From October 30 to November 3, Lluc Martí – a coordinator of the FCV-, participated in the second transnational meeting of the project for the exchange of good practices in the field of Youth “Empower for Change”, which lasted two years, and is set to facilitate the creation of new structures and programs for the active participation of the youth in their communities.
This project aims to promote knowledge of the different realities around Europe as means of creating stable collaborations among non-lucrative and youth entities and local public administrations, as well as to carry out a series of formative activities and visits, using non-formal methodology, so that young people learn to create processes, bodies and regulations with the goal of developing community policies and initiatives that grant young people the skills, power and opportunities against issues such as youth depopulation, taking place in many cities in the country of Caucasus (among others), once they begin their university studies.
The representatives of the other 3 promoting entities -from Austria, Italy and Catalonia- met in the Academy for Peace and Development’s -APD- offices with the project team, in order to catch up on the results of the training courses dedicated to youth participation, non-formal education and citizenship, that they have organized throughout the country the previous months, for young people as well as for local public administration workers.
The project is fostered by the Erasmus + program by the European Commission, and the city halls from 4 cities of the country, whose prime representatives had the chance to visit Barcelona and l’Hospitalet de Llobregat last June (“Tools and Mechanisms for Youth Participation at Local Level”), and to get to know 10 public and private resources in the metropolitan area, mainly focused in youth participation, such as Centre Europa Jove and CRAJ.
Throughout the meeting at the APD offices, we have evaluated the project and the mobility and practical training activities and agreed on the dates for the next ones, which will serve to discover new tools, practices and experiences of participation.
The FCV will host a small group of teenagers next February, that will travel to Barcelona to meet experts and visit entities and public resources focused in fostering participation.
Two international seminars will take place during Spring and Fall of 2020 in Georgia, with the participation of young leaders and representatives of the public administration of: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Austria and Italy, where 10 people representing youth organizations and the Catalan local public Administration, will have the chance to participate.
During this visit, we have also had some time to enjoy the excellent georgian gastronomy, to discover the city and to greet old and new acquaintances that were part of the APD team (with which the FCV has collaborated for more than a decade)
For more information about the project and the next activities, don’t hesitate to contact us through this email address: projectes@catalunyavoluntaria.cat