What does democracy mean to young people in Norway and Ukraine – and how can young people themselves help strengthen democracy?

These are some of the questions young participants in the project “Youth Music for Peace, Freedom and Democracy” are now exploring.

Leading up to the Youth Peace Conference at Oslo Concert Hall on 19 May 2027, the young people will develop their own Democracy Report. The report will be presented by the young participants themselves to politicians, public authorities, organisations and other representatives of civil society.

But before the report can be written, questions need to be asked, knowledge gathered – and people working with democracy in practice need to be heard.

The journey of learning begins

As an important part of this work, the project has initiated cooperation with Transparency International Norway.

Transparency International Norway will contribute an expert presentation to a dedicated webinar for the youth working group. The session will focus on issues such as transparency, anti-corruption, accountability and strong democratic institutions.

Other project partners and experts will also contribute to the webinar, bringing different perspectives and experience from their work with democracy, human rights, peace and youth participation.

This will give the young participants an opportunity to meet people who work with these issues in practice – and to ask their own questions.

Because that is the whole point:

The young people are not being given a ready-made answer about what they should think. They are being given knowledge and tools to develop their own views.

Democracy must be learned – but also practised

For many of the Ukrainian participants, democracy, freedom and human rights are not abstract concepts.

They are living with the consequences of a war in which Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty and future are at stake.

For young people in Norway, the situation is different. But democracy also faces challenges here. Trust, freedom of expression, participation, transparency and respect for human rights must constantly be protected and strengthened.

That is why young people from Norway and Ukraine will explore these questions together.

What makes a democracy strong?

What happens when transparency disappears?

How important is youth participation?

How can corruption be prevented and fought?

How do we protect freedom of expression?

And perhaps the most important question of all:

How can young people help shape the democracies of the future?

From expert knowledge to youth recommendations

The Democracy Report will be developed through dialogue, discussion and the gathering of knowledge.

The webinar with Transparency International Norway and the other contributors will therefore be an important part of the process.

The young people will listen, ask questions and discuss. They will then decide for themselves which issues and recommendations should be included in the report.

The report will carry their voices.

This makes the process just as important as the final document. The young participants are not simply learning about democracy – they are experiencing democracy through a process in which different perspectives are heard, discussed and considered.

A report that should not end up in a drawer

The ambition is for the Democracy Report to become more than a document that is completed and then put away.

It will be presented publicly at the Youth Peace Conference at Oslo Concert Hall on 19 May 2027, where the young people will meet decision-makers and other key actors.

They will take the stage themselves to present their conclusions, ideas and recommendations.

This gives the report a special significance:

The young people are not only writing about how democracy should work. They are using their own democratic voice.

From young participants to active citizens

Through “Youth Music for Peace, Freedom and Democracy”, we want to create opportunities for young people from Norway and Ukraine to learn from one another and develop ideas for peace, freedom and democracy together.

Music is an important part of the project.

But music is also a bridge to something bigger.

To dialogue.

To friendship.

To understanding.

And to meaningful youth participation in society.

The work on the Democracy Report is now moving forward.

The next stop is the Youth Peace Conference in Oslo on 19 May 2027.

Then it will be the young people’s turn to be heard.

The participants responsible for this sub-project are Gymnasium No. 74 from Kryvyi Rih and the Bærum Municipality Youth Council.