LEVEL 2. EXPLORE BEST PRACTICE

Introduction

NET-IDEA is a European project strengthening the intercultural governance competences of municipalities and co-creating participatory practices with minority youth. In Portugal, the RPCI coordinated activities in Braga, Santa Maria da Feira and Vila Verde, combining a validated training curriculum for municipal staff with a Photovoice methodology giving Roma and migrant youth a direct channel to local decision-makers, culminating in a European Youth Manifesto.

The Challenge

What social issue does it address?

Portugal's foreign resident population grew from approx. 590,000 to over 1.5 million (2019–2024), yet migrant, Roma and young minority populations remain excluded from civic and decision-making processes. Municipalities often lack the competences and co-creation tools needed to design genuinely inclusive, representative governance.

Why is it important?

It tackles a nationally documented gap: formal participation structures exist but are widely perceived as tokenistic, leaving minority and youth voices systematically absent from the governance decisions that shape their lives.

How does it contribute to the BRIDGE Challenge?

It directly addresses BRIDGE Challenge A.6 (deficits in democratic participation, representation and inclusive governance) by building municipal intercultural competences and giving minority youth genuine co-creation power in local governance.

How does it work?

A validated 4-module training programme builds municipal staff's intercultural governance competences; the Photovoice methodology enables migrant and Roma youth to document and voice their lived experience of exclusion; and a transnational Community of Practice sustains peer learning between six European countries.

What might inspire you?

Ideas for adaptation

1. Treat minority youth as co-producers of governance, not passive policy beneficiaries.
2. Use Photovoice to give underrepresented groups a direct voice in local policy.
3. Build a validated, multilingual training curriculum for municipal staff.
4. Create a transnational Community of Practice for peer learning between cities.
5. Co-design local awareness campaigns with young people as lead agents.
6. Let youth co-creation culminate in a governance document, such as a Manifesto.
7. Secure institutional continuity by launching a successor project.
8. Adapt the model to university governance and student representation.

Resources created