Action 1.3

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Action 1.3 Youth in Action Programme

Salto Youth Participation 2008

Put your imprint on society

This document does not necessarily express the official views of the European Commission or the organisations and persons cooperating with the Youth in Action institutions. Put your imprint on society aims to be a practical youth work publication and not an official policy document.

Youth In Action Programme

ACTION 1.3

Throughout Action 1.3 Youth Democracy projects, the Youth in Action Programme aims to support young people who want to play an active role in society and get more involved in its democratic processes. Since the launch of the programme, there has been a huge need expressed by different stakeholders to promote this action, to clarify how a Youth Democracy project should look and to define its main pedagogical framework.

Based on the activities developed by SALTO-YOUTH Participation Resource Centre since 2007, this publication intends to define what a Youth Democracy project is, gives some examples of realised projects and provides tips to support their implementation. Furthermore, it is aimed at transferring the concepts of the training courses and seminars “Get Involved” and “Let’s meet for Participation” initiated by the Resource Centre to support the development of projects and partnerships under Action 1.3.

SALTO-YOUTH Participation Resource Centre hopes that you will enjoy reading this publication and find it practical and inspiring.

Fatima LAANAN, Coordinator SALTO-YOUTH Participation Resource Centre

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CONTENTS Foreword _4 What is a Youth Democracy Project? _6 Examples of Youth Democracy Projects _12 Salto Youth Participation’s Activities_22 Project planning : It’s your turn_26 Glossary_30

F O R E W O R D

Youth In Action Programme GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE YOUTH IN ACTION PROGRAMME 2007-2013 With a total budget of 885 million euros for seven years, the Youth in Action Programme aims to inspire a sense of active European citizenship, solidarity and tolerance among young Europeans and to involve them in shaping the Union’s future by boosting their participation in democratic life.

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The Programme is open to all young people aged between 15 and 28 (in some cases exceptions are foreseen to involve young people aged between 13 and 30). The involvement of young people with fewer opportunities is one of its key priorities.

To achieve its objectives, the programme funds a large variety of activities through five actions. These activities include youth exchanges, youth initiatives, transnational voluntary service as well as training and networking opportunities for youth workers and youth organisations.

_Action 1 Youth for Europe

aims at encouraging young people’s active citizenship, participation and creativity by supporting youth exchanges, youth initiatives and youth democracy projects.

_Action 3 Youth in the World

aims at promoting partnerships and exchanges among young people and youth organisations across the world.

_Action 2

European Voluntary Service

helps young people to develop their sense of solidarity by participating, either individually or in group, in non-profit, unpaid voluntary activities abroad.

_Action 4 Youth Support Systems

_Action 5 Support for European Co-operation in the Youth field supports youth policy co-operation at European level, in particular by facilitating dialogue between young people and policy makers.

includes various measures to suppor t youth workers and youth organisations and improve the quality of their activities.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAMME The Programme is mainly implemented in a decentralised way through a network of National Agencies, which have been established in each Programme Country in order to ensure a closer contact with the national reality of beneficiaries. The Programme Guide of the Youth in Action Programme, available on the Youth website at http://ec.europa.eu/youth/ includes detailed descriptions and eligibility criteria of each action.

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The programme promotes non-formal learning and intercultural dialogue among European youth, and it encourages young people’s mobility within and beyond the EU borders, thus giving them the opportunity to expand their horizons and gain valuable life and work experiences.

OVERVIEW OF THE ACTIONS OF THE PROGRAMME

C H A P T E R

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WHAT IS A YOUTH DEMOCRACY PROJECT?

DEFINITION

CRITERIA

Who can realize a Youth Democracy Project? √ Promoters _A non profit organisation _A local or regional public body _An informal group of young people (one of the members of the group assumes the role of representative and takes responsibility on behalf of the group) _A body active in the youth field at European level

A project should involve at least 2 countries with 2 local partners per country.

Youth Democracy Project is the new sub action 1.3 of the European Youth in Action programme (2007-2013).

√ Participants Young people aged between 13 and 30 and legally resident in a programme country The group should consist of a minimum of 16 young people.

It gives young people the opportunity to be directly involved in society by planning and carrying out a project, which is an important non formal learning experience.

It encourages young people to consider their contribution and involvement in a local, national and European context.

