as education, leisure, sports and public space—while perceptions of formal participation mechanisms, including youth councils, vary depending on the territorial context. The study also highlights the distinction between social belonging and civic belonging, and the need to rethink youth participation as a meaningful daily practice with real impact.

👉 You can download the full report here: [download link]

Training of the Trainers 27–29 January 2026 · Parekklisia

Another key milestone of the project was the Training of the Trainers, held over three days in Parekklisia. This training aimed to build a shared understanding of youth participation and youth councils, and to collectively begin shaping the future Youth Council of Parekklisia.

During the training, the Y-IMPACT project framework was introduced and the concept of youth councils was explored through concrete examples, including experiences from Rubí (Catalonia, Spain) and Kvam (Norway). These references served as a basis for collective reflection on the types of activities, roles and dynamics that the Parekklisia Youth Council should develop throughout the project.

The training brought together:

• young people,
• families and members of the local community as the council’s support network,
• local authorities from Parekklisia, as well as representatives from other municipalities interested in implementing similar youth participation structures.

One of the most meaningful moments was the public signing of the Youth Council Manifesto by the young council members together with the President of the Community Council, in front of the community. A symbolic but powerful act representing a shared commitment between:

• young people,
• the community support network,
• and local institutions.

This page will be updated with its results and materials as they are developed:

• Youth Participation Toolbox
• Transferability Guidebook
• Relevant news and process updates