National competition ‘Acting Democratically’
Youth, Democracy, Competition
On 15 September, the new round of applications for the national ‘Demokratisch Handeln’ competition began. Projects can be submitted until 15 December 2026, in which young people from nursery age up to 25 years old contribute their own ideas and get involved in promoting democratic coexistence.
The main prize: the Junify Democracy Festival in Berlin
Whether it’s social cohesion, participatory decision-making, diversity, digitalisation, sustainability or a completely different topic: we are looking for projects of all sizes from nurseries, schools, youth centres, youth detention centres, clubs, university groups and independent initiatives. The key factor is that young people help shape the project themselves and take on responsibility.
As the main prize, 50 projects will be invited to the Junify Democracy Festival in Berlin. Over three days, young people from all over Germany will come together there to learn about each other’s ideas and projects and discuss the issues that matter to them. Workshops, meetings and joint activities provide opportunities for new inspiration, networking and plenty of democracy. Travel, accommodation and programme costs will be covered.
In addition, the competition awards special prizes worth 300 euros each in the fields of film, journalism, art and childcare.
New this year is the Climate Prize: this honours projects that deal with climate protection, sustainability, the impacts of climate change or the responsible use of natural resources. This special prize is also worth 300 euros.
Project ideas in the early stages can also be supported with start-up funding of 300 euros.