OBJECTIVES

Youth Democracy Project supports young people’s participation in democratic life.

Concretely, it : _Promotes the involvement of young people in participatory structures _Develops dialogue between public authorities and groups of young people _Facilitates dialogue between public authorities and young people who are not members of organisations _Creates structures or strategies to bring young people closer to political decision-making _Identifies and overcomes obstacles to the participation of young people in democratic life

The activity must take place in the country of at least one promoter.

The project can last between 3 and 18 months.

Who can apply?

One of the promoters assumes the role of coordinator and applies to the relevant National Agency for the whole project on behalf of all the promoters involved.

When to apply? _1st February _1st April _1st June _1st September _1st November

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QUALITY OF PROJECT DESIGN ELIGIBLE COSTS

Promoters must demonstrate the ability to establish and run a cohesive partnership with the active involvement of all partners and with common goals to be achieved.The setting-up of a partnership composed of promoters from different backgrounds may facilitate the implementation of the Activity.

Quality of the preparation phase During this phase, the promoters should agree on the common theme of the Youth Democracy Project. They should think about the division of tasks, the activity programme, working methods, profile of participants, practical arrangements (venue, transfers, accommodation, support material, linguistic support).

Quality of Activity programme The Activity programme should be clearly defined, realistic, balanced and linked to the objectives of the project and of the Youth in Action Programme.

Quality of the evaluation phase Promoters and participants are expected to include a final evaluation process. The final evaluation should make it possible to assess whether the objectives of the project have been achieved and the expectations of the promoters and participants have been met.The evaluation should also highlight the learning outcomes.

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Quality of the partnership/active involvement of all promoters in the project

QUALITY OF PROJECT CONTENT AND METHODOLOGY Themes of common interest and relevance to the group of participants The project should have a clear thematic concept, which promoters wish to explore together. The theme has to be translated into the concrete daily activities of the Youth Democracy Project.

Non-formal learning methods applied

Active involvement of participants in the project

The Activity programme and working methods applied should involve the participants as much as possible.

The project should enable the participants to acquire self-confidence.

Intercultural dimension The Youth Democracy Project should increase young people’s positive awareness of other cultures and support dialogue and intercultural encounters with other young people from different backgrounds and cultures.

European dimension The Youth Democracy Project should contribute to the young people’s education process and increase their awareness of the European/international context in which they live.

Impact, multiplying effect and follow-up

Dissemination and exploitation of results

Promoters should try, as much as possible, to involve other people (from the neighbourhood, local area, etc.) in the project activities. Multiplication is obtained for instance by convincing other actors to use the results of the Youth Democracy Project in a new context.

Promoters and participants are called to reflect systematically upon possible measures to ensure a follow-up of the Youth Democracy Project.

Organising public events (presentations, conferences, workshops…); creating audio-visual products (CD-Rom,DVD…); setting up long-term collaboration with media (series of radio/TV/press contributions, interviews, participation in different radio/TV programmes…); developing information material (newsletters, brochures, booklets, best practice manuals…); creating an Internet portal, etc.

Visibility of the project/visibility of the Youth in Action Programme _Visibility of the project: SMS mailing; prepare posters, stickers, promotional items (t-shirts, caps, pens, etc.); invite journalists to observe; issue ‘press releases’ or write articles for local papers, websites or newsletters; create an e-group, a web space, a photo-gallery or blog on the Internet, etc. _Visibility of the Youth in Action Programme: use of the official Youth in Action logo, seminars, conferences, debates organised at different levels (local, regional, national, international).

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The project should follow the principles of nonformal learning. In general terms, the project should be based on an intercultural learning process stimulating creativity, active participation and initiative.

Promotion of social and personal development of participants

QUALITY OF PROJECT REACH

C H A P T E R

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EXAMPLES OF YOUTH DEMOCRACY PROJECT

YOUNG PEOPLE, ACTORS AND RESOURCES IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR Celine GOMEZ Universite du citoyen 66, avenue Gambetta 83500 La Seyne sur Mer ucvar@aol.com

Title

Les jeunes, acteurs et resources dans 1’espace public/Young people, actors and resources from the public sector

Duration

From the 1 July 2007 to the 31 July 2008 st

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Beneficiary Partner l University of Citizen (France) Partnership 28 participants took part in the project: - 14 young people elected from the Consultative Council of Arles - 14 young actors from the participative analyse of the City of Rome Partner 2 Ville d’Arles, service animation - public local authority(France) Partner 3 Municipio di Roma - public local authority (Italy) Partner 4 Association ARETES «sviluppi possibiti» (Italy)

The partnership between Arles and Rome has existed for a long time. The project initiated by the «Citizen University» based on long term experience in the field of participation of inhabitants especially in the field of democracy. The idea was to extend this knowledge to the partnership and encourage young people from 15 to 30 to collaborate in a European experience.

