This report is divided into four parts. Part One focuses on the unique role of elections -- and the dangers of abstention -- in a democratic society, with particular emphasis on the importance of the youth vote. Part Two describes various techniques for measuring turnout, documents the scope of the problem with comparative data in national parliamentary elections in fifteen European democracies, and analyses the reasons for low youth turnout. It also expresses the opinions and views of young people themselves through specially commissions interviews that were conducted in several countries world-wide. Part Three proposes a variety of activities on different levels available to governmental and non-governmental actors involved in drawing young citizens into the electoral arena. Finally, Part Four shows some of these strategies in action by outlining specific programmes for increasing youth participation in Chile, Russia, South Africa and the United States.