Training for Multipliers "DigiZation: Digital Participation in Youth Organisations"

Background & Context

In a century when the digital realm has overwhelmingly taken over our daily lives and has shaped our learning and working habits, it is of crucial importance to employ the benefits of the digital empire to our work as youth organisations that aim to increase the level of participation of young people in social and political processes. Acknowledging that using digital tools provides young people with easier access to services that cover a wide range of their needs related to entertainment, education, communication, networking, activism, mobility, working and the like creates a space for identifying solutions to challenges such as exclusion, segregation, alienation, unemployment, etc. For youth organisations that work on supporting youth participation, capacity building in the area of diversifying the range of digital tools used to support participation of youth within their structures is vital; keeping up with new developments require constant investment is developing skills and adapting to new trends. In line with this rationale, the project's main aim is to strengthen the capacity and sustainability of youth organizations by developing modules that address digital participation and use digital tools to reach a wider target group.

TRAINING COURSE
Following a practical implementation phase of identifying good practices for digital tools the training for multipliers will gather representatives of youth organisations that are willing to improve their capacity to use digital tools and to enrich their organisation's experience. They will receive input based on the findings of the previous meetings and support to understand how they can put into practice the diverse tools that have been presented as good practices.

The training will bring together 16 participants from Austria, Belgium, Portugal and North Macedonia representing youth organisations, municipalities, other relevant stakeholders in order to improve their capacities to use digital tools and to enrich their organisation’s experience.

OBJECTIVES:

The training for multipliers will aim to impact youth organisations through enhancing their capacities of youth organisations in using digital solutions to bring more young people to participate and have a say in their community.

The training will achieve its aim through the following objectives:
- to develop a common understanding of the digital participation of young people, and its impact on citizenship, leadership and social activism;
- to identify and critically review the practices of digital participation mechanisms in the partner organisations and to assess their multiplication capacity;
- to provide capacity building to staff members of the partner organisations to use digital tools for participation;
- to support other stakeholders (municipalities, educational institutions) to use digital tools in their work with young people;

PARTICIPANTS’ PROFILE

The training is designed for youth workers and representatives of local government and municipalities.

Moreover, the participants must:
- Be able to work in English;
- Be over 18 years old
- Be willing to contribute with their experience
- Be coming from partner countries Austria, Belgium, Portugal and North Macedonia (no other counties can be accepted);
- Be able to attend the whole duration of the TC;
- Knowledge and experience in youth participation will be considered as asset
- Highly motivated towards learning about youth participation digital tools.

We are targeting the following profile:
- Local youth policy representative working within the municipality;
- Local youth worker or project manager working with and for young people on the field of youth participation;
- Young people who are engaged in civic initiatives that advocate their engagement in decision making;