Political Tech Summit: Youth Track
While political institutions often view young people as disengaged, research increasingly shows that they are highly active, just not within legacy channels. Their political agency develops more in digital ecosystems shaped by creators, platform architectures, AI systems, and collaborative innovation networks.
Understanding an Emerging Terrain
The Political Tech Summit is a convening for practitioners, policymakers, researchers and technologists working at the intersection of democracy and digital innovation. As co-hosts and co-curators of the Youth Track, the Evens Foundation is introducing a dedicated focus on how young voters—the rising generation of political decision-makers—experience and reshape democracy through technology.
Political identity and agency are increasingly formed in environments defined by creators, platforms, algorithms and AI systems. The Youth Track brings together four thematic areas to explore the implications, dangers and opportunities this generational shift presents:
Creators and Political Credibility
Young voters place significant trust in digital creators who act as intermediaries in political communication. Understanding this ecosystem is essential for anyone seeking to engage this generation effectively and responsibly.
Gender, Platforms and Power
Digital environments shape political identity differently across genders. Influencer cultures, algorithmic curation and online subcultures influence radicalisation, representation and belonging. Addressing these dynamics is key to building inclusive political spaces.
AI, Agency and Democratic Literacy
AI systems—from recommendation algorithms to generative media—mediate how young voters learn, interpret and act on political information. Strengthening democratic literacy in an AI-saturated environment is a core challenge for governments, civil society and educators.
Activism as Political Innovation
Many young actors are not only mobilising but building solutions: open-source projects, civic tech tools and digital public infrastructures. Their work expands participation and redefines what “political engagement” looks like.
The Sessions
Trust Me: How Young Creators Became Power Brokers in Politics
Once dismissed as entertainers, today’s digital creators—on TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, and beyond—are reshaping how young people perceive power, truth, and belonging. Their audiences don’t just follow; they trust them, forming parasocial relationships that rival traditional political loyalties. This session asks: how does the rise of content creators change the political arena, and how do political actors need to adapt to reach young voters?
The session will explore:
- How creators cultivate trust and authority outside traditional media or party structures
- The emergence of young “power brokers” who move audiences more effectively than many politicians
- The democratic risks and opportunities of parasocial influence
- What campaigns, civil society, and institutions can learn from the creator playbook
Participants will gain a grounded understanding of how to collaborate with, learn from, or critically engage this new ecosystem of influence—where politics increasingly happens between the feed and the follower.
Agents of Change: Gen Z, Democracy, and the Rise of AI
Gen Z’s relationship with AI is radically different from every generation before them: they rely on it constantly, yet often feel indifferent to the power it now holds. As SORA 2 and next-generation generative systems blur the line between real and synthetic politics, “AI literacy” is becoming one of the defining civic challenges of the decade. What does democracy look like when young people are surrounded by AI that they barely notice, yet which is increasingly shaping what they know, believe and do – and how can we mitigate potential harmful effects?
In this interactive workshop, participants will:
- Unpack Gen Z’s everyday dependence on AI—from homework helpers to algorithmic feeds—and how this silent reliance shifts information habits, political cues and trust.
- Examine how ultra-realistic generative video (SORA 2), autonomous agents, and synthetic influencers will transform campaigning, mobilisation, and narrative power
- Debate how AI literacy is emerging as a core democratic skill—and what it means when an entire generation is expected to have it but hasn’t been equipped
The session reframes Gen Z not as passive consumers in an AI-driven environment, but as the generation with the most to gain—and lose. It challenges participants to become architects of an AI-literate democratic culture before agentic technologies define it for them.
Activism Rewired: From Protest to Prototype
The next generation of activists isn’t just shouting for change—they’re coding it. As digital tools, open data, and networked communities reshape the political landscape, activism is evolving from confrontation to creation. In this workshop, we explore how civic innovators are moving beyond protest to prototype new forms of governance, participation, and public infrastructure like Palumba.
Participants will:
- Examine real-world examples of political tech built for public good
- Learn how open-source methods and civic hacking are redefining collective action
- Explore how digital infrastructures can shift power—not just resist it
- How to better protect young activists from online harassment
- Prototype their own micro-interventions for democratic renewal
Hands-on and future-focused, this session invites Gen Z changemakers to see activism as political innovation: designing systems that make democracy more participatory, transparent, and alive.
Power, Platforms, and the Gender Code: How Tech Shapes Gen Z Politics
Among Gen Z, technology defines not only how people communicate but how they see themselves as political actors. This workshop explores how digital architectures—algorithms, gaming spaces, AI companions, and social video ecosystems—shape gendered experiences of power, belonging, and political voice.
We’ll examine:
- How male-dominated online subcultures and “manosphere” narratives influence political identity and radicalisation
- How influencer and creator economies have amplified female political voices—but also exposed them to new forms of abuse
- How AI-based recommendation systems reproduce or challenge gender biases
- What these shifts mean for democratic participation, representation, and trust among young voters
Participants will use real-world cases to map how political tech—from micro-targeting tools to community platforms—either bridges or widens gender divides. The goal: to prototype politically meaningful interventions that make the digital public sphere more inclusive, transparent, and empowering for Gen Z citizens of all genders.
Towards A Democratic System That Grows With Its Citizens
The Evens Foundation initiated the Youth Track to ensure that debates about political technology reflect the realities of the generation that will define Europe’s democratic future. The overarching goals are to elevate evidence-based insights on young voters’ digital political behaviour, support institutions in adapting to new democratic expectations, strengthen the civic potential of technological systems shaping political life and bridge traditional political actors with emerging digital movements and creators.
Young voters are not a side audience—they are central to democracy’s evolution. The Youth Track is a small step towards ensuring that political systems, technologies and institutions evolve with them.
