STEP, Societal and political engagement of young people in environmental issues, was a EU funded Horizon 2020 project that used Co:tunity as a e-democracy platform to facilitate cooperation between citizens and government. The project aimed to develop strategies to engage young citizens in e-democracy activities and increase their motivation to participate in dialogues.

Five pilots took place in four countries: Italy, Spain, Greece, and Turkey, with the participation of one regional authority, four municipalities, and an association of municipalities. In addition to this a sixth pilot was carried out that brought together young citizens from different European countries, such as Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, Greece, Italy, Australia, Belgium, Romania, Hungary, Albania, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Ukraine.

A total of 97 public dialogues were tested, encompassing a wide range of environmental issues on which young citizens participated in decision-making. STEP’s pilots managed to engage approximately 10.000 users within a time period of 9 months. The insights and deliverables that the project generated are available for download via the project site.