Objectives

_Gather experiences and exchange analyses of young people in the field of participative process in both countries; _Identify needs to improve existing processes or create new ones; _Launch the debate on participation processes of young people without discrimination; _Establish a think tank and make proposals for the collective interest.

Strong points of the project

The experience of the Citizen University in the field of participative methodology was definitely a strong point.This experience could be shared and was the starting point of the Youth Democracy project.

The cooperation between the two Town halls was also a good point. The mobilization of local authorities helped to encourage the awareness of young people that they are real resources for the collective policy.

Budget Total amount: 30 840€ 60% Youth in Action programme 40% City of Aries (human resources, food, bus and cultural visits)

Brief description and aim of the project

«This project offered the chance to propose an European experience between young people from both countries. It aimed to use the experiences of the «Citizen University» of Arles in participative processes. Through this common project, we wanted to help young people interested in developing their capacity for exchange and reflection, improve and valorize their European identity and train them to have their say. At the end of this cooperation participants should be fully aware of their role as resources within the public sector and be able to use their skills to become actors at local level.»

Difficulties the partnership faced and advice to give other associations «We encountered difficulties with the planning of the project. It was hard to find availability at the same time in both countries. Language was also a problem at the beginning but was naturally overcome through different means of communication and by the synergy of the group which became stronger and stronger with time. If we had to give advice to another association eager to run such an initiative, it would be to develop a clear and precise methodology and think carefully about how they intend to develop the project in order to facilitate an efficient participative approach.»

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How did you come up with the idea?

How did you come up with the idea?

GOOD PARTICIPATION BETTER COMMUNICATION! Good participation - Better communication!

Duration

From October 2007 till March 2009

Beneficiary Partner 1 Jugend und Familienstiftung des Landes Berlin Foundation under public law Partnership Partner 2 Drehscheibe Kinder und jugendpolitik Berlin Foundation (Germany) Partner 3 Jeugd en Stad vzw (JES) NGO (Belgium)

Objectives

_Favorise bilateral exchange of ideas and experiences through workshops and meetings; _Raise awareness within policy and public administration for participation and to support local structures/projects in public participation; _Find skills to improve daily living conditions for young people; _Develop better opportunities for social integration and active participation in their surroundings; _Open public spaces giving young people the opportunity to get actively involved in democratic and social processes which influence their living conditions; _Elaborate media products for facilitating communication with political decision makers as well as between the different project groups to promote better understanding; _Develop new concepts for the future _Elaborate media supports

Budget Total amount: 50 495€ 27 500€ Youth in Action programme 21% JFLB + drehscheibe 19% JES

Brief description and aim of the project «The main objective of our project is to design a child and youth friendly city with newly designed public spaces by and for young people. Special attention will be paid to young people with migration backgrounds. Participants will develop and implement projects according to their needs. The political aims of these guidelines are: good participation - better communication»

Difficulties the partnership faced and advice to give other associations «A growing gap between their desire to be a child and youth friendly society and reality (e.g: neighbours complain about the noise in children’s playgrounds).

Interests of children and youngsters being excluded from the design of public spaces etc… Policy responds only to request. Consideration of the interests of children and youngsters is still not regarded as a crucial issue. Children and teenagers are often seen through their problems and not their skills. But... they are experts in their own matters!»

Strong points of the project

For the first time, two areas of youth work get together: participation and media education.

The project uses existing youth projects and helps them in their work.

The project helps young people to communicate their interests to third parties.

The project promotes media-competences and thereby strengthens the opportunities to participate in the democratic processes of society.

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Title

For many years «JFLB» has been supporting projects in 2 areas: 1) promoting media skills among children and young people 2) strengthening participation of youngsters.

The foundations are already used for collaborating with many partners in the network and the JES and Drehscheibe partnership is only one example. Thus the idea of uniting participatory youth work and media education in a project was born.

