Improving Democratic Education
Building confidence, skills and resources to strengthen democratic education in Northern Ireland.
NI Youth Forum has received funding to work in partnership with The Electoral Commission to improve democratic education across Northern Ireland. This work follows the UK Government’s announcement in July 2025 of its intention to legislate for 16 and 17-year-olds to vote, highlighting the growing importance of high-quality democratic education for young people.
This programme complements the work of the Youth Voice Network and takes a strategic approach to strengthening democratic education through several key areas – including convening a new Democratic Education Forum for Northern Ireland, developing and sharing democratic education resources, continuing and expanding our Youth Practitioner Training following a successful pilot in 2024, and enhancing our delivery and support during Welcome to Your Vote Week to increase young people’s awareness, knowledge, and confidence to participate in democracy.
We will also be collaborating with The Politics Project and their Democracy Classroom to support the development of new democratic education resources, and to help inform the creation of a democratic education framework that strengthens consistency, quality and impact across the UK.
Core Elements of the Project
Democratic Education Forum
We are convening a Democratic Education Forum for Northern Ireland, bringing together practitioners from across the region to strengthen democratic education and improve coordination across the formal, informal and education sectors.
The forum will support:
- Shared learning and collaboration
- Identifying gaps and needs in democratic education
- Improving coordination across youth, education and community settings
- Strengthening opportunities for young people to learn and engage
Youth Practitioner Training
We deliver Youth Practitioner Training for educators and practitioners to build knowledge, understanding and confidence in delivering democratic education.
The training supports practitioners to:
- Deliver democratic education confidently and impartially
- Explore voting, elections and political participation with young people
- Use practical tools and activities that work in real settings
Democracy Education Resources
We create and share practical democratic education resources designed for youth work and education settings. These include session plans, activities and learning tools that can be used to support youth-friendly discussion and engagement.
Resources are designed to be:
- Clear and accessible
- Youth-friendly and engaging
- Practical and easy to deliver
- Suitable for a range of youth and education settings
Welcome to Your Vote Week
Welcome to Your Vote Week, which is the Electoral Commission’s annual campaign celebrating democracy and encouraging learning about elections and voting. NI Youth Forum supports delivery across Northern Ireland through events, school workshops, social media promotion, practitioner support, youth engagement, and resource sharing. This helps increase young people’s:- Awareness of democracy and elections
- Knowledge of voting and participation
- Confidence to engage and have their say
International Women’s Day - Why Voting Matters Event - March 2026
Derry/Londonderry - Why Voting Matters Event - March 2026
Get involved
If you’re an educator, youth worker, or practitioner and would like to learn more about Improving Democratic Education, contact Arón below.
