#01. YouthDecide Ambassadors! Meet Hélène Ramaroson

After taking part in the Regional Workshops, some young participants were invited to continue their journey with YouthDecide 2040. The initiative was created by WP3 leader Jeanne Perreul, Participatory Projects Manager at Missions Publiques, to keep young people actively involved in the project while preparing for the next stage: the National Workshops held across Europe in April and May 2026.

As volunteers, the Ambassadors supported the process in different ways: they helped review translated materials, spread the word about the workshops, reach new participants and, in some cases, support facilitators during the assemblies.

Today, let’s meet Clàudia Larumbe Serra! Clàudia has a background in International Relations and Gender Studies and works as a researcher with experience in policy, social media strategy and democratic engagement. Based in Barcelona, she is passionate about intersectional feminism and youth participation. As a YouthDecide 2040 Ambassador, she works to make democracy more inclusive and future-ready.

YouthDecide 2040. Can you tell us your first memory of democracy?

Hélène Ramaroson. Growing up between France and Madagascar, I remember hearing relatives say that Madagascar could hardly be called a democracy. That sparked my curiosity early on: if elections exist, what makes a democracy truly democratic? Since then, I’ve been fascinated by the gap between democratic ideals and lived realities.

YouthDecide 2040. Before we talk about your role as a YouthDecide Ambassador, let’s start with your own previous experience with the project. Before arriving in Paris, what did you imagine the workshop would be like, and how did that compare with the actual experience?

Hélène Ramaroson. I arrived with few expectations beyond meeting people who cared about democracy and the future as much as I did. That hope was more than fulfilled: the diversity of experiences was inspiring, and I even made friends for life. I would have welcomed more space for free-flowing creativity, but the collective energy was there and it was powerful

Photos from the Regional Workshop held in Paris in September 2025a

YouthDecide 2040. A workshop on democracy can open many kinds of conversations: some inspiring, some challenging, and sometimes even uncomfortable. Looking back at that first experience, was there a specific conversation, discussion or moment during the workshop that particularly struck you?

Hélène Ramaroson. What stayed with me most were the moments of disagreement. People from different countries and with different backgrounds passionately challenged each other’s assumptions about what democracy is, what it should protect, and whether it is currently delivering on its promises. Those tensions felt productive rather than divisive.

YouthDecide 2040. Youth participation is often described as a way of “giving young people a voice”. But in your case, your role evolved from workshop participant to an Ambassador, and later to co-facilitator in the National Workshop in Germany. How did it feel to move from contributing with your voice to actively contributing your experience, energy and care to a research project?

Hélène Ramaroson. Moving from participant to facilitator changed my perspective. Instead of only contributing ideas, I became responsible for creating the conditions for others to contribute theirs. It taught me that democratic participation is not only about speaking up, but that it is also about listening, connecting people and helping collective intelligence emerge.

YouthDecide 2040. The project worked across 19 different countries, with workshops adapted to different languages, contexts and groups of young people. From your perspective, what helped make this process feel meaningful and accessible rather than just another consultation exercise?

Hélène Ramaroson. Young people were not treated as respondents but as co-creators. We were invited to imagine futures, challenge assumptions and shape the process itself. The project trusted participants with complexity and that trust created ownership. I am convinced that people engage differently when they feel their contribution truly matters – which is too rarely the case for youth…

Hélène supporting the co-facilitation of the National Workshop in Karlsruhe, Germany

YouthDecide 2040. Looking back at your journey in the project, from Paris to Germany, what do you think young people can bring to democratic conversation that cannot be captured through expert knowledge or adult voices alone? And what should other initiatives do next to keep that contribution alive?

Hélène Ramaroson. Young people bring lived experience of the future. We often navigate uncertainty, climate anxiety, technological change and global interconnectedness in ways previous generations did not. However, we contribute urgency, imagination and a willingness to question inherited systems. Therefore, I strongly advocate that future initiatives continue to give youth real responsibility, not just representation (tendencies of tokenism!).

YouthDecide 2040. The next phase of YouthDecide 2040 will transform the visions developed during the workshops into a series of preferred future scenarios for democracy, which will then feed into the Online Consultation. How does it feel to see those youth-led scenarios and visions move beyond the workshops and reach almost 10,000 people across Europe?

Hélène Ramaroson. To me, it is both exciting and reassuring. Too often, youth participation ends when a workshop ends. Seeing our ideas evolve into scenarios and reach thousands of people shows that our contributions can travel beyond the room. It proves that youth engagement is not only symbolic, but that it can shape conversations about Europe’s democratic future.