Project place: Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
Project dates: 21st – 26th November, 2022
Deadline for applying: URGENT!
ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS
This Study visit will be organized by DYPALL Network, ADYNE Netherlands and
Municipality Vila Nova de Gaia. DYPALL Network (Developing Youth Participation at Local Level) is a European platform of over 70 civil society organizations andlocal authorities from more than 30 countries, that aims to involve young people in decision-making processes at the local level, and thus enable municipal and regional authorities to address the needs and interests of youth, engage young people as active actors of problem-solving and increase the level of ownership, commitment and involvement of an important part of our communities.YP Lab is a resource and mobility centre within DYPALL Network with a focus on research development and capacity building in the field of local youth participation. In order to realize this ambitious and challenging initiative, DYPALL Network has the following objectives:
Develop structures and mechanisms for youth participation in decision-making at the local level;
Identify best practices and introduce innovative approaches on public governance in cooperation with local authorities and civil society organizations active in the field of youth;
Foster youth engagement and inclusiveness in representative and participatory democracy processes;
Build capacity and provide technical assistance on various areas and processes like policy-making, advocacy, structured dialogue, co-management, and more;
Mainstream youth policies at local and regional levels (such as youth Guarantee schemes) to develop cohesive and engaged societies.
STUDY VISIT
This Study Visit is designed for youth workers from local civil society organisations (CSOs) and municipalities from Finland, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, The Republic of North Macedonia and Turkey to share and get in touch with practices and models of involving young people from geographically isolated areas in decision-making processes at the local level. During the Study visit, the participants will be able to see a variety of good practices and models of involving young people from geographically isolated areas in decision-making processes at the local level, as well as mechanisms and structures that support such practices. The study visit will also be the opportunity for the participants to share and analyze the practices of youth participation and inclusion in democratic structures in different European countries and regions, with a particular focus on the participation of young people from geographically isolated areas, sparking their interest and understanding of different European realities. Moreover, the Study visit will allow participants an objective analysis of practices and ideas in order to understand how to transform them into concrete projects for their local realities. The Study Visit is part of the framework of the project “Boosting youth participation in decision-making at the local level 3” which aims to visit, analyze, experience and explore practices of youth participation in decision-making processes with a special focus on the inclusion of marginalized youth, such as young migrants and young people with a migrant background and youth in geographically isolated/low-density areas, and especially to share practices that are already being implemented to adapt them to one’s own reality and reinforce existing programs. The project will give youth workers from the local CSOs and municipality offices the opportunity to come together to develop a more concrete definition of challenges related to youth participation and to visualize possible solutions starting from practices currently implemented in other countries. This will allow participants to have a reflection on different models and practices, and based on that draw conclusions, which is an added value that would not be reached otherwise. Moreover, the cooperation between youth workers from the CSO sector and youth workers employed by the municipalities will allow the building of sustainable, long-lasting partnerships at the local level around the specific areas of youth participation.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY VISIT
The Study visit will involve participants from all the project partner countries and it will allow the capacitation of youth workers from CSOs and municipality offices to work together and observe specific projects on the involvement of young people from geographically isolated/low-density areas in decision-making processes at the local level. During the Study Visit we will be able to visit the Municipality itself and its strategy to become European Youth Capital in 2024 and meet with the local governance to visit local projects. The study visit aims at being a space not only for learning, but also for sharing best practices on the involvement of young people in decision-making and increasing the understanding of how this participation can move from local, to regional, to national and finally to the European stage.The specific objectives of the Study visit are to:
To explore, experience and understand the specific challenges in youth participation in low-density and geographically isolated areas;
To visit examples of good practices, based upon interaction with the project organizations and to filter out elements to transfer to own reality;
To offer possibilities for long-term partnership building among organizations active in the field of youth participation at the local level, for future projects;
To create a collection of best practices of participation of youth participation in geographically isolated/low density areas.
PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS
This study visit is targeting youth workers from the CSOs and municipalities who work in the field of youth participation at the local level and face the challenge to involve young people from geographically isolated areas in decision-making processes at the local level. The participants from the same municipality should preferentially have already worked together within their own local setting and be able to work together after the activity in order to implement the lessons learned and boost concrete and sustainable follow-up activities.Moreover, the participants must:
be able to work in English;
be willing to contribute with their experience to the Study visit;
be residents of Finland, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, The Republic of North Macedonia or Turkey;
be able to attend the whole duration of the Study visit;
have relevant experience in the topic of youth participation at the local level and challenges of involvement of young people from geographically isolated areas in decision-making processes at the local level;
be highly motivated towards learning about good practices of youth participation coming from geographically isolated areas in decision-making processes at the local level;
have a particular connection/need to increase capacity to involve young people from geographically isolated areas in decision-making processes at the local level.
Two participants will be selected per country, namely:
1. Youth workers from local CSOs
2. Youth workers from local municipalities
ACCOMMODATION and FINANCES:
All costs related to accommodation and food will be covered by the hosting organization.
Travel costs will be reimbursed up to 360 EUR.
Participation fee: NONE!
Sending fee: 500 MKD!