Poetry Slam: At GP Zambia, volunteers and trainers organize poetry slam events titled “Word Smash”, where young poets, creatives and poetry lovers, meet to express themselves through poetry and share their pieces on contemporary political and social issues. Each month there is a different theme that links to current issues in the media, from gender issues, to youth participation. Poetry was use used as a way to give a voice to silenced activists in the country due to the current shrinking civic space. These innovative tools for organizing and creative activism made youth campaigns more effective in engaging young people, attracting media attention, and promoting collaboration with strategic partners.
YOUTH COVENING A GPs practice which has contributed to change is that of connecting young people from a wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, and across geographical spaces by creative spaces to meet, discuss, network, organize, and plan their advocacy. The GPs organize convening events for youth groups and movements among with similar agendas to exchange experience, build capacity, collaborate, and build alliances. An example is GP Myanmar support to AAM in strengthening a Civil Society Network in Myanmar to collectively undertake evidence-based advocacy and campaigning work and monitor government implementation and spending. GP Myanmar facilitated meetings with key stakeholders of networks to review their vision, mission and strategic and action plans and to develop joint advocacy plans for seeking local governance and accountability.
SOLIDARITY ACTIONS A GP practice that contribute to strengthen young people’s collective power is promoting solidarity locally and internationally across struggles. At the local level for example GP Palestine organized solidarity visits with young activists to communities that are in a context of marginalization, oppression, poverty and human rights violations to listen to their stories and plan solidarity actions to raise awareness about the issues. At the international level, the GPs coordinate international solidarity actions offline and online on international issues like as women’s rights, gender-based violence (16 days of Activism), safe spaces for young people (international youth day), and much more. These international mobilizations coordinated online enabled young people to identify shared issues and carry out joint digital solidarity campaigns. The facilitation of youth convening and solidarity actions contributed to alliance building across groups and organisations and coordinate actions on common issues. 23