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Description
Trust in political leadership and democratic institutions in Romania is very low (6-15%), and so is participation of young people in democratic activities, such as voting (CPSD, “Thieves in the night”, 2017). Considering the protests and petitions happening over the last few years, where youth played a significant role, their lack of participation in elections is not due to political indifference, but the level of practical civic education in public schools is limited. Project ASPYRE addresses this gap by providing a practical toolkit (A3), tailored for easy use of teachers, educators and youth workers (beneficiary group 1) in formal and informal educational settings, training them (A4) on how to use this toolkit and mentor youth advocates, offering training (A5) and a networking platform for youth (ages 16-24) from Cluj and Neamt counties (beneficiary group 2), empowering them to form thematic advocacy groups, and mentoring them through developing and implementing advocacy actions on themes that are important to them. organising a series of political cafés (A6) - public meetings with public officials and decision-makers (beneficiary group 3), where youth get to promote their ideas, thoughts and concerns in front of a larger audience of the general public, and have these heard and responded to by decision-makers. While effectively functioning as a public consultation meeting between decision-makers and the youth, the political cafés will be facilitated in such a way as to promote dialogue, openness and trust (which, as mentioned above, is consistently at very low levels). ASPYRE will enhance the democratic culture, capacity and active participation of youth, by equipping them, and those working closely with them, with practical skills and tools for active democratic participation and civic engagement. Each partner’s contribution is essential to achieving this goal, by bringing their expertise, experiences and direct access to the project beneficiaries.