Why participation matters

Our vision is a democratic culture in which active participation is a given for everyone.

Why participation?

Citizen participation in political decision-making – if properly organised – leads to more legitimate, innovative and robust decisions. It keeps democracy alive by facilitating a dialogue between citizens and decision-makers about concrete decisions to be made and policies to be designed. 

Why youth participation?

In order to promote democratic citizenship and empower young people to actively influence the conditions under which they live, it is important to offer them platforms and structures for engaging in political decision-making. Young people are often under-represented in more traditional participatory processes, which are generally designed to include citizens of all ages. Therefore, it requires targeted efforts to include young people in political decision-making.

The future of participation

Welcome to the DiGY Podcast series. In this episode, we will talk about an important topic, namely the future of e-participation. Our guest today is Juha Kiviniemi from the Finnish organization Verke.

Juha Kiviniemi

Juha works as a planning officer at Verke. His areas of responsibility include maker activities and international cooperation. Outside work, he relaxes by working with leather or watching YouTube in an effort to assimilate all useful information on the internet.