As part of the project “(Local) Youth Participation Matters”, Center for Intercultural Dialogue (CID) in the end of June organized a training on democracy, participation and civic engagement in Berovo. The participants had the chance to expand their knowledge and education on topics like democracy and civic engagement. They also had the chance to get equipped with skills and values needed to become active, responsible, and engaged citizens who contribute positively to their communities and the democratic process. All the engaging and interesting activities contributed to having a great working and learning atmosphere.
On this training the participants had the opportunity to get to know the group, to learn something interesting about each other, and in this way, a strong bond and cohesion was successfully created in the group. Later in the sessions, led by the experienced trainers, they had the opportunity to learn about what leadership is, what it actually means and how to achieve it. Through various exercises and activities, the participants came up with their own definition and shared what a leader is for them, after which they had the opportunity to learn what characteristics, skills, and knowledge a person should have in order to be a successful leader. This was a significant experience for all participants because it helped them to later recognize the importance of the existence of leaders in the processes of creating changes in society and the community in which we live. The following sessions were devoted to the topic of youth participation, the forms in which it can appear, how to be a young person who takes an active part in the community, what knowledge it is necessary to have and what skills it is necessary to possess in order to be able to contribute to improving the things we want to change. Also, the topic of democracy was elaborated through a variety of activities, which increased the knowledge and familiarity of the concept among young people. The participants learned more about democracy and the importance of its existence in a society.
All in all, this training was an excellent opportunity for the young people who participated to organize their knowledge, to expand their perspectives and ways of understanding things. As a product of the training, a variety of initiatives emerged that were conceived and elaborated and planned in detail, and which will be put into practice in the next period, and with that the young people will show that it is important to encourage civic participation in every possible way and that it is possible to make a change if you work hard to make it happen. So stay with us to find out what our initiatives are and how we will make our ideas for a better community come true!
