Participation in Europe Day 2019 at the University of Cagliari is a case study that highlights the need to deepen the understanding of the youth about the implications of climate change on the society of an original European Union (EU) member state facing a crisis of democracy in the early twenty-first century. In this case, the focus is on the role of youth in Sardinia amidst the aging population in Italy, which is accompanied by high youth unemployment as well as immigration. Gender and race are specifically applicable in this narrative.

The effects of climate change on a natural disaster in Sardinia, along with the political and social response, are explained as part of an inquiry into the EU's strategy towards the young, aged 16–24. In this context, the younger segment in Italy's society is particularly vulnerable, in democratic terms, due to disinformation, populism and discrimination, as the EU is unsure about their impact on the youth. In order to harvest the demographic dividend, the negative impact of misinformation, demagoguery and inequity, which erodes trust in the institutions critical to the evolution of democracy in Italy, as well as Europe's fragile Union, must be increasingly countered with positive initiatives such as Europe Day 2019.

Europe Day 2019: Youth Participation at the University of Cagliari

Each year, European institutions, member states and universities across Europe celebrate Europe Day, which recalls the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community on 9 May 1950. Europe Day 2019 at the University of Cagliari, which took place on 21 May 2019, focused on the engagement of Sardinia's oldest university, established in 1606, in the action schemes to promote cross-border cooperation and learning among the youth in the EU member states across the continent. Panels highlighted the impact of learning on Italian students in the context of Italy's participation in European integration, including a video project made by the students in communication at the University of Cagliari on the topic of ‘Europe between Perception and Reality: The Strategic Value of Communication’. Universities across Europe, including Cagliari, are committed to the Bologna Process for Higher Education, in which the Lifelong Learning Project and the Youth Program figure prominently (Kooij, 2015; EC, 2020).