Youth Participation at Hearts & Minds

Welcome to the training that addresses the need to discuss and explore best practices and methods used to support youth in the civil and social lives of our communities, along with taking care of their mental wellbeing.

Why?

We can only thrive if we fulfill ourselves on a personal, professional and civic level. Being an active part of the community, participating in democratic processes, and co-deciding gives a sense of agency and influence, but these require personal capacity. Empowering youth involves more than merely including them; it requires equipping them with the support, tools, and knowledge to improve their lives and those of their unique communities. To include young people in policymaking, we must ensure they have access to information and their basic needs are met to participate freely.

The training aims to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes of youth leaders, teachers, youth workers and volunteers to better support youth participation. To do so, we should first become familiar with the current situation of youth with various needs and understand the qualities of meaningful youth participation so we can learn how to best support it holistically with both words and actions.

During the training, we will not only dive into the topic of civic engagement, but we will also explore how it is connected to our wellbeing using methods of nonformal education.