Empower young people across Europe to play an active role in community development by equipping them with skills and knowledge in participatory design and community planning with an intersectional perspective.
Description of the project
Youth ID addresses a structural gap in European democracies: although youth participation is increasingly recognised in policy discourse, it often remains limited to consultative roles. As a result, young people – especially those from marginalised and intersectional backgrounds – are still excluded from meaningful involvement in local governance. The project responds to these challenges by equipping young people and youth workers with practical tools in participatory design and community planning and integrating an intersectional approach to guarantee that diverse voices actively influence decision-making processes. These objectives will be implemented through training sessions, transnational youth dialogues, the development of real project proposals, and direct engagement with local decision-makers.
Objectives
- Equip youth with skills in participatory design and planning – enable young people to understand and apply participatory methodologies, including community mapping, collaborative planning, and participatory budgeting.
- Foster intersectional awareness and inclusivity – ensure youth-led initiatives consider diverse identities and promote social inclusion and equity in community projects.
- Promote collaborative democratic engagement and advocacy – train young people to participate in policy-making and strengthen their role in decision-making processes at local, national, and EU levels.
- Encourage the practice of core EU democratic values – increase youth understanding of democratic participation and civic rights and support them in designing projects that reflect EU principles such as democracy, inclusivity, and human rights.
- Establish a cross-border network for knowledge exchange and collaboration – foster peer learning and long-term connections among young participants and transnational cooperation.
Activities
- Transnational Train-the-Trainer (ToT) programme for youth workers, who will act as multipliers for the subsequent project activities, focusing on democratic engagement, participatory design in community planning, intersectionality and inclusive practices.
- Implementation of capacity-building seminars for youth workers and youth organisations as a scaling-up phase following the ToT programme, including follow-up actions to support the real-life application of the knowledge and skills acquired.
- Establishment of local youth groups in each partner country.
- Training with local youth groups on advocacy, participatory design, intersectional identities and diversity awareness.
- Simulation activities with local youth groups on community mapping, participatory budgeting and policy engagement.
- Participatory design labs with youth groups aimed at developing local community project proposals and drafting complementary Policy Briefs.
- Transnational youth exchange workshop in Poland for young people from the different youth groups, facilitating networking opportunities and collective learning.
- Meetings with community leaders and local authorities in each partner region to present and discuss the Policy Briefs developed by the youth groups.
- EU youth advocacy marathon in Bruxelles with young people from partner countries and drafting of a White Paper with recommendations for future youth-led initiatives.
- Organisation of a transnational online fair showcasing youth-led projects and community initiatives to a wider European audience.
- Implementation of awareness-raising campaigns promoting democratic participation.
Results
Resources
- Digital Handbook for Youth Workers – Comprehensive handbook covering topics such as: Core EU values and democratic engagement, participatory design in community planning, intersectionality and inclusive practices, collaborative bottom-up planning tools, and the promotion of transnational peer learning.
- Training materials for the ToT programme – Educational resources and facilitation tools developed to deliver the training programme for youth workers in partner countries.
- Training materials for activities with local youth groups – Practical materials and simulation-based tools to support training on community mapping, participatory budgeting and policy engagement.
- Policy Briefs – Youth-led project proposals and policy recommendations addressed to local stakeholders and decision-makers.
- Youth-Id White Paper – Document presenting the main results and recommendations emerging from youth-led initiatives, to be shared with EU-level stakeholders.
- Project website and a digital platform serving as a hub for youth collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Impact
- At least 190 youth workers trained through ToT and national training sessions
- 6 local youth groups established
- 60–90 young people trained in advocacy, participatory design and community planning, intersectionality and inclusive community engagement
- At least 60 young people involved in participatory design labs
- 6 youth representatives participating in the EU Youth Advocacy Marathon in Brussels
- At least 180 community members and stakeholders attending local Community Projects showcases
- At least 200 participants in the transnational online fair and final project conference
- At least 50,000 users reached through online awareness-raising campaigns promoting EU democratic participation
Partners
- Coordinator: KMOP – POLICY CENTER ASBL, Belgium
- ALDA – EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR LOCAL DEMOCRACY, France
- CENTRO PER LO SVILUPPO CREATIVO DANILO DOLCI ETS, Italy
- POLISH COUNCIL OF YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS, Poland
- HEADWAY A.E, Greece
- CYPRUS YOUTH CLUBS ORGANISATION KOKE, Cyprus
- FAMILY AND CHILDCARE CENTER – branch in Skopje, North Macedonia
