The objectives were to engage youth from marginalized backgrounds in societal matters and support them in building, debating and expressing their point of view in creative ways. The project should introduce them to different creative methods that would allow them to explore societal matters and express their point of view on topics they are passionate about. An important aspect of this journey was to create a safe space that would allow the youths to discuss delicate matters and share personal experiences with their peers and overcome a feeling of isolation that can come with heavy personal experiences of discrimination. In this safe space, youth workers were about to guide the participant group towards turning their experiences into a productive output and find the confidence to share their opinions publicly. For this scope, participants developed a wide range of social, technical, intercultural and soft skills. MIK-ON also allowed the involved youth workers to exchange methods and improve their methodology for democracy work.
We applied for this project because we saw the urgency to empower and engage youth from socioeconomically challenged areas and diverse backgrounds to become active citizens in our democratic society. The perspective of these youths being underrepresented in societal debate, our project MIK-ON aimed at creating a framework for them to explore, develop and express their ideas for a better future. We wanted to give them the opportunity to shift the focus on topics important to them, such as antiracism, preventing criminality and breaking gender stereotypes. In order to overcome a feeling of isolation and resignation, exchanging thoughts and ideas in a European context and becoming a part of a wider community of youths was absolutely crucial, especially because many of the youths grow up in-between cultures while also facing the consequences of segregation. Embracing a European identity united the participants, boosted their self-confidence and their willingness to take place in society both locally and internationally.