Through the project we wanted to create a sense of community and share experiences for young people from across the Nordic region. We wanted to give space for them to share and learn from each other while creating new connections and strengthening their own organizations. We also strove to involve youth who have not previously been active in civic organizations and include them in this very valuable discussion and encourage them to take the step into participation, locally, nationally but also in a cross-border context in the Nordics and Europe. The aim was to give participants the opportunity to gain new skills like communication and problem solving as well as project management and strategic thinking, as they take responsibility for planning activities and the final product. The aim was to create safe and empowering spaces for young people with varying backgrounds and experiences to meet and learn from each other. We felt the value in meeting in these physical spaces was creating real connections, friendships, and networks. Although most of the planning for these meetings was facilitated online. As support for the steering group, digital tools were planned in a way that would be accessible for all. We hope these activities.
We, the applicants, found that many civil society organizations are led by adults, even when the target group for the organization would be youth 15-29. With this in mind, the aim of the project was to empower youth and strengthen their voices. As a basis for the project, we focused on the Nordic region, and happily we were able to include youth from all over the Nordics, including indigenous people and immigrants. The focus of the project was something planned by youth for youth, giving them genuine say in the operation of the project and its results. We wanted to also create recommendations to share with organizations on how to create opportunities for youth to participate in these organizations and their decision making. A bonus value in the project is the cultural and cross-border cooperation that we were able to facilitate for those youth participating in the project.