Designing Democracy in 2040: From Frustration to Democratic Innovation

Design / Strategy / Training

What kind of Europe do young people want to live in by 2040?

This question is not rhetorical. It is not symbolic. And it is not postponed to “later.”

It is currently being explored across 19 European countries, where hundreds of young people are gathering in National Workshops organized around the Horizon Europe project YouthDecide 2040 to imagine, debate and design the future of democracy.

Between March and May 2026, around 700 participants are taking part in this collective journey. Each workshop aims to become a structured space to reflect on today’s democratic realities, explore possible futures, and co-create preferred democratic scenarios for 2040.

And within this journey lies a powerful design tool we want to share with you: the Democratic Innovation Cards - also called "Democratic Seeds".

Democracy is Not Static

YouthDecide 2040 is built on a simple but demanding premise: "Democracy is not a finished system, but an evolving design." Democratic futures are not predetermined... We are convinced that what becomes possible depends on what we are able to imagine, articulate and prototype together.

The idea is to move from a dynamic of complaining towards the mindset of co-creating and designing. Therefore, rather than asking young people what they think of politics in abstract terms, the workshop invites them to walk through time:

• First, observing the present.

• Then identifying the forces shaping democracy.

• And finally, crossing a “time bridge” toward 2040 to build their own democratic system.

From Frustrations to Finding the “Ingredients” for 2040

Early in the workshop, participants are invited to reflect on what they like and dislike about living in a democratic society. This moment anchors the process in lived experience. But YouthDecide does not stop at diagnosis... Participants then get to explore influencing factors (technology, climate change, social movements, economic transformations…) that will likely shape democracy in the coming decades.

The key message is clear: "The future does not start from zero and we are able to carry the present into 2040."

And then comes a very dynamic and explorational moment of the workshop with the Democratic Innovation “Marketplace.”

The Democratic Seeds: Turning Theory Into Tangible Tools

During this phase of the workshop, participants circulate freely among the 29 Democratic Innovation Cards displayed around the room. These cards, co-designed by Jonathan Moskovic as part of the European University Institute’s contribution to the project, translate democratic theory and real-world experiments into accessible, practical tools.

Each card presents:

• A short description of an existing democratic innovation

• One key strength

• One key risk

• Real-life examples where it has been implemented

For example:

• Institutional Citizens’ Assemblies – long-standing randomly selected citizen bodies embedded in governance structures

• Participatory Budgeting – citizens directly shaping public spending decisions 

• Liquid Democracy – allowing individuals to vote directly or delegate their vote depending on the issue 

• Future Design for Future Generations – inviting participants to adopt the perspective of future generations in deliberation

Importantly, these “innovations” are not utopian fantasies, since they are inspired by real initiatives already tested in different countries. The term “innovations” has been chosen because, though they exist, these concepts remain relatively rare, often experimental, and most often not yet embedded as standard democratic practice. And crucially: each card also highlights potential risks. Because democratic design is not about idealizing tools, but about understanding trade-offs.

From Selection to Combination: Building Democratic “Recipes”

After having had time to wander through the marketplace, participants are invited to select the five innovations that resonate the most with their hopes, concerns, interests and values. The metaphor used during the workshop is deliberately simple: “Imagine that 2040 is a recipe.You get to choose the ingredients. But democracy is not a menu. It is a system.”...

Therefore, later in the workshop, teams are formed for  participants to move into “Democracy Labs,” where they combine:

• Their wishes for the future

• Their main hopes and concerns

• Their selected innovations

• And the broader influencing factors

Together, they sketch a first version of their preferred democratic system. Then comes the stress test:Public problem cards are introduced (local and global issues emerging in 2030 and 2035), challenging each team to adapt and refine their system: Does their model hold under pressure? Who participates? Who decides? Through which channels?With what power?

Democracy becomes something dynamic, iterative and improvable…

The Message of YouthDecide 2040

YouthDecide 2040 sends a powerful message.

Young people are not merely the “future voters”, since they are already and should be further considered co-designers of democratic systems.

The Democratic Innovation Cards contribute to making this tangible by transforming abstract concepts into tools that can be combined, questioned and reconfigured.

In doing so, the project demonstrates something essential: That democracy is not static and that it can be prototyped, tested and even redesigned.

And if institutions are willing to listen, 2040 can be something we collectively shape instead of something we passively inherit.

Want to discover the Democratic Innovations too?

Discover the cards!