The University of Wismar was represented by Svetlana Saidensal and Alina Buddensiek from the European Project Centre.
During the meeting, the partners reviewed the progress made in the individual work packages, shared their insights, agreed on the results and timelines for the next phase, and clarified the roles and interfaces between the teams.
The hosts from the Municipality of Odsherred reported on their practical experience of preparing a youth democracy festival, covering topics such as format design, moderation, logistics, and cooperation with schools and youth organisations. They also answered questions from the partners.
Additionally, the YDF framework, which was developed by Svetlana Saidensal with the support of the partners, was presented as a structured model for planning, implementing and evaluating youth democracy festivals.
On 12 September, the municipality of Odsherred hosted the first medium-sized Youth Democracy Festival as part of the D-EFFECT programme. Around 650 young people from Denmark and the partner countries attended the festival. The programme included debates, workshops and interactive activities designed to strengthen civic skills, media literacy and responsible participation in public life. A key feature of the festival was the active involvement of young people, who played a role in organising the event and independently ran workshops for their peers.
The event also offered participants good networking opportunities through informal dialogue zones and cross-border group activities, enabling them to establish contacts for future joint initiatives and follow-up exchanges.
The project partners conducted an evaluation of the festival, testing a method for measuring results. These results will be used to refine the content, formats and organisation, and will inform the planning of subsequent youth democracy festivals throughout the southern Baltic Sea region.