The reasons behind the lack of citizen participation, particularly among young people, in democratic dialogue were mapped by the Cypriot NGO AKTI Project and Research Centre, the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), and the environmental organisation Nature Trust FEE Malta (NTM), within the framework of the European project RESIsles.
Using climate change as a starting point, more than 3,500 citizens were engaged in Cyprus, Malta, and Crete. Of these, 381 citizens participated in targeted quantitative and qualitative research activities through local events, co-creation cafés, and workshops.
Today’s young people are more aware of the climate crisis than any previous generation. They grew up with heatwaves, floods, live broadcasts of wildfires, images of melting ice, and…