YOU(TH) Participate

In a world where young people are often seen but rarely heard, the YOU(TH) Participate project changes the narrative. This is not just another initiative — it’s a stage where we, the youth, speak up, deliberate, and act as true citizens.

The project is led by the Center for Information, Democracy, and Citizenship (CIDC) at the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) in partnership with the U.S. Ambassador’s Youth Council. Its mission is simple yet powerful: to give university students across Bulgaria not only the chance to discuss change, but to design and implement it themselves.

In the summer of 2025, 50 young people from more than 20 cities took part in the first Youth Citizens’ Assembly in Bulgaria. The topic? Youth employment and entrepreneurship. The dialogue was honest, constructive, and aimed directly at solutions. The recommendations? Clear and actionable: a national online platform, tax incentives, integration of youth with special educational needs, and university quotas for young people from care institutions. These are not just ideas — they are results of genuine youth deliberation.

The process culminated on July 15, 2025, in Sofia, where the outcomes were not only presented, but also heard. Institutions were invited to review and consider them as concrete policy proposals — turning youth voices into real impact.

This was Bulgaria’s first-ever youth citizens’ assembly, inspired by the model of deliberative democracy. Here, conclusions are not handed down from above but built collectively by us, the participants.

It’s not just an academic exercise — it’s empowerment. We learned to think critically, to debate, to structure policy recommendations, and most importantly, to take responsibility for the change we want to see.

As a Youth Democracy Ambassador for YOU(TH) Participate, I, Marian Serafimov, serve as a bridge between young people and institutions. My mission is to amplify our voices and to prove that when young people are trusted with responsibility, we can deliver meaningful, practical outcomes.

Being part of this project has also been a deeply personal journey for me. It has given me the opportunity to bring the experience I have as an educational mediator and Climate Pact Ambassador into a new context, where democracy and sustainability meet. For me, YOU(TH) Participate is not just about learning — it is about showing that young Bulgarians like myself can lead by example and inspire others to act.

The path is already set — and together, we are walking it.