Participation in democratic life means “building people’s active life position, and belief in the ability to affect and change their environment and look for negotiated solutions to local/global issues by working with others”. Unfortunately, as it is seen in E+ result platform, the projects on this topic are usually limited to the political side but the word democracy has a broader meaning including formal and informal voluntary activities along with active citizenship. The rate of the active young population in democratic life is very low as they need time, experience and some specific skills. There are very few projects aiming to improve high school students’ participatory skills such as “having knowledge, thinking techniques, using ICT skills, participation in the media, interaction and discussion skills”.

We carried out a survey for needs analysis of the target group, which helped us determine our objectives. The project VOYAGE is directly related to the priorities of the EU, especially “common values, civic engagement and participation”.

The young today will be the legal adults of tomorrow, making decisions about the community they live in. So, they are expected to be aware of their social responsibilities with the help of education and act accordingly. In this regard, cross-border activities and cooperation with the NGOs play an important role in the development of pupils’ skills to participate so that the universal values and attitudes of young people will be supported and strengthened by active participation in building a better and just world. It also supports “development of key competences” - the participatory skills.

Also, research in cognitive neuroscience shows that the brain learns when it is ‘socially connected’ and ‘emotionally engaged’, which refers to the need for participants joining a cross-border learning community.

With the project VOYAGE, the young have the opportunity to raise awareness for world issues, search for the facts, express their ideas, propose solutions and take actions together with their peers. It also supports teachers with the good practices to apply in their teaching atmosphere to encourage their teenage learners to become more socially responsible individuals.