About the project

YOUTH4EUROPE: AN ABC TO YOUTH PARTICIPATION

The right to have a real say in what is happening around is a fundamental principle of all democratic societes. The European Union has long been active in the field of youth in order to enable them to be active citizens, encourage them to take on new challenges and become real Youth Participation Ambassadors.

“Youth4Europe: An ABC to Youth Participation” gives the chance to young people to participate in a selfdevelopment programme and become “participation ambassadors”. The programme for the ambassadors encompasses international peer education meetings, facilitating a local youth forum in another country, coaching and support activities and implementation of their own participation activity.

First, young people participate in one of the three international peer education meetings. These short meetings give them a chance to share experience, learn new skills and develop their competences necessary for promotion of participation. In the end of the meeting, there is a local youth forum. The participation ambassadors will have the role of facilitators at these local youth forums. This is integral part of the meetings so that they can use their newly acquired knowledge in practice. At the same time, it is a unique peer learning concept as the youth forums are led by young people for young people and with an international dimension.

Young people from the local community are invited to the youth forums as well as local decision-makers. This gives a chance to many young people (including disadvantaged young people) to express their opinion about local issues and problems as well as to discuss with the decision-makers how to increase youth participation in solving these issues.

The project “Youth4Europe: An ABC to Youth Participation” contains 3 meetings:
Amarante, Portugal (29 February – 3 March 2012),
Metz, France (24 – 27 April 2012),
Lecce, Italy (5 – 8 June 2012).