While political institutions often view young people as disengaged, research increasingly shows that they are highly active, just not within legacy channels. Their political agency develops more in digital ecosystems shaped by creators, platform architectures, AI systems, and collaborative innovation networks.
Understanding an Emerging Terrain
The Political Tech Summit is a convening for practitioners, policymakers, researchers and technologists working at the intersection of democracy and digital innovation. As co-hosts and co-curators of the Youth Track, the Evens Foundation is introducing a dedicated focus on how young voters—the rising generation of political decision-makers—experience and reshape democracy through technology.
Political identity and agency are increasingly formed in environments defined by creators, platforms, algorithms and AI systems. The Youth Track brings together four thematic areas to explore the implications, dangers and opportunities this generational shift presents:
Creators and Political Credibility
Young voters place significant trust in digital creators who act as intermediaries in political communication. Understanding this ecosystem is essential for anyone seeking to engage this generation effectively and responsibly.
Gender, Platforms and Power
Digital environments shape political identity differently across genders. Influencer cultures, algorithmic curation and online subcultures influence radicalisation, representation and belonging. Addressing these dynamics is key to building inclusive political spaces.
AI, Agency and Democratic Literacy
AI systems—from recommendation algorithms to generative media—mediate how young voters learn, interpret and act on political information. Strengthening democratic literacy in an AI-saturated environment is a core challenge for governments, civil society and educators.
Activism as Political Innovation
Many young actors are not only mobilising but building solutions: open-source projects, civic tech tools and digital public infrastructures. Their work expands participation and redefines what “political engagement” looks like.
The Sessions
Trust Me: How Young Creators Became Power Brokers in Politics
Once dismissed as entertainers, today’s digital creators—on TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, and beyond—are reshaping how young people perceive power, truth, and belonging. Their audiences don’t just follow; they trust them, forming parasocial relationships that rival traditional political loyalties. This session asks: how does the rise of content creators change the political arena, and how do political actors need to adapt to reach young voters?
The session will explore:
- How creators cultivate trust and authority outside traditional media or party structures
- The emergence of young “power brokers” who move audiences more effectively than many politicians
- The democratic risks and opportunities of parasocial influence
- What campaigns, civil society, and institutions can learn from the creator playbook
Participants will gain a grounded understanding of how to collaborate with, learn from, or critically engage this new ecosystem of influence—where politics increasingly happens between the feed and the follower.
Agents of Change: Gen Z, Democracy, and the Rise of AI
Gen Z’s relationship with AI is radically different from every generation before them: they rely on it constantly, yet often feel indifferent to the power it now holds. As SORA 2 and next-generation generative systems blur the line between real and synthetic politics, “AI literacy” is becoming one of the defining civic challenges of the decade. What does democracy look like when young people are surrounded by AI that they barely notice, yet which is increasingly shaping what they know, believe and do – and how can we mitigate potential harmful effects?
In this interactive workshop, participants will:
- Unpack Gen Z’s everyday dependence on AI—from homework helpers to algorithmic feeds—and how this silent reliance shifts information habits, political cues and trust.
- Examine how ultra-realistic generative video (SORA 2), autonomous agents, and synthetic influencers will transform campaigning, mobilisation, and narrative power
- Debate how AI literacy is emerging as a core democratic skill—and what it means when an entire generation is expected to have it but hasn’t been equipped
The session reframes Gen Z not as passive consumers in an AI-driven environment, but as the generation with the most to gain—and lose. It challenges participants to become architects of an AI-literate democratic culture before agentic technologies define it for them.
Activism Rewired: From Protest to Prototype
The next generation of activists isn’t just shouting for change—they’re coding it. As digital tools, open data, and networked communities reshape the political landscape, activism is evolving from confrontation to creation. In this workshop, we explore how civic innovators are moving beyond protest to prototype new forms of governance, participation, and public infrastructure like Palumba.
Participants will:
- Examine real-world examples of political tech built for public good
- Learn how open-source methods and civic hacking are redefining collective action
- Explore how digital infrastructures can shift power—not just resist it
- How to better protect young activists from online harassment
- Prototype their own micro-interventions for democratic renewal
Hands-on and future-focused, this session invites Gen Z changemakers to see activism as political innovation: designing systems that make democracy more participatory, transparent, and alive.
Power, Platforms, and the Gender Code: How Tech Shapes Gen Z Politics
Among Gen Z, technology defines not only how people communicate but how they see themselves as political actors. This workshop explores how digital architectures—algorithms, gaming spaces, AI companions, and social video ecosystems—shape gendered experiences of power, belonging, and political voice.
We’ll examine:
- How male-dominated online subcultures and “manosphere” narratives influence political identity and radicalisation
- How influencer and creator economies have amplified female political voices—but also exposed them to new forms of abuse
- How AI-based recommendation systems reproduce or challenge gender biases
- What these shifts mean for democratic participation, representation, and trust among young voters
Participants will use real-world cases to map how political tech—from micro-targeting tools to community platforms—either bridges or widens gender divides. The goal: to prototype politically meaningful interventions that make the digital public sphere more inclusive, transparent, and empowering for Gen Z citizens of all genders.
Towards A Democratic System That Grows With Its Citizens
The Evens Foundation initiated the Youth Track to ensure that debates about political technology reflect the realities of the generation that will define Europe’s democratic future. The overarching goals are to elevate evidence-based insights on young voters’ digital political behaviour, support institutions in adapting to new democratic expectations, strengthen the civic potential of technological systems shaping political life and bridge traditional political actors with emerging digital movements and creators.
Young voters are not a side audience—they are central to democracy’s evolution. The Youth Track is a small step towards ensuring that political systems, technologies and institutions evolve with them.