Youth LAB + Democracy + Peace + Security Programme technical summary and LAB implementation methodology
Strengthen young people's participation, human rights and capacity for public advocacy through a practical process of civic learning, co-creation, prototyping and advocacy.
The programme is conceived as a social innovation and youth action laboratory that turns symbolic participation into concrete experiences of design, testing and dialogue with public and social actors. It is not an isolated course or a one-off hackathon, but a youth transformation cycle aimed at producing implementable solutions and pathways for public influence.
1. Approach and value proposition
The LAB is structured around four complementary components:
Civic learning: democracy, human rights, critical thinking, technology and care practices.Co-creation: diverse teams work on real challenges using social innovation methodologies.Prototyping: ideas are turned into campaigns, tools, services, methodologies or visible and testable public proposals.Advocacy: teams prepare their pitch, dialogue with decision-makers, mentoring and a scaling pathway.
2. Target audience and inclusion
The programme offers two participation tracks: young people aged 15 to 17 with support from a reference adult, and young people aged 18 to 30 with organisational autonomy. Teams are normally made up of 4 to 6 people connected to a verifiable community or institutional challenge.
3. How are the LABs implemented?
The methodology follows seven consecutive phases that move from understanding the problem to implementation and advocacy. Each phase produces concrete evidence and prepares the next step.
Phase 1 Listen Gather stories, needs, concerns and aspirations from young people and communities.
Phase 2Understand Analizar evidencia, actores, relaciones de poder y causas del reto seleccionado.
Phase 3Imagine Generate ideas, alternatives and possible response scenarios.
Phase 4Co-create Build solutions in diverse teams and contrast them with other perspectives.
Phase 5Prototype Create a minimum viable civic prototype: a small, visible and testable version of the solution.
Phase 6Advocate Prepare the pitch, stakeholder map and dialogue with decision-makers and allies.
Phase 7Scale Define partnerships, resources, mentoring and steps for continuity or expansion.
The approach is “learning by doing”: less theoretical instruction and more applied practice. The framework connects citizenship, innovation and civic employability through five strands:
Living democracy: institutions, voting, participation, trust and transparency.Human rights: rights-based approach, gender, inclusion and protection.Digital citizenship: artificial intelligence, disinformation, data, security and narratives.Social innovation: human-centred design, evidence and prototypes.Advocacy and partnerships: storytelling, negotiation, power mapping and pitching.
5. What can teams prototype?
Prototypes should be small, visible and testable solutions with real users over approximately 2 to 4 weeks. They can take different forms:
Public campaign Micro-campaigns against disinformation, violence or discrimination.Digital tool Chatbot, service map, interactive guide or data dashboard. Community service Support pathway, support network or listening space. Policy proposal Youth agenda, ordinance, protocol or participation mechanism.Cultural narrative Podcast, exhibition, forum theatre, visualisation or living memory.Educational model Workshop kit, civic game, teaching unit or replicable methodology.
6. Example implementation cycle: 8 weeks
The model is designed as a hybrid format combining online sessions, an in-person meeting, mentoring and team work on their own challenge.
Week 1Challenge and team Call for applications, selection and team formation.
Week 2Listening Stories, evidence and initial understanding of the problem.
Week 3Democracy Institutions, participation and power analysis.
Week 4Ideas Ideation and prioritisation of solutions.
Week 5Prototype Build the minimum viable civic prototype.
Week 6Testing User testing and systematisation of learning.
Week 7Advocacy Pitch, stakeholder map and influence plan.
Week 8Demo Day Public presentation and definition of the scaling pathway.
Minimum output per team: one prototype, testing evidence and a 90-day advocacy plan.
7. Governance and partnerships
The LAB operates as an ecosystem rather than an isolated activity. Implementation brings together different actors with complementary responsibilities:
Youth: diagnosis, prototype design and spokesperson roles.Civil society organisations and networks: facilitation, protection and a community-based approach.Universities: methodology, mentors and evidence generation.Local governments: real challenges, access to data and implementation opportunities.Private sector: mentoring, technology and employability-related opportunities.International cooperation: seed funding, learning and scaling.
8. Results and indicators
The evaluation seeks to measure not only participation, but also capacities, outputs and changes in power relations. The main indicator groups are:
Capabilities Improved civic knowledge, self-efficacy and use of advocacy tools.
Outputs Number of prototypes developed and tested; proposals presented to stakeholders.
Connections Partnerships activated, mentoring completed and institutional commitments.
Change Prototypes implemented, public narratives generated and continuity at 90/180 days.
Key metric: percentage of prototypes that move from an idea to user testing and/or an institutional conversation.
The programme incorporates measures to protect participation and prevent the laboratory from reproducing dynamics of exclusion or unnecessary exposure:
Tokenism: youth council with decision-making power and public feedback mechanisms.Digital exposure: consent, anonymisation, digital security and clear publication rules.Polarisation: dialogue facilitation, non-violence and conflict mediation.Emotional overload: psychosocial referral, clear boundaries and collective care practices.Partisan capture: democratic neutrality, transparency and pluralism.Lack of continuity: microgrants, post-LAB mentoring and 90-day follow-up.
10. Pilot implementation pathway
0–30 days Design Definition of challenges, partners, selection criteria and facilitators.
31–60 days Call for applications Communication, participant selection and onboarding.
61–120 days Laboratory Eight weeks of training, mentoring, co-creation and prototyping.
121–180 days Scale Demo Day, microgrants, partnerships, evaluation and continuity.
