PROJECT DURATION: 01.11.2022 – 31.10.2024
PROJECT COST: EUR 86,019
FINANCING: European Commission in cooperation with the European Agency for Culture and Education
CONTACT PERSON: Agnija Birule
AIM OF THE PROJECT: To draw attention to the civic participation and participation of young people in democratic processes in five countries of the European Union – Romania, Italy, Slovenia, Greece and Latvia, as well as to mentor young people in civic supervision. Project target group: youth, local civil society organizations, communities, community leaders and society in general in these countries.
WHY? Young people can provide innovative proposals to decision-makers, which can later be included in policy documents that address issues relevant to future generations.
CAN WE DO?
- Increase awareness of the need for youth participation in the development and evaluation of national policies aimed at improving the future lives of young people,
- Support the integration of marginalized groups of society in decision-making processes,
- Encourage young people to actively participate in all aspects of civic life at local or national and European level.
HOW? By organizing trainings, study visits, exchange programs and citizen monitoring campaigns, as well as building bridges between young people and their local government representatives or ensuring that marginalized groups in society (eg women or racial minorities) also participate in discussions.
PROJECT PARTNERS
Transparency International Latvia (Delna), Romanian European Policy Center, Amapola (Amapola-Progetti per la Sicurezza delle persone e delle comunità, Italy), Culture and Education Association – PiNA (Slovenia), 4C-Cooperatecommunicate-Create -Change (Greece).
SUMMARY
The involvement of young people in civic and democratic processes in Romania, Italy, Slovenia, Greece and Latvia is below the European average. In addition, in all five countries, young people have low trust in local or national government. It is worrying that many young people feel they have no say in political decisions that directly affect them, especially in politics related to their local communities or European politics. This high level of political apathy can increase skepticism and distrust of European institutions and ultimately lead to the emergence of extremist political parties.
Young people’s low interest in politics at the local, national and European level and insufficient involvement in civic participation is a serious threat to the development of democracy. In addition, in the project’s partner countries, vulnerable and marginalized groups of society (for example, minorities, women, migrants or Roma) are even more likely to be cut off from the democratic process due to discrimination and prejudice against them on a daily basis. The target group of the project is young people in these countries to raise their awareness of the importance of being civically active and communicating with decision makers in their communities.
The project’s activities are aimed at encouraging young people to engage in civic and democratic life at the local, national and European levels. In addition, we want to build various collaborations between young people and decision-makers in the project countries and fight against insufficient representation of vulnerable groups of society in public processes. We plan to organize trainings, skill-building activities, youth exchanges, create a network of youth civic monitors that can influence policy making and content.
STAGES OF THE PROJECT
- Stage I – Capacity building of young people and civic supervision.
- Phase II – Enabling young people to create dialogues about EU policy.
- Stage III – Sharing project results and policy recommendations to promote youth civic participation in local governments.
