TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Aiste Slajute
Advocacy is a powerful tool which youth leaders, youth NGOs can use move effectively to promote changes in civil society. The main focus of this training course was youth participation and youth involvement in different settings were public policies are discussed and priorities are set. Also participants looked in which areas can youth participation be expanded, such as public health, school councils, youth centres and created new tools and arguments to fight issues that are important in their work.
(1) people working with youth who could consult and help young people participate in local development, bring them to international level and effectively implement them;
(2) young people having more participation experience at local level - youth leaders, who could gathering other young people;
(3) people willing to improve youth participation and participation in public health structures.
Participants came from: Ireland, UK, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain and Poland.
The project was planned as a combination of a training course and practical assignment for practicing new skills and knowledge through realization of short projects – advocacy actions.
The course was planned in a manner that provides not only sufficient information for advocacy, but also creates opportunity for reflection analysis and provokes changes in participants’ attitude towards their proactive behavior in own communities regarding issues relevant for their work. Since the NGOs often lack understanding of the necessity of institutionalization of the changes they want to see happens. The course provided time and experience for reaching this point of not only receiving load of information on the subject but also achieving utilization of gained knowledge. Mainly this was achieved through planing and later implementation of a practical assignment, an advocacy action/campaign. Besides, the practical assignment also ensured influence on the situation and raised public awareness with regard to their situation among the general population.
The results we achieved:
– Youth NGOs in participating countries have skills and knowledge to actively engage in decision-making processes at national and local level;
– Increased knowledge/understanding of youth NGOs with regards to national/European laws and policies concerning youth;
– Established contacts/networks between youth NGOs at international level;
– Advocacy actions planed and implemented by youth NGOs locally;
– Increased awareness among general public on relevant youth issues, especially with regards to youth participation;
– Increased communication between public authorities and youth NGOs with regards to relevant youth policies.
- Created a multiplier effect in participating countries.
I was preparing, running and evaluating the training together with my co-trainer, so basically involved from A-Z.