International conference (19 – 21 March 2025) Democracy and Youth in the Digital Age

Six sections

The conference will address six interconnected sections, each exploring a critical aspect of democracy and youth engagement in the digital age.

Fragmentation versus participation: The public sphere in digital age

Section 1

Addressing the paradox of digital platforms: they expand access but create echo chambers. The goal is to find strategies for balanced, informed public spheres that fosters diverse democratic participation.

Location: Maison du Savoir 4.500

Chair: Prof. Dr Robin Samuel

  • Robin Samuel

    Assoc. Prof Robin SAMUEL

    Associate professor in Youth Studies

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9.30 -10.15
Youth, Social Media, and Democracy: The Influence of Digital Platforms on the Building of Opinions and Values.
Presentation 1

University of Luxembourg

10.15-11.00
The Theatrical Public Sphere and Young Citizens in the Age of Climate Change and Health Crisis.
Presentation 2
  • Stephen Ogheneruro Okpadah

University of Warwick, UK

11.15 – 12.00
Silencing Falsehoods: Enhancing the EU’s Regulatory Approach to Online Gendered Disinformation.
Presentation 3
  • Valentina Golunova

Maastricht University, Netherlands

12.00-12.45
Access Creep: A Mixed Methods Approach Exploring Political Participation Among Adolescents in Luxembourg.
Presentation 4

University of Luxembourg

15.00-15.45
Distinct Young and Old Interests? Age Differences in the Policy Preferences of Candidates and the Public.
Presentation 5
  • Clemens Nollenberger

University of Konstanz, Germany

15.45-16.30
Empowering Youth through Digital Sovereignty: A Framework for Political Participation in the Age of AI.
Presentation 6
  • Dr Christian Filk

Europa-Universität Flensburg, Germany

Parliamentary democracy versus activism: Techniques of engagement

Section 2

Exploring the intersection of parliamentary democracy and digital activism, focusing on youth engagement and how formal processes and grassroots activism shape the political landscape.

Location: Maison du Savoir 4.510

Chair: Prof. Dr Stefan Braum

9.30 -10.15
Astroturfing and Legitimacy Illusion – Harming Democratic Dialogue.
Presentation 1
  • Sahajveer Baweja

University of Cambridge, UK

10.15-11.00
Practicing Democracy – What’s There to Learn? Following Young Activists’ Media Practices in Institutional Politics”
Presentation 2
  • Alice Bergholtz

Södertörn University, Sweden

11.15 – 12.00
A Laboratory for Democracy: the FreeSZFE Protest and Reimagining Youth Political
Participation
Presentation 3
  • Kyle Mares

Södertörn University, Sweden

12.00-12.45
Social Media Algorithms and Youth Political Participation: Analysing Segmentation, Polarization, and Engagement Strategies in the Digital Age.
Presentation 4
  • Ignacio Fornaris Valls

Royal University Institute for European Studies, CEU San Pablo University, Spain

15.00-15.45
Antisemitism in the protest communication of Fridays For Future.
Presentation 5
  • Prof. Dr Olaf Gätje
  • Dr Felix Böhm

University of Kassel, Germany

15.45 – 16.30
Empowering Youth Through Digital Active Citizenship Workshops: Bridging Democratic Participation and Digital Activism.
Presentation 6
  • Efe Kayra Soylu

Schwarzkopf-Stiftung Junges Europa, Berlin, Germany

16.30-17.15
The postdigital city as networked civics classroom: future imaginaries of a global climate strike.
Presentation 7
  • Saralie Sernhede

Maastricht University

Truth versus trust: Affective politics after the end of argument

Section 3

Focusing on the rise of emotional appeals over facts in politics, examining its impact on democratic dialogue and youth engagement.

Location: Maison du Savoir 4.520

Chair: Prof. Dr Anna-Lena Högenauer

  • Assoc. Prof Anna-Lena HÖGENAUER

    Assoc. Prof Anna-Lena HÖGENAUER

    Associate professor

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9.30 -10.15
Are the Public and the Political Elite Living in the Same Information Bubble? A Comparison of Uses from an Intergenerational Perspective in Luxembourg.
Presentation 1

University of Luxembourg

10.15-11.00
Trump Dancing. Mimesis, Music and Politics on Social Media.
Presentation 2

University of Luxembourg

11.15 – 12.00
Fact-Checking and Opinion Making: A Crisis of Deliberation?
Presentation 3

University of Luxembourg

12.00-12.45
Language use and democracy: : pedagogical implications.
Presentation 4

University of Luxembourg

15.00 – 15.45
The Mediality of Post-Truth: A Heterarchy of Realities in the Digital Age.
Presentation 5
  • Alexander Mellin

Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

15.45 – 16.30
New Generation, Lower Trust? Media Use and Political Trust of Dutch Adolescents.
Presentation 6
  • Prof. Dr Marc Verboord

Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands

16.30-17.15
The New Apostolic Reformation: U.S. Religious Movements and Digital Democracy.
Presentation 7
  • Dr Andrew Mackey

Creighton University, USA

Memory versus history: Imagined identities and ethical claims

Section 4

Exploring how digital media shapes youth perceptions of identity and ethics, focusing on its role in balancing political discourse and diverse cultural memories.