How did you come up with the idea?

VOICE IT EUROPE Damian PAYTON DigitalME Radiowaves 30-34 Aire street Leeds - The UK

Title

Duration

From September 2007 to March 2008

Beneficiary Partner l DigitalME - (the UK) Partnership Sixteen young people aged between 13 and 19 - half from the UK, half from : Latvia are collaborating on this project.

Partner 2 iEARN UK - association (the UK) Partner 3 Youth dub «Lingua» - public local authority (Latvia) Partner 4 NGO «Lingua.» - association (Latvia)

Objectives

_Get to meet and interview their elected representatives at each of these levels; _Explore how media tools can be used to make them active citizens; _Find a way to access politicians whose decisions affect their lives; _Plan, produce and publish programmes based on interviews with their peers and elected representatives; _Upload the edited pieces to their own space on the global Radiowaves website; _Make them available as podcasts to a worldwide audience of people who need and want to know how young people think.

Strong points of the project

The most outstanding characteristic is the use of the very latest self-publishing technology to discuss serious issues. Podcasts, blogs and social networking are enormously influential new movements, especially for young people.

«Voice It Europe is about young people using the power of podcasts to report on issues that matter to them. They use their own web space to investigate and campaign on local, national and European topics.

Participants are working together using «Web 2.0» technology: self-publishing, voting in polls, sharing content. Thanks to this project, participants can be trained in journalistic skills and given the confidence to arrange and conduct interviews with influential people who might normally appear «out of reach».

Difficulties the partnership faced and advice to give other associations «The young Latvian participants have more limited access to technology than their UK counterparts. While this has not prevented the project from running as planned, it has required careful organisation to ensure that the tools are available.

Another obstacle has obviously been the geographical distance between the participants. While a key aspect of Voice it Europe is bridging the divide between people using technology, it is inevitable that people will always work more easily together if they have more opportunities to meet face to face. A final obstacle worth mentioning is the other demands on the participants’ time.They are at busy stages in school, so have limited time to devote to this activity».

Budget Total amount: 36 053€ 60% Youth in Action programme 40% digitalME and IEARN (in-kind contribution)

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Voice It Europe

The first group is from the UK and already involved in Voice It - a project supported by the Ministry of Justice to increase democratic engagement in the UK. Their partner group is an English Club at a high school in Latvia.

The UK group will bring its experience of Voice it in the UK, which has already completed a successful pilot phase. The second group will bring its own outlook as a recent EU entrant. They will exchange and share ideas about European democratic structures.

Brief description and aim of the project

TAKE ACTION: A EUROPEAN ABC TO YOUTH PARTICIPATION! Mara GEORGESCU Association ARCIRAGAZZI Liguria Salita MontebeUo, 7/12 16126 Genoa Georgescu.mara@gmail.com

Title

Duration

«Take action»: a European ABC to youth participation!

From November 2007 to January 2009

Beneficiary Partner l ARCIRAGAZZI Liguria (Italy)

How did you come up with the idea?

The idea of the project was developed during several meetings with young people. There was a pooling of ideas about youth participation projects. The Italian National Agency guided us in the definition of the final idea.

Brief description and aim of the project

Our aim was to create stronger and more sustainable bonds between the three main actors of youth participation: young people, associations (civil society in general) and public bodies, according to the principles of representative democracy.

All the projects create spaces and opportunities for favorising the exchange of ideas and good practices, actively reflecting on the future of Europe and youth policies in Europe- including from the perspective of a new EU country, and establishing the basis for improving public dialogue.

_Recognize and support youth participation activities, projects and initiatives developed at local and regional level in partner countries; _Develop a strategy to reinforce democracy in 2 countries through a non-formal learning process with young people, institutions and associations; _Find skills for helping young people to use the existing opportunities at local, regional, national and European level on youth participation; _Elaborate a youth-friendly guide to participation and citizenship concerned with activities at both a local and European level.

Budget

The Youth in Action programme: 60% of the project 18% Agenda 21 Bucharest and the City of Bucharest 15% Arciragazzi Liguria (in kind co-financcment) 7% Town hall of Genoa Town hall of Bucarest Arciragazzi and other associations: in kind contribution

Strong points of the project The project has several features that make it special. First of all, young people have been involved in each phase of the elaboration process of the project in Italy as well as in Romania. Moreover, the project involved 2 countries with a different «tradition of democracy» which may for us be one step towards wider tolerance, the fight against cultural stereotypes and a step toward mutual knowledge and understanding. Finally, the final product of the project is innovative and useful. We will elaborate a guide of good practices.

