ACTIVATE BSR launches to strengthen democratic resilience through youth participation 

A new CBSS-led project will strengthen cooperation between young people and local authorities in the Baltic Sea Region to address disinformation, hate speech and polarisation. ACTIVATE BSR officially kicks off in Gdańsk, Poland, on 3 September 2026. 

“Democratic resilience depends not only on strong institutions, but also on people having the skills and opportunities to participate in democratic life,” says Aline Mayr, CBSS Youth Policy Coordinator. 

“Yet across the Baltic Sea Region, disinformation, hate speech and polarisation are putting pressure on trust in our democratic institutions, while young people – particularly in rural areas – often lack structured ways to participate in local decision-making,” she adds. 

ACTIVATE BSR aims to address these challenges by strengthening cooperation between youth organisations and municipalities and linking digital resilience with democratic participation. 

The project will notably equip youth workers and civil servants with practical tools to recognise and respond to digital manipulation, foster dialogue and involve young people more systematically in local governance. 

At the centre of the project will be the ACTIVATE Manual, a practical curriculum and toolkit co-created and piloted by youth organisations and municipalities in participating countries. It will combine digital and media literacy with participatory dialogue methods and governance tools, providing adaptable training materials, cooperation frameworks and guidance for developing local resilience strategies. 

The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) leads the project and will connect its results with wider regional cooperation, including the Baltic Sea Region Youth Forum (BSRYF) and other regional networks. The partnership also includes the Regional Youth Council of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, the Estonian National Youth Council (ENL), the Lithuanian Youth Council (LiJOT) and the Baltic Sea Cultural Centre in Poland. Associated partners from Estonia, Finland, Germany and Latvia will contribute pilot locations, technical expertise and links to local and regional policymaking. The project is co-financed by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region programme. 

ACTIVATE BSR builds on ideas developed by young people during the CBSS Youth Ministerial 2025 in Tallinn, Estonia, where participants put forward recommendations in a position paper on strengthening youth participation and resilience across the region.