Success report: Dialogue initiative Think You New inspires young adults!

Success report: Dialogue initiative Think You New inspires young adults!

The church dialogue initiative “Denk Dich Neu” draws an impressive balance for the year 2024. In a comprehensive press release, the initiators emphasize that around 900,000 people were reached through a variety of offers, including over 200 events with 80,000 personal encounters. Gabriele Eder-Cakl, the initiative's spokeswoman, explained that the focus was on direct contact with young adults aged 18 to 25 in order to promote dialogue and understand what issues concern them. There was a strong response on social media, where the initiative achieved around 5.6 million impressions, reaching 1.2 million young adults. As Kathpress reported, The initiative has created many personal conversations and exchange opportunities, particularly through its presence at major music festivals, the use of a “café bike” and the “Walk-On-Water Challenge”.

Successful strategies for reaching young people

The initiative pursued two main strategies: on the one hand, a strong media presence with a focus on social media and, on the other hand, personal encounters at events. According to a representative IMAS study, the approach to addressing young people in their world was rated as very successful. Over 55 percent of those surveyed considered “Denk Dich Neu” to be suitable for establishing contact with the church. Eder-Cakl pointed out that the content of the campaign, which addresses topics such as the meaning of life and friendship, addresses the lives of young adults. A study also confirmed that the brand and visual design of the initiative are perceived positively and can therefore strengthen the credibility of the Catholic Church among young people.

New initiatives are already being prepared for the coming year 2025 to address the need for meaning and guidance among young adults. Those responsible for the initiative plan to approach these challenges with fresh content and new formats, as Eder-Cakl concluded. This means that “Denk Dich Neu” continues to be an important platform for dialogue between the church and young adults in Austria.