Long-term training course: Youth Meetings Movement

The project aims to empower young people to become to take an active role in finding sustainable solutions to social problems by learning and cooperating with youth from different background across Europe and acting on local, international and digital level. 

We find it also crucial nowadays to engage, connect and empower young people in the democratic processes at the local and European level. Young people are the future, thus we wish to encourage the participation of young people in peacebuilding and community processes. We believe that civil society and youth organizations play an important role in resolving existing tensions between communities and promoting peace, establishing dialogue between conflict sides, turning frustration and radical ideas into constructive actions by applying innovative experience and methods from different countries.

This project will be 1 year long (ends in March 2022), and it will have the following activities:
- Training course in Spain (June 2021)
- 2 online activities (of 2 days each)
- Local community meetings 
- Guideline creation and publishing

These activities will try to address all these objectives:

• to develop participants understanding of the aspects of community building as well as their skills in management and facilitation of these processes;
• to design and try a formula of “community meetings” which would bring people from diverse backgrounds together around issues that connect them in order to achieve integration and making the voice of people on disadvantaged positions heard;
• to design and disseminate innovative educational tool “The Guide of Best Practises for Community Building” based on research which would ensure sustainable impact and a high level of youth participation in European democracies;
• to create a pool of community leaders committed to collective impact, community transformation, and working with others to strengthen social cohesion in their communities;
• to reinforce cooperation and to empower youth organizations across Europe coming from communities with different democratic traditions by training their active members to build inclusive and diverse communities.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We are looking for people willing to be engaged for the term of the project. And that matches one of these profiles:
- Youth active members of their local communities
- Youth politicians
- Youth activists
- Youth workers
- People interested in community-building and participation methods
- People willing to learn about Human Rights, peacebuilding and inclusive methods

Further, we encourage you to apply with groups of 3 people (taking into account gender balance). We do this because we believe that teams will motivate each other to continue the project.

Nevertheless, you can apply on an individual basis.

Youth Peace Ambassadors Network (YPAN), as so its trainings, is open to everyone, not matter your gender, age, nationality, religion or ideology. We believe and advocate for Human Rights.

Note: Beware that we are constantly checking the situation around Covid-19 in different countries and especially in Spain. This training will take all the precautions following the WHO and the Spanish Government's health recommendations.

More information can be found here: https://www.notion.so/Youth-Meetings-Movement-92087c279a3a48c99003955dec4066c2