In this, the second issue of a newspaper for Europe written by schoolchildren from its member states, reality seems far more “blurred” and the future a good deal harder to predict than 12 months ago.

Month after month, new crises are added to the burdens of an already overburdened older generation, and heaped onto the shoulders of a younger generation who knew nothing of the weights of the world till recently.

Still, resistance is forged in the furnace of difficulties, as are ideals. And we may often feel that young people don’t communicate with us, or that they don’t even understand us (how are they going to inherit the world?), but might any lack of communication actually start with us. Perhaps our (adult) reality is ultimately the one that’s topsy-turvy.

The young people around us may not be interested in the political parties we recommend to them, they may not respect the institutions we introduce them to, but the majority of them are profoundly politicized. It’s just that their gaze is focused on things we often fail to consider: on the climate crisis, human rights, social policies, solidarity, volunteering and giving back to the community.

At the same time, however, these same young people are part of a wild generation molded by electronic societies that know neither limits nor rules, and by IRL societies marked by extreme inequalities or defunct ideals. Which gave them no choice but to erect walls for self-protection and turn their gaze to the uncharted landscapes of reconstruction.

How many times have we seen in the eyes of a teenager we were scolding just a few minutes earlier for homework left undone or a schedule abandoned by the wayside, the darkness of an unknown world, but also the light of the strength of someone taking their first steps in the world?

TO BHMA has been seeking out both for many years now, and captured both the light and the darkness in over 50 student editions around the country. The two newspapers written by young people from all over Europe about Europe enjoy pride of place among them. Last year we asked ourselves “why vote?”. This year, we set off in pursuit of a democracy that’s adapting and evolving. But is our democracy really in danger?

When you ask a young person today what the word “democracy” means, they often remain silent for a few seconds as they try to understand what it is you’re asking them. It could be that our ill-thought-out examination system is to blame, for teaching them—if nothing else—that there’s a trap lurking in every question.

So, the pages that follow are a newspaper about democracy, a newspaper about Europe written by these same young people, who give us a taste of the maturity and wisdom so many of them bring to the table. We may have picked up on a series of mistakes and stapled them together to have something to hurl at them. But, in the end, many of them were never there to take the hit. They just shot us a knowing glance, winked, and turned their backs to set off down the path to the pastures new—or the mountain tops—of their choosing.

This article was originally published in the insert “The European BHMA” published with “TO BHMA on Sunday” on 11 May 2025.