Youth participation matters

“Human Rights Defenders of the Future” is the human rights course of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) in which Hungarian and refugee youth come together to learn more about public participation and active citizenship in diverse groups.  

Looking back at history, in times of democratic backsliding young people are the ones who take action and make a change. However, realizing their power can be challenging, especially growing up in systems where public participation is discouraged rather than encouraged. Although we are familiar with this experience in Hungary, it became clear during the discussion that participants from almost every country represented had faced similar realities. That is the reason why the HHC has been organizing social engagement courses for youth for several years now.  In our courses instead of using formal education methods, we turn to the method of critical pedagogy which encourages students to question oppressive power structures and develop critical thinking.

In our Spring 2026 course, we learned together about human rights and both formal and informal public participation at national and local level with the help of drama methods for three months with 14 young people. The team members included Ukrainian, Hungarian, Pakistani, Iranian and Russian youth.

“The course was honestly really interesting to me, because it required me to partake in things I never really thought I’d actually do, it gave me many new and fresh experiences and at the same time I was able to make good memories with people while learning more about human rights.” – said Fareed, an 18-year-old Iranian participant.

The course built on the experience of the participants, the knowledge of the HHC, and invited guests – we believe that people who are active in different forms of public participation can be an inspiration. In the course we had guests from the Public Participation Office of the Budapest Municipality and the 12th District of Budapest, and the participants could dive into the possibilities municipalities offer for public participation. To learn about informal public participation, members of the course met the representatives of the Egységes Diákfront and the Tanítanék movement. 

“This course gave me so many new experiences and insights. As a young student, I think it’s very important to understand how the world around us works and to learn how we can be active members of society. It was an incredible experience to be part of a team like this, where we learned and worked on a project together. I met new people, grew as a person, and learned a lot during the course.” – Luca, 17-year-old Hungarian participant.

In the end of the course, based on the knowledge and experiences shared with the group, we launched a digital social action by creating infotainment videos. These videos focused on the topics of: 1) police action in the festival season and at party venues, 2) the distinction of the word migrant and refugee, which have become increasingly politicized in the Hungarian context and 3) the opportunities for being an active citizen as a young person. During the 2-day intensive camp, the participants prepared the scripts for the video and brainstormed the scenes and the situation they wanted to portray. At the end of the course, the three thematic groups created videos for the social media platforms of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. 

After this empowering experience, working on the topics above, we hope the young members of our course showed an example of how to be active in public matters.  

*The course was made possible with the support of Magnet Magyar Közösségi Bank Zrt.