On 9 and 10 September 2026, YEU travelled to Trento, Italy, for the kick-off meeting of IMAGINE, a new Horizon Europe project on preventing youth crime through innovative, evidence-based and rights-compliant approaches. YEU was represented by Secretary General Selin Gürlemez and Membership and Communication Officer Stefano Di Raimondo, who joined 11 partners from all over Europe gathered at Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK), who’s also coordinator of the project.
IMAGINE will be 36 months long with a total budget of €3 million. This consortium brings together partners from 11 European countries, including research institutions, technology partners, law enforcement agencies, police training institutes and civil society organisations. As a youth organisation, YEU brought the perspective of young people and youth workers.
One of the main points of this project was the IMAGINE Toolsuite, which combines digital and non-digital tools. The digital one will include gamified learning paths, serious games and an AI-enabled narrative engine. The second one will offer role plays, classroom exercises, community workshops and practitioner training. Their aim is to help the youth to recognise cognitive bias, perceived threat and peer pressure, while building empathy, emotional regulation and de-escalation skills.
During the two days, we witnessed a scientific overview of different panels about youth delinquency in Europe which delivered a key message that young people should not be seen only as potential offenders, but also as possible victims of recruitment and exploitation, increasingly through social media and gaming environments. The goal here is to combine prevention and early intervention, providing digital literacy and online safeguarding.
YEU also took part in a participatory workshop led by FBK alongside ALDA, named “Mapping and Learning from Existing Youth Crime Prevention Practices.” where partners mapped relevant networks, stakeholders, resources and projects across Europe.. This first shared overview highlights synergies, gaps and opportunities for collaboration.
The project will be piloted in Belgium, Portugal and Romania over two cycles.
Through two open calls totalling €300,000, additional law enforcement agencies and civil society organisations will also have the opportunity to test and adapt the project’s results.
YEU is proud to be part of IMAGINE and looks forward to making sure young people’s voices shape its work.
