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Description
The rapid development of urbanization, the economic crisis and the increase in social inequalities have created a gap in the social capital of Greece, the aversion of young people to politics and the lack of self-awareness as active citizens. In addition, the difficulty of accessing decision-making centers enhances the sense of frustration and abstinence from participatory policy-making processes. In particular, in rural or remote areas, citizens often feel isolated and excluded, while education is not a priority. Responding to the above and arguing that "the foundation of democracy is the belief in the ability of citizens to decide freely and responsibly on public affairs" (Octavio Paz, Nobel Prize in Literature), the CSO proposes an educational project of active participation of young citizens in public affairs and the strengthening of the regional policy strategy for the youth. Activities include the creation of educational material through an online platform, live and remote skills development activities, organized promotion planning and dissemination activities. The proposal is addressed to young people aged 18-30, who live in remote or rural areas of the Greek territory and do not have easy and direct access to democratic procedures and decision-making bodies and centers. Indirect target groups are municipalities and local communities, as the recently acquired know-how will be transferred as a good practice in the respective areas. It is worth noting that educational material that will be produced will be available to the general public.
Summary of project results
The rapid development of urbanisation, the economic crisis and the increase of social inequalities have created a gap in the social capital of Greece, an aversion of the minds to the political process and the lack of self-perception as active citizens. Moreover, the difficulty of access to decision-making centres reinforces a sense of frustration and their abstention from participatory policy-making processes. In particular, in remote areas, citizens often feel isolated, excluded and education is not a priority. Responding to the mentioned issues, the objective of the project was to educate and promote the active participation of young people in public life and to strengthen the regional youth policy strategy. Actions included the creation of training materials through a tele-education platform as well as face-to-face and remote capacity building activities and the design of outreach - dissemination activities. The proposal was addressed to young people aged 18-30 years old, living in remote areas of the Greek territory, who do not have easy and direct access to democratic processes and decision-makers. The indirect target group was municipalities and local communities, as the newly acquired know-how will be transferred as good practice to the respective areas.
The project resulted in: the final version of the Methodology for Youth Activation and Participation in Public Spheres was created, after improvements were proposed through the Inaugural Event in the Municipality of Naxos and Small Cyclades, which were taken into account.
In addition, , Horizon finalised the training material available through the free B.I.O. e-learning platform located at https://elearning.biopolitics , and the implementation of the e-learning programme on the said platform took place, with registered users of the platform having exceeded 222, surpassing the initial target of 200 registered users.
In addition, during the 4 launch events, the project promoter managed to contact a significant number of participants (280+ as mentioned above) of which several young people with potential leadership skills who can take a leadership role in the self-convening Local Youth Council (LYC).
Furthermore, 80 young participants from the 4 Municipalities participated in training activities called "trExO Ideas for my Place" and designed 4 Local Agendas with policy proposals to be presented at the Final Events of the project.
In March 2024, the 4 final events of the project were completed, with themes such as Climate Change and its impact on tourism, Tree Planting and its positive impact on society, Entrepreneurship and Active Youth Participation and Social Entrepreneurship , during which more than 710 young people, as well as members of the Local Government of each cooperating Municipality participated.
At the same time, during the final events, the policy proposals designed by the Local Youth Councils of each partner municipality were presented, including: proposals to encourage sustainable practices in the tourism sector , proposals to promote green and sustainable practices in their area, proposals to promote practices related to social entrepreneurship in their area and proposals related to the fields of active citizenship and local entrepreneurship.
In each final action, a photo exhibition was also held which captured the participation of Connect Your City young people (now members and the young people we met in each municipality) in the community. At the same time, the 4 partner municipalities and institutions in the wider region have integrated the Connect Your City app to manage their volunteers, with more than 403 registered volunteer users.
The project achieved in created a Methodology for Youth Activation and Participation in Public Spheres, training material available through the free B.I.O. e-learning platform located at https://elearning.biopoliticst, and the implementation of the e-learning programme on the said platform took place, with registered users of the platform having exceeded 222, surpassing the initial target of 200 registered users.
In addition, through its project activities, it informed and mobilized a significant number of participants (280+ as mentioned above) of which several young people with potential leadership skills who can take a leadership role in the self-convening Local Youth Council (LYC), and actively engaged 80 young participants from the 4 Municipalities in training activities called "trExO Ideas for my Place" and designing activities in order to co-create 4 Local Agendas with policy proposals. These proposals were presented at the closing events. During its last phase of implementation, through its 4 final events, more than 710 young people, as well as members of the Local Government of each cooperating Municipality participated.
At the same time, the 4 partner municipalities and institutions in the wider region have integrated the Connect Your City app to manage their volunteers, with more than 403 registered volunteer users.