Received: 2024-03-10  |  Accepted: 2024-05-11  |  Published: 2024-06-30

Title

Impact of European youth strategy awareness and participation in EU activities on youth European citizenship: case studies of Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia


Abstract

The European Youth Strategy is a key EU tool addressing the diverse needs of young citizens and promoting European citizenship, but its impact lacks evidence in existing literature. Grounded in the Social Cognitive Theory, our study filled this gap by collecting independent data on young Europeans' awareness of the Strategy and participation in EU activities. Using the Global Citizenship Scale, an online survey gathered responses from 533 individuals aged 18 to 24 in Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovakia. We explored the two constructs' influence on their European citizenship. Findings showed they predicted between 9% and 15% of European citizenship variance. As a result, our research contributes vital comparison data for evaluating the Strategy, offering nuanced insights about the target EU member states. Our insights can help policymakers, researchers, and practitioners by informing future policies and interventions and being a benchmark for evaluating their relative effectiveness.


Keywords

Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, European youth strategy, European citizenship, young people


JEL classifications

O38 , R58


URI

http://jssidoi.org/ird/article/160


DOI


Pages

48-63


Funding

This article is an output of the "The European youth Strategy delivered through Advanced Technologies" (eSAT) project, implemented with the support of the European Union Erasmus+ programme of the European Commission Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). The article reflects the views only of its authors, and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

This is an open access issue and all published articles are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Authors

Vankov, Daniel
KA Consult, Vidin, Bulgaria
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia https://www.qut.edu.au
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Sfet, Ingrid
Asociatia Krebelsberg Kuno, Oradea, Romania
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Vankov, Borislav
Narodno Chitalishte Svetal Den, Vidin, Bulgaria
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Jankovszky, Dávid
Z Generációért Alapítvány, Körösszégapáti-Körmösdpuszta, Hungary https://zalapitvany.eu
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Molnár, Éva
TANDEM n.o., Komárno, Slovakia https://www.tandemno.sk
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Journal title

Insights into Regional Development

Volume

6


Number

2


Issue date

June 2024


Issue DOI


ISSN

ISSN 2345-0282 (online)


Publisher

VšĮ Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, Vilnius, Lithuania

Cited

Google Scholar

Article views & downloads

HTML views: 2001  |  PDF downloads: 540

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