Training Course “Youth Actors in Decision Making” in Rezekne Municipality, Latvia

The project will increase youth workers’ awareness about different intercultural and inter-religious backgrounds of young people and to increase their competences to involve young people of different backgrounds (including NEET youth) in decision-making at local level.

The training course aims at:

• Allow the space for the participants to better understand the role of young people in the development and sustainability of our democracies (structures & processes), namely young people with fewer opportunities or different backgrounds in particular;
• Develop the competences (skills, knowledge and attitudes) in creating conditions for inclusive youth participation (including NEET youth, unemployed youth, refugees, immigrants);
• Identify different instruments, structures, methodologies of and for an inclusive youth participation in decision making processes being used, to promote a better understanding of participation processes (Youth Forum, Youth Councils, Informal spaces allowing young people to participate in decision-making processes,);
• Create a space for sharing and dialogue among participants and municipality officers responsible for youth;
• Develop competences in the usage and understanding of key concepts (such as advocacy, policy making, and partnership, inclusive participation, participative and representative democracy, effective communication with decision makers) of youth participation in decision making processes;
• Support the development of strategies and action plans for fostering youth participation processes at local level that are able to involve young people of different social, intercultural and inter-religious, economic, educational and geographical backgrounds, including NEET youth, unemployed youth, refugees, immigrants;
• Contribute in reducing the percentage of NEET youth at European level based on inclusive participation activities at local level;
• Contribute to the intercultural/interreligious understanding at European level through project activities, respectful and peaceful communication.