More information
Description
The Project aims to empower youth, especially those from vulnerable groups and support them to become leaders bringing positive change within their communities. The Project touches upon all areas of support of the Programme, as well as on the specific objectives relating to youth inclusion, as it involves empowerment measures for vulnerable populations, promotion of active citizenship, advocacy, respect of human rights and capacity building activities.
Summary of project results
The Empower YOUth project aims to empower young people, especially those from different vulnerable groups, such as Roma, migrants/asylum seekers, refugees, young people with disabilities, people living in remote areas and below the poverty line, LGBTQI+, in order to take the lead and bring positive change to their communities.
The project consisted of 4 main stages:
In the first and second stages, the 28 young people attended a series of trainings and workshops, with topics that included human rights, advocacy, good intervention practices, the use of digital storytelling and finally the design and writing of a small-scale proposal. The trainees were divided into 2 groups, in Athens and Thessaloniki.
In the third and fourth stages, 15 young people designed and implemented 4 of their ideas/community actions concerning:
- Combating stereotypes about the Roma community
- A self-help group of people with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Highlighting the gendered, ethnic discrimination of Pomak women &
- The empowerment of learning opportunities for refugee children.
At the same time, 2 additional communication/advocacy actions took place: the trainings and the community actions of young people were captured in a short video, while a social media campaign was created, capturing the human stories of the participants, advocating for the empowerment of young people and the impact their actions and views have on society.
Through Empower YOUth project, launched in 2022, 28 young people were empowered to become the agents of change they want to see in their communities, from different vulnerable groups, such as Roma, migrants/asylum seekers, refugees, young people with disabilities, people living in remote areas and below the poverty line, LGBTQI+.
Empower YOUth was the occasion for Norsensus Mediaforum & SolidarityNow to collaborate and share their expertise. The participation of Norsensus Mediaforum was catalytic in the education of young people from vulnerable groups, through a non-formal learning program, which included the understanding and development of skills in visual storytelling and stop motion animation, as advocacy tools. SolidarityNow managed to create all the necessary conditions so that new people, different from each other, with different needs, can be supported so that they can participate in an educational program based on their social concerns. In addition, SolidarityNow invited internal and external partners to empower new people.
Summary of bilateral results
SolidarityNow and Norsensus Mediaforum collaborated in all stages of preparation of the trainings, as well as in their implementation. Thanks to the expertise of each institution, the trainees were able to follow a balanced training program. Norsensus Mediaforum successfully completed the training of young people, in terms of creating the necessary dynamics to create a cohesive team, understanding Design Thinking, how to use visual storytelling and training in its use stop motion animation. The trainees were able to create their own videos using their own media. As suggestions for improvement, a better connection of what the training members learned with upcoming project actions is suggested. More specifically, for Empower YOUth, it would have been more effective if a clear instruction had been given, that in the Small Scale Actions of young people, they should also include the use of digital media in their actions or a separate project activity would be created, based on this expertise. In conclusion, SolidarityNow''s collaboration with Norsensus Mediaforum was successful and all the goals of the collaboration were achieved. Due to this cooperation, there is a willingness from both agencies to cooperate again in the future.