«One of the most important obstacles was to understand the rules and assessment of the new European Youth in Action programme. It was not easy to have a clear idea what kind of expenses this sub action could cover or not. There is still some confusion...The bureaucracy and the delay were also a bit frustrating sometimes. Then we have to admit that finding co-funding is maybe the hardest part of the project. Especially if 2 organisations, from two different countries work together and don’t have the same system of fundraising.

In the end we were able to find co-funding but we were not able to valorise enough the work of volunteers here in our organisation. Cultural differences were also an obstacle sometimes. If in one country, everything is organised on time, in the other country there can be «cultural delays».

Finally there is still an overall lack of social investment in youth. Sometimes, you may think no one really wants young people to be empowered.

«First of all, read the Programme Guide. Read it ten times and understand every single word, because it is written for professionals of project management, not for average young people...

Second, find someone that can help you in keeping to the cost plan.

Third, find reliable partners. You may not always get the city in the project, but whoever you get, make sure they are a sustainable partner.

Ask the national agency every question that comes to mind before answering it yourself. Sometimes, the National Agencies understand things differently to us.Take a lot of pictures and document every single activity. You may need them in order to show your results.»

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Partnership The project is run by two countries (Italy and Romania). Within the partnership, there are 2 youth associations and 2 local public bodies. 30 young people are participating in this project.

Partner 2 Town Hall of Genoa - association (Italy) Partner 3 Town hall of Bucharest, Office for Educational Activities -public local authority (Romania) Partner 4 Association APSS «Agenda 21» - public local authority (Italy)

Objectives

Difficulties the partnership faced and advice to give other associations

FUTURE CITY Albert FUCIK Rennweg 29 6020 Innsbruck - Austria Albert.fucik@chello.at

Title

Duration

Future city From March 2008 till September 2008

Beneficiary Partner 1 Dachverband der Jugendgemeinderate Baden-Wurtemberg association (Germany) Partnership Partner 2 Kreisjugendring - regional public authority (Germany) Partner 3 Jeugendgruppe Ainet - informal Youth group from Eastern Tyrol (Austria)

How did you come up with the idea?

Albert Fucik, the manager of the project, went to Feldkirch in Vorarlberg which is in Austria. There he saw die Kinderstadt «City of Children» which fascinated him. So he decided to do something similar in the Tyrol. He extended the idea and created this innovative project for young people.

Brief description and aim of the project

The «zukunftsstadt» is a fictitious city invented by and for children and young people. In this fictitious city, young people are able to make their own decisions and are actively involved in the democratic process. Through their contribution they influence the development of the project. In this city children have for example the chance to study at university, start a business or a political career. They can assume any role which exists in a real city. There will be political elections. They can present themselves as candidates or vote for each other. The keeping of the election pledge and its consequences directly affects both the children and young people. Everyone is faced with migration almost daily. They have to deal with different languages, cultures and religions. Special attention will be paid to the integration of young people whose mother tongue is not German.

Budget

Total amount: 76 442 € 32.2% Youth in Action programme 19.63% Land Tirol 19.62% sponsors 15.70% entrance fee 12.35% donation

Difficulties the partnership faced and advice to give other associations It’s very difficult to keep to the time schedule because only the youngsters themselves make the decisions. Having to decide everything is difficult for them. New steps can only be taken if a decision is made.

Strong points of the project

This is one of the few projects which really concerns democracy. In our city, everything is determined by young people. Adults only make sure that the basic conditions are provided. Moreover, we set a high value on integration. For example you can see different languages (Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, and Turkish) on our webpage. Languages, cultures or religion should not be a barrier to participating in our project.

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Objectives

_Bring together the ideas of young people from different European regions _Give young people an understanding of participation _Support different competences _Support political education _Get our theme across to children, young people and adults _Sensitize young people to Policy and Economy _Support integration (culture, people with disabilities, generations) _Impact political and economic awareness. _Give young people the possibility to experience the sustainability and consequences of decisions.

