Only in German

Only in French

Original language

05.05.2025

Che Wagner

Rafael Widmer

Participation

Citizen Assemblies

Deliberative Democracy

Learning Publication for the Future Council U24

The Future Council U24 was the world’s first national citizen assembly for young people. 80 randomly selected young people developed recommendations on mental health. In this publication, we reflect on the pilot project, share our learnings, and discuss the potential of deliberative youth participation in Switzerland.

The Future Council U24 was the first national citizen assembly for 16- to 24-year-olds. 80 randomly selected young people developed recommendations on mental health, thus strengthening their political participation.

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Titel

The Future Council U24 – What Can We Learn from the First Swiss Youth Citizen Assembly?

Untertitel

Experimenting Strategically with Pilot Projects

Publikationsdatum

05.05.2025

Autor:innen

Inhalt

With its learning publication on the Future Council U24, Pro Futuris presents a thorough analysis of a democratic innovation project. The publication highlights the potential of sortition-based citizen assemblies to engage new target groups, make political participation tangible, and foster solution-oriented deliberation. It not only documents the impact and reception of the process but also synthesizes strategic learnings on how to design, embed, and further develop deliberative formats in Switzerland. As such, the publication provides a valuable foundation for anyone seeking to advance or institutionalize deliberative citizen participation.

Medienkontakt

A prototype for the democracy of the future

The publication documents the entire process of the Future Council U24 – from the initial idea through implementation to the handover of recommendations to policymakers. It illustrates how a sortition-based citizen assembly can involve young people aged 16 to 24 in political decision-making. Based on a scientific evaluation, the report highlights the impact on participants, the public, and institutions. At the same time, it discusses key learnings: What is needed for deliberative formats like citizen assemblies to have a lasting effect?

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What we learned – and how it continues

Key insights from the project emphasize the importance of early political integration, reliable standards, and strong alliances with civil society partners. The publication outlines challenges, potential, and specific recommendations for future youth participation formats. Two new initiatives emerged from the project: the alumni initiative LOS jetzt, promoting local youth engagement, and the “Zukunftsrat Zentrum”, which continues the work on mental health recommendations. The Future Council U24 was an experiment—now it needs structures to turn it into institutional innovation.

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The Learning Publication can be ordered in print under this link.

Che Wagner

Co-Programme Lead

che.wagner@profuturis.ch +41 44 442 17 06

Rafael Widmer

Projektleiter

rafael.widmer@profuturis.ch +41 44 366 50 35

Che Wagner

Co-Programme Lead

che.wagner@profuturis.ch +41 44 442 17 06

Rafael Widmer

Projektleiter

rafael.widmer@profuturis.ch +41 44 366 50 35

Che Wagner

Co-Programme Lead

che.wagner@profuturis.ch +41 44 442 17 06

Rafael Widmer

Projektleiter

rafael.widmer@profuturis.ch +41 44 366 50 35

Che Wagner

Co-Programme Lead

che.wagner@profuturis.ch +41 44 442 17 06

Rafael Widmer

Projektleiter

rafael.widmer@profuturis.ch +41 44 366 50 35

The Future Council U24 – What Can We Learn from the First Swiss Youth Citizen Assembly?

Partnerships

This project was implemented in collaboration with the following partners:

Mercator

The Mercator Switzerland Foundation supports and co-publishes the “Polarisation in Switzerland” study series and supports the projects “Companies for Democracy”, “Zukunftsrat U24” and its follow-up project.

Mercator

The Mercator Switzerland Foundation supports and co-publishes the “Polarisation in Switzerland” study series and supports the projects “Companies for Democracy”, “Zukunftsrat U24” and its follow-up project.

Mercator

The Mercator Switzerland Foundation supports and co-publishes the “Polarisation in Switzerland” study series and supports the projects “Companies for Democracy”, “Zukunftsrat U24” and its follow-up project.

Funding partnerships

Finanzierungs-partnerschaften

For the implementation of this project, we were able to count on the financial support of the following partners:

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