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Future Leaders

2024-2-IE01-KA152-YOU-0002581532024Mobility of young peoplefinalized
Countries: IE|GE · Grant: €44,016
Inclusion of marginalised young peopleEuropean identity and valuesPromotion of alternative forms of participation

Objectives

Our youth exchange objectives were to: 1. Foster intercultural dialogue, learning, and a sense of European leadership 2. Develop the leadership skills and attitudes of young people, including those with fewer opportunities. 3. Bring more youngsters with fewer opportunities, including those with financial difficulties, asylum seekers, and disadvantaged rural areas, among others, into the Erasmus+ field. 4. promote the core EU values and cooperation under the Erasmus+ programme. 5. Develop environmentally sustainable leadership skills. 6.Create a booklet of leadership and soft skills. This project aimed to introduce more young people with fewer opportunities, such as those facing financial hardships, asylum seekers, refugees, and residents of remote, underprivileged areas, to the Erasmus+ field. The project also aimed to provide opportunities for EU Youth Exchange (YE) participation to immigrants to Ireland and individuals unable to travel due to their residency status. What we wanted to achieved were influence by the fact that: Forbes Magazine 2023 published a quote that says, "Leadership Is About Inclusion.". As European societies became more diverse and inclusive, it was important for youths to keep up and develop strong leadership skills. Developing young people's leadership skills we believe would foster equality, diversity, and inclusion. One way to advance these skills was by actively seeking opportunities to learn about other cultures and perspectives. Furthermore, it was essential for youths to listen carefully to other young people with diverse backgrounds and understand their diverse experiences. This helped to not just have everyone's voice heard, but also make leadership more appealing to young people. In addition, this Erasmus+ "Future Leader" (YE) was crucial for future leaders who wanted to positively impact their society. Both non-formal leadership and soft skills workshops helped them build the necessary skills, including effective communication, conflict resolution, and empathy, to create a diverse and inclusive community culture. Through soft skills youth-led workshops, participants can became more self-aware, recognize their implicit biases, and learned to mitigate them. A youthled Snap Chat discussion and a WhatsApp poll were conducted by two groups of youth (Irish and Georgian), and it was reported that 82% of them lack the leadership skills needed to feel included in their local community as active citizens. Then, both groups came to the unanimous conclusion that they needed to acquire leadership abilities outside of the classroom so that they would feel empowered to interact and connect with their community as well as other EU communities. One youth said, " Leaders are role models for inclusive behaviours ". Both youth groups reported that 94% of youth with fewer opportunities (FO) lack soft and leadership skills, which are crucial for developing equality, diversity, and inclusion because, often, most said they are not exposed to them. Leadership skills have been proven to prevent intolerance, racism, ethnic discrimination, hostility, and violence and give everyone a voice to speak out on issues that go against EU values. This notion therefore coincides with the objectives and priorities of both Erasmus+ 2021–2027 and the EU Youth Strategy 2019–2027. Due to their disparate cultural backgrounds, the partners made an excellent team for the project to succeed. Additionally, Nelson Mandela once said, "the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow.". The quote raises questions like: What is leadership? How can a leader promote social inclusion? How does a leader speak for the voiceless? What is a good leader? What are the advantages of having leadership skills to build an inclusive community where youth, including those with FO, have voices? How can you inspire youths of any background to aspire for leadership positions to promote sustainable practices to combat climate change? The YE : "Future Leaders" also aimed to empower young people (15–17 years old) with the leadership capabilities to reach their full potential while allowing them to learn, practice, and develop the core soft skills they will need in their future lives. It provided 32 young people from Ireland & Georgia who are actively involved in their communities, leaders, volunteers, and participants with limited opportunities to develop and bolster the skills necessary to perform their job duties in an excellent manner, non-formally, using role play, games, workshops, intercultural learning opportunities, presentations, etc. These leadership abilities include leadership, collaboration, problem-solving, and managing conflicts between participants. This project sought to give youngsters a viable alternative to the workforce and help them develop critical leadership skills through creativity, problem-solving, and ultimately personal flourishing.

Project partners (2)