C H A P T E R

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SALTO YOUTH PARTICIPATION’S ACTIVITIES

SALTO YOUTH PARTICIPATION

_Sub action 1.2: Youth Initiatives : follow up and transfer of good practices to National Agencies, focus on active participation of young people _Sub action 1.3: Youth Democracy

Project: This is a new action. SALTO-YOUTH Participation has the task of promoting and enhancing its development.

SALTO-YOUTH Participation works with National Agencies and youth trainers to enhance the quality of projects within these 2 sub actions.

Through its experience of seminars and training courses, SALTO-YOUTH Participation has developed a wide range of tools and concrete tips, in order to clarify and support the implementation of action 1.3 of the Youth in Action programme. You will find below a summary of the results of all activities organised by the resource centre in this regard. You will also see how useful these elements are for realizing your own Youth Democracy Project.

Get involved TC concept YiA

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Generating & developing ideas check planning

application

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Since SALTO-YOUTH Participation has been in charge of the European priority of PARTICIPATION, it has developed support, information and training on Youth Participation, with the aim of encouraging young people to involve themselves in their communities and to promote two essential sub actions of the European Youth in Action programme: Transnational Youth Initiatives (1.2) and Youth Democracy Projects (1.3):

METHODS USED

Salto’s methodological approach

_Principles and practice of non formal education taking into account participant’s needs, expectations, motivation and previous experience as a starting point for the planned activities. _Balance of information brought by the team (instruction, transmission) and participants (experience sharing, ideas, remarks). _Diversity of methods in a way that fits all learning styles and combines action and reflection, speculation and creativity. _Work on concrete projects in order to create the necessary basis for future development and application. _Integrated consultation and feedback on the project ideas so that these become more “realistic” and comply with the Action’s specificities. _Resource table with brochures, books and other materials useful for participants. _Facilitated reflection at the end of each programme day, so that learning is ensured and participants “have a say” in the way the activities are done and the content within them. _Energizers, ice-breakers, mood lifters as a means to achieving this way closer bonds between participants, well being during the course and the necessary empowerment to go on afterwards.

Working principles

_Group dynamics developed through different activities and getting to know each-other on an individual, personal and professional level as well as understanding cultural differences/similarities through different forms of presentation, problem solving, intercultural party and different teams contributing to good group and working atmosphere. _Information about the seminar, its objectives, team and methodology used contributed to the orientation, trust development and building of a safe environment. _Introduction of the concepts of Youth Participation and Youth Democracy Projects by experts and different stakeholders in the field (SALTO Ressource Centre, European Youth Forum, and Council of Europe) and debating with them was necessary to achieve common basic knowledge and to provoke questions and interest. _Developing common understanding about essential terms of Action 1.3: partnership, participation and authority. _Quality elements in Action 1.3 and good practices were explored through work on the participant’s prior experiences, role playing, discussions and getting to know participation projects. _Seminars also had a contact making component allowing participants to present their project ideas and encouraging them to find partners and develop their ideas. _Evaluations were ongoing with daily reflections and evaluation on the “Open Team Meetings”. The success and accomplishment of the learning objectives were measured by pre- and post-evaluation questionnaires. _Group spirit was an essential element. The team and participants contributed constantly in formal and in-formal time by participating in Open Team Meetings, proposing and leading some programme activities, initiating parties, organising teams for cleaning, developing group stories and memories.

8.Child initiated shared decisions with adults

7.Child initiated and directed 6.Adult initiated shared decisions with kids

5.Consulted and informed 4.Assigned but informed 3.Tokenism

2.Decoration

1.Manipulation

www.salto-youth.net/Participationcourses

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The ladder of participation

C H A P T E R

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PROJECT PLANNING : IT’S YOUR TURN After reading this section, you should be aware that the most important part in a project and especially in a Youth Democracy Project is to work seriously on the preparatory phase, including, in all phases, a participative process.

_Step 4

Your partners will be from different backgrounds and cultures, you might strengthen your par tnership, ensure everybody has a role and share common objectives.

_Step 5

Make your own timetable : this step will help you to ensure that the

methodology you decided to implement is coherent with the objectives of the partnership . For that reason, paying special attention to the methodology and to the calendar is recommended.

_Step 1

This is the starting point of your project (e.g. strong points, weaks points, opportunity and threat in a situation).This analyse justifies your action, shows that this is something necessary.

