INNOVATION – Youth Conference
We will give the conference participants one overall assignments: to develop their best arguments for why an open and democratic society provides the most desirable conditions that promotes a humane development of the world, and to come up with tangible proposals on how an open democratic society could be sustained in challenging times. Most of the time, the youths will hold their own meetings, guided by four moderators: getting to know each other, meeting specially invited inspirational lecturers and commentators, and working on their assignment.
DIALOGUE – Gothenburg Democracy Talks
The International Youth Think Tank strives to innovate democracy on the basis of sound knowledge and open discussion. We engage 18-24 olds from almost 40 countries. We invite decision makers, researchers, and professionals to inspiring meetings with our youth. Cherishing openness and a firm belief in every individual’s unique contribution, we welcome you to Gothenburg Democracy Talks, hosted at the School of Business, Economics & Law, or online through live streaming.
INQUIRY – Survey of Ideas
Our panel presently consist of 181 young persons from 43 countries. With their strong interest in the development of the open society, they provide a unique opportunity to probe the minds of the emerging informed citizenry. Where many barometers focus on political opinion, The IYTT European Youth Panel addresses political ideas and concepts, and gives young people the opportunity to challenge conventional attitudes that define current political leadership.
ART – Art for Democracy
Scholarly discourse is essential to democracy and the open society, but carefully worded presentations and reports are not the only means of exploration and expression available. The IYTT strongly believe in the transformative power of artistic expression. Society can only be understood as an expression of humanity, from which follows that an open society must be open to a plurality of expressions devised by the human mind. During our international youth conferences, and in our work in general, we encourage our participants and Youth Fellows to let their creativity take charge, allowing for a wide variety of expressions to challenge the aesthetic mind on perceptions of all aspects of humanity and democracy.
POLICYMAKING – Bottom-Up Policy Advice Loop
The task of the conferences is to single out challenges for the open democratic society and to develop policy proposals for dealing with the challenges. After the conferences, the proposals are developed in the “IYTT Bottom-Up Policy Advise Loop”. Through the loop the Youth Fellows learn and develop their policy proposals by open deliberations with decision makers, scholars, peers in the IYTT European Youth Panel, and laymen.