Young European Leaders for Change

The four-day Action 3.1 Training Course “Young European Leaders for Change” will take place in Prishtina, Kosovo, starting from the 13th of July, 2014 to the 18th of July, 2014 (the former and latter dates being travel days). It is organized in the frameworks of the Youth in Action Programme of the European Union and it will bring together 26 young people aged 16-19 from ten European countries (Albania, Iceland, Italy, Kosovo, Lithuania, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Serbia and Turkey). YELC aims to broaden conflict solving and cultural horizons through mediating interethnic dialogue and deep-going classes on the increasingly vital topic “young leaders campaigning for change.” The course is weaved together by a mixture of formal and informal learning methods such as workshops, lectures, debates and reflection activities. Participants will also be assisted in drafting individual projects to be implemented in their home countries, so as to engage them in a more sophisticated manner locally as well as in the broader European sphere, thereby becoming multipliers of the values and insights taught during the training course. The two pillars of our training course are: enhancing youth leadership and activism skills and exploring what it means to be a citizen of a multicultural Europe. This includes the following objectives: * Studying the anatomy of a young leader as well as their critical role in shaping our tomorrow * Raising the passion and capability for civic engagement by teaching on vital areas for a young social entrepreneur, such as project management and creative ways to push for change * Examining the concept of citizenship (focusing on the philosophy of responsibility and engagement) on a local, national, European and global level * Exploring our diverse Europe by sharing cultural experiences and discussing the roots and realities of ethnic tensions as means to foster better intercultural relations and dialogue * Identifying specific needs in the participants’ home communities and finding ways to meet them We have set an age bracket of 16-19 for several reasons. First and foremost, we firmly believe that young people of this age have relatively little experience in the field of youth work and fewer opportunities for personal advancement, whereas their potential is exceptionally promising. By educating a group of this particular age group, one which we believe is genuinely open-minded, we will have paved the way for constructive change in the broader European level and we will have provided guidance and a venue into which they can pour all their energy. In turn, YELC will have ignited the career of these future leaders at an earlier point for the positive outcome of the society as a whole. Furthermore, it is the approximate age group of the facilitators so we will know our target group well and this will reinforce the "by youth, for youth" nature of this event.