_Step 2

Define the aims of your project

The aim is a perfect situation you would like to reach. You need to fix precise objectives : Specific – Measurable – Achievable – Realistic – Timed

_Step 3

Develop your idea and check if the quality criteria are taken into consideration.

_Step 6

Share your outcomes/results, keep in mind you are acting in a democratic process !

_Step 7 Evaluate precisely the financial costs of your project ; this is the star ting point of a request for co-funding : in order to show your sponsors or financial par tners that your project is well implementable.

If you want to know more about project management, especially for Youth Democracy Projects or you simply need international partners for your projects, take a look at our toolbox or better still, participate in one of our Training courses.

www.salto-youth.net/Participationcourses

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Analysis of the needs of your territory and target group

Quality Criteria Check list Participative working methods Is there clear evidence of young people’s involvement in the project?

Does the project answer their needs and interests?

Non-formal learning experience

Does the project follow the principles of non formal learning?

Does the project contribute to young people’s education process?

Does the project offer young people the possibility to better understand the context in which they live and, in particular, the operation of national and European representative democracy structures?

Is a diverse variety of actors from different areas of activities (e.g. local authority, NGO, local initiatives...) represented in the partner groups?

Is there clear evidence that the project was prepared in co-operation with all the partners?

Does the project allow partners to exchange methods, ideas, and share practices in the field of youth participation?

Impact

Does the project meet the specific needs or interests of the partners’ local communities?

Will the project have a long term impact at local and European level?

Will the project raise the awarness of the concept of active citizenship and participation of young people?

Does the project help participants to understand their role as part of the present and future of Europe?

Does it tackle a theme of European interest or promote values of European priority? Does it reflect a common concern for European society or use experiences from other European countries?

Does the project reflect one of the general priorities of the Youth in Action Programme (i.e. participation of young people, cultural diversity, European citizenship and social inclusion or the specific priority themes of this Action which are the future of Europe and the political priorities identified in the field of European youth policy)?

Innovation

Is the project about something new for the groups of participants?

Is the project about something new for the local communities involved?

Does the project implement /practise new participative methods?

Evaluation and follow up Do the partner groups/participants regularly (ongoing process) evaluate the implementation of the project?

Does the project foresee any activity or measure to be taken after the project implementation?

Visibility and dissemination of the project results Does the project foresee any measure to highlight the support of the Youth in Action Programme?

Does the project include a communication plan to disseminate the achievements of the projects to a wider audience (i.e via press conference, production of multimedia tools, publication of the results on a Blog, etc.)?

Learning experience

Does the project follow the principles of non formal learning?

Will the project allow participants to learn something and to increase their awareness of the international context in which they live?

Will the project help participants to understand European democratic processes and more particularly the mechanisms of national and European representative structures?

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Do the groups of young people plan and realise 28 the project themselves?

Diversity of Actors and networking dimension

European dimension and Youth in Action Priorities

C H A P T E R

GLOSSARY

Dissemination and Exploitation of results Disseminate means to “spread widely”. Disseminating project results means spreading these results far and wide. Exploiting means “making use of and deriving benefit from (a resource)”. A project should therefore be seen as a resource that can be useful for other potential beneficiaries. In other words, disseminating and exploiting the results of a project means making a project and its results known and useful for other people 30

European Youth Pact

A political instrument adopted by the European Council in 2005 as part of the revised Lisbon Strategy.The Youth Pact aims to promote participation of all young people in education, employment and society. More information in the section «Social and occupational integration of young people».

European Youth Week The aim of the European Youth Week is to promote the Youth in Action Programme and European Youth Policies and to contribute to the structured dialogue between policy makers and young people. Events targeting a large number of young people are organised all over Europe.

White paper

Commission White Papers are documents containing proposals for Community action in a specific area. It presents a detailed and well argued policy for discussion and decision and can lead to an action programme for the Union in the area concerned. In 2001, the Commission launched a White Paper on Youth, which laid the basis for increased European cooperation in four youth priority areas: participation, inPeer learning A method where people at the same level teach formation, voluntary activities and a greater understanding and learn from each other, e.g. from young people and knowledge of youth.The White Paper also proposed to take the youth dimension more into account when making to other young people. other relevant policies.

