What if students could help shape the cities they live in? Across Europe, young people are stepping into the role of urban planners, using creativity, technology, and collaboration to envision more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive communities.
Between December 2024 and April 2025, the MC-YOU Agora activities took place in three European cities—Sandanski (Bulgaria), Riga (Latvia), and Faro (Portugal)—bringing together students, teachers, citizens, and policymakers around the shared goal of building better cities. Through these events, we invited young people to explore pressing urban issues such as sustainability, resilience, and inclusive design, using innovative tools like Minecraft and participatory methods to express their visions.
In Sandanski, 195 participants from four local schools joined the initiative, with 35 students forming 9 teams to present Minecraft-based projects. The events were held internally at each school but were designed to be inclusive and accessible to all students. With guidance from teachers and the MC-YOU team, students showcased their work through open day events, incorporating multimedia tools and feedback sessions using the MC-Metre tool. These peer-led activities promoted civic engagement and digital literacy, while fostering discussions on urban resilience.
Meanwhile, in Riga, a more decentralized approach was taken with a two-week online series titled “Rendezvous with the City”. Designed to overcome the geographical spread of participating schools, the virtual Agoras brought together over 100 participants, including city officials, community members, and young people. Sessions focused on key topics such as UNESCO heritage protection, green infrastructure, and urban furniture, with ample space for participants to voice concerns and ideas. the event was praised for opening up policy discussions to a wider audience and placing youth voices at the center.
In Faro, the MC-YOU Agora Exhibition was hosted at Afonso III School, attracting 48 participants. The exhibition served as an interactive space where students, some as young as 10, submitted ideas to improve public spaces via the MC-YOU Ideas Box. Participants voted on local “Inventory Places” using the Dotmocracy method, highlighting areas they were most interested in transforming. Despite some limitations in access due to the school’s setting, the event successfully gathered 45 unique proposals, ranging from adding benches and play areas to improving accessibility.
Across all three cities, the Agoras were built on the same foundation: empowering young people through education, gamification, and dialogue. By combining digital tools like Minecraft with participatory feedback methods and strong mentorship, the activities not only increased awareness of urban issues but also gave students a meaningful platform to share their ideas and connect with decision-makers.
The MC-YOU Agora activities proved that young people are not just future citizens—they are active contributors to today’s urban conversations. Through creative expression, collaborative thinking, and real-world engagement, students across Europe brought fresh perspectives to the table. Whether in classrooms, online meetings, or public exhibitions, these initiatives highlighted the value of youth participation in shaping the cities of tomorrow.
About MCYOU
MCYOU – Minecrafting resilient Cities: innovative YOUthled Policy process for sustainable Europes a project funded by ERASMUS-YOUTH-2023-PCOOP-ENGO.
Partners
- Out of the Box International (OTB) (Belgium, Coordinator)
- Municipality of Faro (Portugal)
- Municipality of Riga (RD IKSD) (Latvia)
- Municipality of Sandanski (Bulgaria)
- INA EUROPE (INA) (Germany)
- CESIE (Italy)
- Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC) (Poland)
- LINK DMT SRL (Italy)
For further information
Contact Giuseppe Romeo: giuseppe.romeo@cesie.org.
