“Strengthening Capacities of Young Leaders and Youth Organisations for Meaningful Community Participation” is a 17-month long-term Civil Society Fellowship capacity building project aimed at developing leadership competences of young people and support establishing and capacity building of local youth organisations to participate in community policy-making in rural areas of Armenia, Moldova, Ukraine and Portugal.The project implementation directly tackles specific two rural areas in each country where youth participation will be enhanced on a long-term through 3 main structural components: individual empowerment of young leaders, capacity building of local youth organisations and youth policy interventions. The project includes intensive Fellowship to Portugal aimed at learning the best practises of youth engagement into the community decision-making. After return to their home communities, the Fellows will mobilize young people and other actors and build capacity of local youth organisations through awareness campaign, local training course and policy interventions, which will result in sustainable cooperation between triangle Young people – Youth CSOs – Local municipalities and better addressing the youth needs.It also includes Training course for multiplier of participation and Youth exchange for young people with fewer opportunities, alongside with local capacity-building activities: awareness campaigns, trainings, policy interventions and dissemination conference. In total 44 participants with fewer opportunities will participate in the project mobility activities. Youthpass wiil be used to reflect, recognise and validate the learning outcomes of the participants.The project main outputs include (1) web site collecting information about its objectives, activities and results; (2) brochures on how to run a youth organisation tailored to the national realities of 4 participating countries; (3) handbook on youth participation, fence-mending with local authorities and policy development published in Armenian, Moldavian, Ukrainian, Portuguese and English languages.As a result of the project, young people from 8 rural areas of 4 countries will significantly raise awareness on the involvement in policy process, what will result in better accountability and performance of local governments. The project local capacity building activities will be implemented in deep cooperation with municipalities, civil society organisations, school administrations, public bodies. The Consortium will support institutionalisation of youth participation models into national youth policies agenda in each country through the cooperation with relevant Ministries and other state public bodies responsible for youth policy implementation. The project success in selected rural areas will set a precedent for scaling project practices in other communities.
The objectives were to train youth workers to become multipliers of youth participation, support the establishment of local youth organisations, enhance civic competences of disadvantaged youth through a youth exchange, identify and learn best practices of youth engagement in Moldova, produce and disseminate youth-friendly resources, and develop sustainable models of youth participation. This empowered young people for further local actions and advocated for youth needs through the policy.
The project aimed to empower young people in rural areas of Moldova, Armenia, Ukraine and Portugal to participate in local development. Young people lack motivation and leadership skills, and often leave for bigger cities or other countries. The partners seeked to develop sustainable mechanisms for youth engagement through leadership development and strengthening local youth organisations. It aligns with national youth policies and European strategies for youth participation in decision-making.
<< Background >> The project aimed to empower young people in rural areas of Moldova, Armenia, Ukraine and Portugal to participate in local development. Young people lack motivation and leadership skills, and often leave for bigger cities or other countries. The partners seeked to develop sustainable mechanisms for youth engagement through leadership development and strengthening local youth organisations. It aligns with national youth policies and European strategies for youth participation in decision-making. << Objectives >> The objectives were to train youth workers to become multipliers of youth participation, support the establishment of local youth organisations, enhance civic competences of disadvantaged youth through a youth exchange, identify and learn best practices of youth engagement in Moldova, produce and disseminate youth-friendly resources, and develop sustainable models of youth participation. This empowered young people for further local actions and advocated for youth needs through the policy. << Implementation >> The project was implemented from 2019 to 2023 (with interruptions due to COVID-19 and war against Ukraine) with activities including kick-off meeting, online workshops, local awareness campaigns, training course, local training sessions, youth exchange, fellowship in Moldova, and many follow-up local activities in Moldova, Ukraine, Armenia, and Portugal to promote youth participation in rural communities. The project ended with local dissemination conferences and evaluation meeting in Moldova. << Results >> The project empowered 88 youth participants through mobility activities who became leaders in local youth organisations and councils, established and supported two organisations in each country, published guides and a handbook on youth participation, youth work and policy in multiple languages, launched a website, and generated visibility through social media. It also created a network of young leaders who continue to collaborate on projects related to youth work, participation, and inclusion.