Structured dialogue

Instrument to improve communication between young people and EU policy makers. It is structured in terms of themes and timing.

Evaluation meeting A meeting to evaluate past projects or activities and plan potential follow-up. Evaluation meetings can be supported by the Youth in Action Programme under action 4.3 “Training and Networking of those active in youth work and youth organisations”.

Youthpass

Recognition instrument that enables participants in the Youth in Action Programme to receive a certificate describing and validating their non-formal learning experience.

Feasibility visit

A short meeting with potential partners to explore the possibility of developing a project. Feasibility visits can be supported by the Youth in Action Programme under action 4.3 “Training and Networking of those active in youth work and youth organisations”.

Programme Countries

Lisbon strategy

To compete with other major world players, the EU needs a modern efficient economy. Meeting in Lisbon in March 2000, the EU’s political leaders set it a new goal: to become, within a decade, «the most competitive and dynamic knowledgebased economy in the world, capable of sustainable growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.” The EU’s leaders also agreed on a detailed strategy for achieving this goal. The ‘Lisbon strategy’ covers such matters as research, education, training, Internet access and on-line business. It also covers reform of Europe’s social protection systems, which must be made sustainable so that their benefits can be enjoyed by future generations. Every Spring the European Council meets to review progress in implementing the Lisbon strategy.

SALTO Youth Resource Centres

SALTO stands for “Support and Advanced Learning and Training Opportunities”. The Salto Youth Resource Centres are structures established within the Youth in Action Programme to provide training and information on a specific theme or regional area for youth organisations and National Agencies.

Youth participation

“participation & active citizenship is about having the right, the means, the space and the opportunity and, where necessary, the support to participate in and influence decision making & being engaged in actions & activities so as to contribute to building a better society”

In the Youth in Action Programme: the EU Member States, the EFTA/EEA countries and candidate countries.

31 Put your imprint on society

Put your imprint on society

Coaching

Salto-youth participation together with National Agencies has had a European coaching strategy over the past few years developing tools, publications and training activities focused on Youth initiatives such as the coaching guide. The guide supports youth workers and youth leaders in coaching youth initiative projects. “Coaching should not be promoted as a means of increasing the quality of projects but as a way to promote the participation of young people and to support the process of the project.”

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Non-formal learning

Learning which takes place outside a formal educational curriculum. Non-formal learning activities involve people on a voluntary basis and provide them with opportunities to acquire a wide range of skills and competences. The activities are carefully planned, to foster the participants’ personal and social development. The skills acquired through non-formal and informal activities in the framework of the Youth in Action programme are recognized through a certificate called Youthpass.

How do we do it ?

support

SALTO YOUTH PARTICIPATION

website www.salto-youth.net/participation

magasine newsletter

support advanced learning training opportunities

What do we do?

-> Strengthen and promote active participation -> Collect and disseminate information, projects and articles on active participation ->Support the management of youth initiatives and Youth Democracy Projects (sub action 1.2 and 1.3)

>Sub action 1.2:Youth Initiatives: follow up and transfer of good practices to NAs, focus on active participation of young people

>Sub action 1.3:Youth Democracy Project: This is a new action.

SALTO Youth Participation has the task of promoting and enhancing the development of this sub-action.

www.salto-youth.net/participation

practical guide

training courses

www.salto-youth.net/Participationcourses

database of projects

organisation of events

www.salto-youth.net/static/yic

find a partner

www.salto-youth.net/partners-request!!

Notes Editorial Info Published in December 2008 by SALTO-YOUTH Participation (Support & Advanced Learning and Training Opportunities within the Youth in Action Programme) SALTO-YOUTH Participation hosted by the Bureau Interantional Jeunesse 20-20 Rue du Commerce 1000 Brussels, Belgium Tel +32 (0)2-219.09.06 Fax +32 (0)2-548.38-89 participation@salto-youth.net Coordination & editing : Fatima Laanan Proofreading: Alex Lever Webber Layout: & writing Claire Morvan Printing: Gillis Imprimerie Special thanks to Veronika Remisova (European Commission, DG EAC-Unit D2, Youth in Action programme) for her valuable feedback.

Reproduction and use for non commercial purposes is permitted provided the source ÂŤPut your imprint on societyÂť SALTO-YOUTH Participation is mentioned and participation@salto-youth.net is notified.

www.salto-youth.net/participation