Location: Maison du Savoir 4.200

Chair: Prof. Dr Andrea Binsfeld

  • Assoc. Prof Andrea BINSFELD

    Assoc. Prof Andrea BINSFELD

    Associate professor

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9.30 -10.15
I Am Fed Up with the Conflict in Ukraine: The Interplay of Young Europeans’ Crisis Memory, Social Media Use, and Their Democratic Disposition.
Presentation 1
  • Dr Eva Tamara Asboth
  • Dr Andreas Schulz-Tomančok

Austrian Academy of Sciences & University of Vienna

10.15-11.00
Digital Nostalgia: PASOK’s Governmental Past as a Consumerism Utopia during the Greek Economic Crisis.
Presentation 2
  • Dr Nikolaos Gkionis

Min. of Digital Governance, Greece Advisor at Hellenic Parliament

11.15 – 12.00
Inequalities in Youth Development: Social Origin, Developmental Tasks, and Socio-Political Attitudes in Switzerland.
Presentation 3
  • Prof. Dr Andreas Hadjar
  • Prof. Dr Dirk Baier

University of Fribourg, Switzerland & Zurich University of Applied Sciences

12.00-12.45
Public Online Space and Gift Economy.
Presentation 4
  • Prof. em. Mag. Dr phil. Marc Ries

University of Luxembourg

15.00 – 15.45
Transforming Education Through Technology: How Blockchain and Tokenization of Identity Capital Can Shift the Paradigm of Learning for Youth.
Presentation 5
  • Dr Igor Dunayev

V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine

15.45 – 16.30
Digitization of World War II and Holocaust Remembrance in the Context of the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Presentation 6
  • Prof. Dr Hedwig Wagner

Europa-Universität Flensburg, Germany

16.30-17.15
Democracy as an imposition: a re-reading of Lefort and Gauchet
Presentation 7

University of Luxembourg

Gaming versus explaining? The future of political education

Section 5

Focusing on how interactive games can enhance civic education, comparing gaming with traditional methods to boost youth engagement and critical thinking.

Location: Maison du Savoir 4.190

Chair: Prof. Dr Pedro Cardoso Leite

  • Assoc. Prof Pedro CARDOSO LEITE

    Assoc. Prof Pedro CARDOSO LEITE

    Associate professor in Cognitive Science and Assessment

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9.30 -10.15
Gamifying Civic Education: Engaging Youth in Political Learning Through Interactive Games.
Presentation 1
  • Matteo Bartolini

Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Italy

10.15-11.00
Empowering Play: Bridging Technology and Democratic Engagement.
Presentation 2
  • Irene Medina Sanchez Vilar

Fundacíon Cibervoluntarios, Spain

11.15 – 12.00
Gamifying Political Education: Bridging the Digital Divide.
Presentation 3
  • Prof. Dr Andreas Hadjar
  • Dr Juliette Torabian

University of Fribourg, Switzerland

12.00-12.45
Holographic Historical Personalities as Democracy Teachers: Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality as Catalysts for Civic Education.
Presentation 4
  • Dr Cringuta Pelea

Titu Maiorescu University, University of Bucharest, Romania

15.00 – 15.45
Civic Participation in the Era of Gamification and New Technologies.
Presentation 5
  • Chenet Marie Joseph Vérane

University of Luxembourg

15.45 – 16.30
School Mock Elections in the Early Digital Age: Teaching Parliamentary Democracy in 1980s-90s Britain.
Presentation 6
  • Dr Helen Sunderland

University of Oxford, UK

16.30-17.15
Learning history through serious games – The example of „The Migrants’ Chronicles: 1892“
Presentation 7
  • Dr Johannes Pause
  • Marie-Paule Jungblut

University of Luxembourg

Cultures of democracy: Political narratives and forms of representation

Section 6

Focusing on how populist narratives influence discourse and the need for democracies to promote and transmit their unique cultural identities.

Location: Maison du Savoir 4.530

Chair: Matjaz Gruden

9.30 -10.15
Digital Democracy and Cultural Narratives: Navigating Nationalism and Representation in the Digital Age.
Presentation 1
  • Pedro Abrantes Martins

Paraná State Court of Appeals, Brazil

10.15-11.00
Web Literary Criticism and Digital Literacy: On the Fundaments of Political Ethics in the Digital Society.
Presentation 2
  • Prof. Dr Thomas Ernst

University of Antwerp, Belgium

11.15 – 12.00
Education for Democracy: From Communitarian Participation to Public Discourse Participation.
Presentation 3
  • Dr Jean-Marie Weber (Uni.lu)
  • Christiane Meyers (Uni.lu)
  • Andreas Vuori (SNJ)
12.00-12.45
The Crisis of Liberal Democracies
Presentation 4
  • Dr Harry Lehmann

University of Luxembourg

15.00 – 15.45
Digital Diplomacy in Wartime: Narrative Framing of Sexual Violence in the War in Ukraine.
Presentation 5
  • Valeria Găvoază
  • Prof. Dr Miruna Butnaru Troncotă

SNSPA Bucharest, Romania

15.45 – 16.30
Welche Rolle Spielen AI und Desinformation in den Arbeitspraxis von BEE SECURE.
Presentation 6
  • Dr rer. nat. Debora Plein

BEE SECURE /SNJ (Luxembourg)

16.30-17.15
‘I Believe That Democracy Is Connected to Citizenship’. Young Danes and Informed, Democratic Citizenship.
Presentation 7
  • Associate Prof. Dr Gitte Bang Stald

University of Copenhagen, Denmark

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