Youth Advocacy for Democracy and Human Rights

Aims & objectives

The training course aimed to develop the competences of youth civil society and young activists to advocate for human rights, democracy, ensuring a youth perspective in all the Council of Europe work, as well as advocating for the implementation and expansion of Council of Europe standards at national and local level.

Objectives of the course:

- To familiarise participants with the Council of Europe, its institutions and standards for democracy, human rights and youth participation

- To develop participants’ competences in human rights-based advocacy and strengthen their capacity to develop and implement advocacy strategies and practices

- To create a space for sharing and learning from each other, as well as from examples of good practice in human rights and democracy advocacy, structures for youth participation in decision making, working with decision makers, etc.

- To associate participants with the Youth Department’s work, notably the project Youth revitalising democracy

- To develop common advocacy initiatives/actions, also supporting the advocacy objectives of the project Youth revitalising democracy: enhancing youth participation in the elections and removing barriers to youth standing in elections, as well as securing structures for youth participation in decision-making.

Target group & international/intercultural composition of the group & team

Participants of this training course were young people from various member countries of the Council of Europe, more specifically, representatives of national youth councils, international youth organisations/networks, and other youth civil society motivated to further advocate towards and cooperate with the Council of Europe.

Training methods used & main activities

The training course was based on the approaches to democratic citizenship and human rights education. It was designed to be an experience of mutual learning and sharing among participants. The participants had the chance to have hands-on experiences and engage with experts from the Council of Europe institutions and sectors. Methods used were based on non-formal education. Sessions included experiential activities, group work, simulations, presentations, discussions, reflection, and hands-on workshops.

Outcomes of the activity

The training activity achieved significant milestones by familiarizing participants with the Council of Europe, its institutions, and standards for democracy, human rights, and youth participation. It successfully enhanced participants' competences in human rights-based advocacy, empowering them to develop and implement effective advocacy strategies. The program facilitated a collaborative environment, encouraging participants to share experiences and learn from each other, exploring examples of good practices in human rights and democracy advocacy. Notably, the training contributed to the development of common advocacy initiatives, actively supporting the objectives of the project.

Your tasks and responsibilities within the team

I was a trainer on this activity and worked on preparing and implementing the program elements.

I worked on this training for 6 days as a full time trainer.