The generation that stands firm – training young people in civic and legislative initiatives to promote sport

Project duration: 12 months

Goal: Enhancing youth participation in community governance through international peer-to-peer exchange of best practices

Context:
About one in two (49%) young Europeans surveyed report having taken action to change society, such as signing a petition, participating in a rally, or sending a letter to a politician, in the past year.

In nine Member States, at least 50% of young people reply to have taken some action in the last year to change society. The overall highest share is observed in Romania (57%), while the lowest ones are found in Cyprus (31%), Luxembourg (33%) and Sweden (34%).

https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/3181

There is a strong desire among young people to get involved in societal change actions. On the other hand, the intense online activities can be harnessed by encouraging young people to organize themselves into concrete civic actions and to take steps to bring about the changes they feel are needed in society. These actions can take the form of drafting and submitting petitions, including advocacy efforts aimed at legislative changes.

Objective: 20 young people (aged 18–30) from several countries across Europe will be trained over the course of one week to develop a joint proposal for a citizens’/legislative initiative that promotes physical activity among young people. This will be demonstrated through the creation of a final document (which can be submitted to a state sports authority).

Activities: civic education workshops where participants identify a problem in their own lives related to sport and develop a legislative initiative project, including all the necessary steps required to submit it to the authorities.
Applied Civic Education Workshops
Identifying problems related to sport/physical activity.
Analyzing sport related community needs.
Introduction to the legislative process and to citizens’ initiatives.
Drafting a simple legislative proposal.

Skills to be acquired: How to write effective letters to authorities, how to form associations, how present data and contextualize problems, and how to leverage social media to support a cause

Results: the development of a written initiative, as well as a guide titled “How to write and submit a citizens’ initiative in Romania”, which young people can later circulate within their communities.

Dissemination/Promotion: social media (posts, reels, etc.).
A small symbolic sports event—a walk or light run—to demonstrate the importance of physical activity for health.
We are looking for partners across Europe, that are dealing with sport/physical activities