In the run‑up to the 2024 Belgian and European elections, voters were faced with more than 800 pages of dense party manifestos in Dutch, French, and English. Young and first‑time voters in particular felt overwhelmed: 7‑in‑10 said they relied on headlines or social media snippets rather than primary sources, and educators lacked an easy way to bring the real texts into the classroom. The information gap left plenty of room for misquotes, cherry‑picking, and straight‑up disinformation.

Supported by the grant, CIVIX developed LOU, an AI chatbot providing youth with clear, neutral, and accessible political information. By answering questions on elections and institutions in natural language, LOU simplifies institutional complexity and combats disinformation to foster democratic engagement. The funding enabled the technical architecture, AI integration, and content structuring necessary to ensure reliable, high-volume performance. Beyond coordination and volunteer mobilization, the project improved democratic accessibility through a simple, interactive tool that encourages critical thinking. This deployment also strengthened CIVIX ASBL’s organizational capacity, laying the groundwork for the tool's sustainability and fulfilling the mission to empower young people as informed political actors.