The main objectives of the project were related to having built the capacities, leadership, and advocacy skills of adolescents and youth, as well as of youth workers, through the strengthening of the organizational competences of the participating organizations to promote youth participation and civic engagement in various scales and formats. It also aimed to have supported active citizenship of young people, particularly youth at risk of social exclusion, and to have helped the participating organizations work effectively with adolescents and youth, ensuring that the needs of disadvantaged groups were addressed. The goal was to ensure that they were meaningfully engaged and actively participated as partners in the development and implementation of policies, programs, and processes that affected them, in accordance with the core values and principles of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 and the 11 European Youth Goals.
Young people often do not have the knowledge and skills needed to actively engage in their communities, to advocate for their rights, to take part in decision-making on policies that directly affect them. On the other hand, organizations and institutions often do not take the necessary measures to provide the most adequate conditions for meaningful and ethical youth participation. Although young people are being engaged at multiple levels, the experience of this is varied and often young people report feeling unsupported, exploited or tokenized, especially in the case of disadvantaged youth. That is why we applied for the project to support organizations addressing youth issues, aiming to develop guidance for fostering meaningful adolescent and youth engagement (MAYE). Aligned with the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 and the 11 European Youth Goals, the project resulted in a MAYE guidance and toolkit for young people, organizations, and decision-makers. Emphasizing leadership and advocacy skills, the project targets the needs of young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and supports youth workers, organizations, and stakeholders in the youth policy domain.