Wake up. Act. Change

Participation in the democratic life of a community is more than just voting or standing for elections. It is about having the right, the means, the space, the opportunity and, if necessary, the support to participate in and influence decisions. Today young people can contribute to building a better society in many ways. However, the level of involvement of young people in local and regional life varies greatly across the EU and neighbouring countries. How can we boost meaningful youth participation? What forms can it take? What are its principles and preconditions? What are the obstacles and challenges? How can we transfer the benefits of international educational activities to our work on the local level? The training course “Wake up. Act. Change” will bring together 27 youth workers and youth activists from 9 EU and neighbourhood countries. The project objectives are - To understand the preconditions of youth participation: how and why young people get active in their local communities; - To make distinctions between different forms of youth participation; - To explore principles and crucial elements of a meaningful youth participation; - To explore the opportunities and challenges of youth participation and involvement in democratic and civic life; - To examine youth projects (international, national, regional, local) as a way of enhancing the participation of young people at different levels; - To share best practices of active youth participation in participants’ countries, regions and communities; - To inform youth workers about new instruments of participatory democracy and engagement into community life; - To contribute to recognition of non-formal education methods to boost active participation of youngsters in the civic live and democratic processes. - To promote the core EU values and cooperation under the Erasmus+ program. We are looking for youth leaders and youth activists committed to active youth participation in social and political life of their home communities. The project strives to gather a diverse group of youth workers, e.g. professional and volunteers; with various levels of prior international experience; working with different methods and on a wide range of projects (political, cultural, environmental, social). The programme will be based on non-formal education methodology.