"Young people, actors and resources in the public sector"

Contact: Céline GOMEZ
Université du citoyen
66, avenue Gambetta
83500 La Seyne sur Mer

Duration: From the 1st July 2007 to the 31st July 2008

Partnership: 28 participants have taken part into the project:
- 14 young people elected from the Consultative Council of Arles
- 14 young actors from the participative analyse of the City of Rome

Partner n°1: (BENEFICIARY): University of Citizen (France) - Partner n°2: Ville d'Arles, service animation - public local authority (France)- Partner n°3: Municipio di Roma - public local authority (Italy)

Partner n°4: Association ARETES "sviluppi possibili" (Italy)

How did you come up with the idea?

"The partnership between Arles and Roma has existed for a long time. The project has initiated by the "Citizen University" based on long term experience in the field of participation of inhabitants especially in the field of democracy. The idea was to extend this knowledge to the partnership and encourage young people from 15 to 30 to collaborate on a European experience."

Brief description and aim of the project:

"This project was the occasion to propose a European experience among young people of both countries. It intends to use the experiences of the "Citizen University" of Arles about participative processes.
Through this common project, we wanted to help young people interested in developing their capacity for exchange and reflection, improve and valorise their European identity and train them to have their say.
At the end of this cooperation participants should be fully aware of their role as resources within the public sector and be able to use their skills to become actors at the local level."

Objectives:

- Gather experiences and exchange analyse of young people in the field of participative process in both countries;
- Identify needs to improve existing processes or create new ones;
- Launch the debate on participation processes of young people without discrimination;
- Establish a thin tank and make proposals for the collective interest.

Strong points of the project:

The experience of the Citizen University in the field of participative methodology was definitely a strong point. This experience could be shared and was the starting point of this Youth Democracy project.

The cooperation between the two Town halls was also a good point. The mobilisation of local authorities helped to encourage the awareness of young people that they are real resources for the collective policy.

Financement:

Total amount: 30 840€
60% Youth in Action programme
40% City of Arles (human resources, food, bus and cultural visites)