YOU(th) decide
YOU(th) Decide!!
YOU(th) Decide!! is an educational initiative building on the You(th) Decide! (2019) education, supporting youth participation and their active involvement in civil society. The initiative utilizes previous experiences of partner organizations, established collaborations with local self-governments and stakeholders, and simultaneously addresses the shortcomings and untapped opportunities of the pilot version of the education. This time, too, the initiative is supported by the International Visegrad Fund.
The goal of the initiative is to strengthen interest in civic engagement among young people from 4 different V4 regions, increase their awareness of participation opportunities, its importance, and its potential benefits for the local community. During YOU(th) Decide!!, we will provide young people from the regions of the involved organizations with the opportunity to develop the competencies necessary for active participation. Together with young people, we will identify the needs and potential barriers to youth participation. We will strengthen the dialogue between young people and so-called important adults (representatives of self-governments, schools, and other local authorities). We will support young people in realizing their own potential, understanding the importance of their position in civil society, and spreading this understanding among their peers.
The initial training will enable youth workers and youth leaders representing individual partner organizations to share non-formal education methods beneficial for conducting local meetings with youth. Participants will try out key activities and discuss their possible adaptations for their local conditions and target groups. Training participants will strengthen their competencies in leading activities on the topic of youth participation. The meeting will also allow partners to clarify the project's implementation phase. Trainers will provide tools and methods for identifying the needs of young people, evaluating them, and prioritizing them. Later, they will present the concept of structured dialogue along with practical tips for its implementation.
This will be followed by a series of local meetings organized in parallel in 4 V4 communities. During the meetings, we will help participants identify the specific needs of young people in the local community and the main problems that young people perceive in their surroundings. Participants will assess the level of youth participation and name the main barriers to their involvement. Within the meetings with important adults, young participants will propose solutions to the identified problems and jointly develop plans for the implementation of these solutions.
The final seminar in Poland will allow participants of local meetings to meet with peers from other V4 countries and exchange their experiences. In addition to evaluating the progress of the initiative so far, participants will have the opportunity to plan joint international activities supporting solutions to problems identified in the communities. The achieved successes as well as the initiated collaborations will be presented by the participants through a final conference, where we expect more than 140 interested visitors.
YOU(th) Decide!! is an initiative co-financed by the International Visegrad Fund
International partners:
Local partners:
