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Description
One of the significant challenges facing Estonian society, as well as other Baltic countries and the entire Western world, is a trend where people increasingly prefer to engage less in long-term voluntary work and refrain from becoming members of CSO. Short-term voluntary involvements are favored, which do not establish a lasting commitment to any particular organization. This leads to a shortage of successors for CSOs, both at the ordinary member and leadership levels. Hence, there is a recognized need to connect young individuals with well-functioning CSOs and not to confine them to short-term voluntary work but rather allow them to explore the substantive aspects of organizational management, impact-related challenges, strategy, etc. This approach could potentially spark a greater interest in forming lasting connections with civil society and increase in civic participation.
The aim of the project is to launch DD Academy''s youth development and leadership program in Latvia and Lithuania. The program has proved itself in Estonia as an innovative way of learning to analyze democratic practices and putting them into action. For that DD Academy will recruit a group of volunteers in Latvia and Lithuania who will be responsible for future running of the program in LV and LT and program participants of the pilot group and carry out pilot programs in both LV and LT. Recruited volunteers are also the project’s main target group (appr. 50 people during the project) as are DD Academy participants (appr. 150 people during the project). Main end-beneficiaries are CSOs of Baltic states as program graduates are active citizens and likely to join CSOs or be otherwise actively involved in societal affairs.
As a result of the project, Domus Dorpatensis has opened sustainable DD Academy programs in all three Baltic states. In the program participants learn to analyze and develop democratic practices. This will improve democracy and civic activism in all Baltic states.