About
Many municipalities across the Italy–Croatia border area lack the tools to engage young people, particularly NEETs (those not in employment, education, or training), in public decision-making. DYGOV addresses this exclusion by strengthening cross-border capacity for inclusive governance. By placing youth at the centre of public innovation, the project co-creates participatory structures that transform young citizens from passive observers into active contributors to their local communities.
Central to the project is the establishment of a Bi-National Youth Advisory Council and a bilingual digital platform for civic participation. These tools are piloted in Krk (Croatia) and Lizzanello (Italy), where youth collaborate with officials on concrete eco-social topics like sustainable mobility and climate adaptation. To ensure these efforts lead to permanent change, the project introduces a Cross-Border Youth Engagement Protocol, providing a formal framework for municipalities to integrate youth voices into long-term policy.
Through intercultural training for youth workers and the support of youth-led micro-incubators, DYGOV builds durable institutional capacity. This collaborative model fosters trust between local authorities and the younger generation, ensuring that democratic participation becomes a structured, sustainable, and replicable reality across the Adriatic territory.
