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Description
Members of the Safely Active Paths Association found that the youth sector is in disorder at the municipal level. We see the solution in the establishment of the youth sector. At the suggestion and initiative of our association, the municipal decision-makers adopted the Ordinance on Youth which defines the operation of the youth sector. Additionally, the project Youth Station – Empowering Young People in the Local Community aims to achieve the adoption and approval of the Local Youth Program for a period of 5 years. The program contains an action plan that will allow us to achieve project sustainability and the development of the youth sector.
During the implementation of the project we will reach more than 200 young people from different local communities in our municipality. We will present the project and conduct workshops with them. Young people will be able to identify their needs in the areas where they want change and improvement – e.g. free time, non-formal education, improving the situation for young people, etc. Helped by their wishes and needs, the association will write a local program for young people, which will be adopted by municipal decision-makers. Some of the wishes and needs of young people will be met within five years. The project will improve the dialogue between young people and municipal decision-makers and accelerate the development of youth policy. Thus, we will achieve greater autonomy of young people and their inclusion in the local community.
To facilitate achieving the aim we joined forces with the Institute for Youth Policy Ajdovščina. Since there is a well-organized and functioning youth sector in Ajdovščina, we will invite our municipal decision-makers to see the good practice in action at the beginning of the project. In cooperation with the Institute we will also present how the youth sector can benefit the development of the municipality in order to encourage municipal decision-makers to adopt the Local Youth Program.
Summary of project results
The problem the project addressed was a lack of active participation of youth people on the municipality level. The youth were not interested to participate in public life and to get involved in municipality planning of activities for youth (and wider).
During the implementation of the project they reached over 200 young people from different local communities in their municipality. They conducted several workshops to increase their motivation to participate and to identify their needs in the areas where they want change and improvement – e.g. free time, non-formal education, improving the situation for young people, etc. Helped by their wishes and needs, the association wrote a local program for young people (strategy), which was be adopted by municipal decision-makers.
They managed to adopt a 5-year Strategy for youth in the municipality of Dravograd that included suggestions of youth and was adopted during a participated process. This is a great achievement for the region and a good practice that will hopefully be followed by other municipalities. The project improvee the dialogue between young people and municipal decision-makers and accelerate the development of youth policy. Thus, they contributed to greater autonomy of young people and their inclusion in the local community.