Future Planners Fostering Human Centred Urban Planning through Real and Effective Public Consultation (Future Planners) brings together 8 partners from Youth, VET and HE into a Strategic Partnership under the leadership of le LABA of Bordeaux. The EU Youth strategy, the EU youth policy cooperation framework 2019-2027 defines: - youth engagement as "a meaningful civic, economic, social, cultural and political participation of young people", - connected youths as "connections, relations and exchange of experience are a pivotal asset for solidarity and the future development" and - empowerment as "encouraging them to take charge of their own lives...and youth work in all its forms can serve as a catalyst for empowerment." Future Planners will: - ENGAGE young present and future professionals in architecture, design, urban development and political studies who will be EMPOWERED to be constructive contributors towards a more inclusive society both as members of the communities in which they will live and as upcoming professionals who may occupy decision making positions that may help society become more inclusive through dialogue and human centred urban development, - CONNECT youths between themselves and with stakeholders in 6 local activities of real effective community consultation cycles in Bordeaux, Trondheim, Putignano, Perugia and Malta in which stakeholders representing various interest groups especially those who are vulnerable to exclusion and challenges will make constructive contributions towards new or prospective urban development projects about to be implemented by their decision makers in their areas and - EMPOWER THE CAREER OF YOUTHS through a community based publication on "Real and Effective Community Engagement for more Human Centred and Inclusive Urban Projects" with contributions from the youths, youth leaders and stakeholders taking part in the public consultation cycles and by other professionals sharing an interest in the two major subject areas of the project ie. effective community consultation and human centred urban development. Youths and youth leaders will participate in three transnational training activities in which they will: - receive non-formal training on aspects of human centred urban development by experts from different partners, - acquire know-how on the cycles of real and effective consultations and constructive dialogue in order that they may be very well equipped for their local activities of social engagement with stakeholders, - share ideas and experiences about their respective local activities and - engage with mentors from partners specialised in the fields of urban development and social media strategies that will support them in their local activities. The project will have a strong medium term benefit and impact on the: - youths, youth leaders / educators taking part in the project activities because they will engage in new forms of structured social dialogue therefore acquiring new awareness and consciousness of its importance in democratic process, knowledge and skills in the process and considerations need for human centred and inclusive urban development and by experiencing new roles as positive players in society promoting transparent and accountable decision making process as well as being agents of change as citizens and as future decision makers. - the partners and stakeholders that gain in capacity building through understanding of their community, gain new listening skills and acquire a new level of social awareness and conscience. This means more democratic process and accountability to the community especially for the stakeholders that are also decision makers be it at local, regional and national level. Stakeholders staff who are not usually concerned directly with social dialogue and with considerations that make a project human centred and inclusive will also have had exposure to discussion on the topic therefore gaining familiarity and awareness in future projects and decisions they may participate in the future. - communities that often need education about their right to be consulted and their duty to give valid contribution. Communities are often reluctant to share concerns citing past ineffective dialogue, fear of political exposure and some reticence into being visibly in conflict with other stakeholders and therefore Future Planners will help overcome skepticism, instil confidence and offer a platform for real and effective social engagement from the community. During the project the partners will meet for four coordination meetings and three training activities and they will have two horizontal activities that will last throughout the project lifetime: - Dissemination and Exploitation effort to ensure ample visibility and sound strategies for the distribution of its outputs and sharing of results and - Quality and validation strategies in order that the partners look into and analyse the learning process at individual level.
The objectives of Future Planners were to: - engage youths in a process towards more open and transparent decision making based on real and effective dialogue between decision makers and the communities they govern regarding urban projects and development so that these may be more human centred, socially inclusive and focused on the economic, health and social wellbeing of citizens, - create a new generation of professionals in architecture, design, urban development and policy that are positive contributors to more human centred, sustainable and innovative urban areas both as citizens who are more ready and equipped to contribute to social dialogue and as future decision makers should their career put them in such key positions, - send a strong message to policy makers at local, regional, national and European level that citizens have the right and duty to participate with ideas, reflections, concerns and questions towards the future of their own habitat and therefore their own wellbeing and - send another strong message to the community to engage in public consultation process to secure its right to be consulted.
The project was motivated by the needs of: - young present and future professionals in architecture, design, urban development and other professions that can be the best possible agents for more human centred development as members of the community and potentially as future decision makers in the future if well equipped with the right tools to make them excellent contributors to social dialogue in their careers (achieved through informal education that supports and supplements their formal education), - youth organisations that are in permanent need to engage their youths in active citizenship and open dialogue with policy makers as part of the fulfilment of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 upping their social profile in the process, - communities around the partner organisations at local, regional, national and EU level that are all in permanent state of transformation making continuous real and effective open consultations a necessity for democratic process and - policy makers who need, or at least should, engage with the community in open, real and effective dialogue with their respective communities for more human centred decision making democracy their priority.