About the podcast The EuroPCom podcast series on public communication is produced by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) in close cooperation with the EuroPCom partners. Host  Evi Kiorri, Journalist | Multimedia Producer | Podcaster Guest  Cato Waeterloos is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Media Studies at KU Leuven and at the research group for Media, Innovation and Communication Technologie at UGent. Her main research interests include different aspects of the interaction between new media and citizens’ civic and political participation.   In this episode From schooling and education to health and well-being to administration and political engagement, digital technology is increasingly intertwined with everyday life. It has transformed the ways in which we interact, relate to others, and access information. It now also offers new means for citizens to contribute to shaping political debate and drive "real world" change. Petition platforms, e-voting and other online tools expand opportunities to directly participate in civil society action and in democratic processes more broadly. But do these tools really have the potential to reinvigorate a more ‘citizen-powered’ democracy? Can people have a more direct influence on democratic processes? And what would be a strategy for engaging youth in local policymaking? This is what we want to explore with our guest Cato Waeterloos, postdoctoral researcher on interaction between new media and citizens’ civic and political participation at KU Leuven and UGent.