You(th) decide III.
You(th) decide III.
On June 27, 2019, the third local meeting of the You(th) Decide! education program took place, continuing the idea of strengthening civic engagement and participation in public decision-making among young people from the Košice region. During the two previous meetings, the education program allowed us to connect youth interested in the topic, representatives of local organizations working with youth, representatives of student school councils, youth parliaments, members of the academic senate, and representatives of the Košice city magistrate. Together with the participants, we defined civic participation, summarized its most common forms, and explained its levels according to sociologist Rogger Hart's so-called ladder of participation. Non-formal education methods allowed us to link theory with experiences, thanks to which it will remain in our memory longer. During the meetings, we identified the needs of young people as well as the problems that young people in our region reflect. With this information, we turned to the Košice Self-Governing Region (KSK) with a request to take patronage over the education program and with an invitation to its third meeting dedicated to possible solutions to the identified problems.
The patronage over the meeting was taken by the Chairman of the KSK himself, Rastislav Trnka. His activities were personally attended by the Deputy Director of the KSK Chairman's Office, Martina Kožárová, the Director of the KSK Office, Juraj Ďorko, and the Head of the KSK Organizational Department, Anna Heribanová. Organizations working with youth were represented by; Marián Švekuš (RMKK), Jakub Szepeszgyorky (RCM Košice), Katarína Hvizdová and Martin Kuľha (EDUSTEP), Eva Kuráňová and Ivan Rosa (Youthfully Yours SK). The third meeting was also attended by representatives of the UPJŠ academic senate, the Association of Medical Students of Košice, the Slovak Association of Psychology Students and Graduates, the Slovak Debate Association, representatives of local student councils, and youth parliaments.
After an introductory recap of the education program's progress so far and a short “Kahoot” quiz, we began a discussion showing our personal attitudes towards the topic of youth participation. We did not shy away from more challenging questions such as whether the initiative for identifying the needs of young people should come from local authorities or, conversely, from young people, or whether youth are jointly responsible for the current state of youth policy in our region. After fruitful exchanges of views, we began to address the problems identified by young people during previous meetings. Together, we clarified their possible causes, potential consequences, and proposed specific, measurable, time-bound solutions, as well as concrete steps to achieve them. Working in small groups and the so-called “world cafe” method allowed all participants to express their views on all identified problems. The final presentations and discussion showed that every involved party wants to participate in the implementation of the proposed solutions; representatives of self-government, representatives of the third sector, and especially young people who are not indifferent to the quality of life in their region.
The You(th) decide! education program thus supported the creation of a community that, we believe, will continue to work regularly on the set goals contributing to the improvement of the quality of life of young people in the Košice region.
You(th) decide is financially supported by the Visegrad Fund, patronage over the activities was taken by the Chairman of the Košice Self-Governing Region, the mayor of Ryglice (Poland), the mayor of Břeclav (Czech Republic)
Activities are developed in parallel in 4 V4 countries in cooperation with partners: