During the two year duration of “Reactive Youth”, several activities are taking place and will be describe on this section so visitors can track their implementation and be updated about their status.
First transnational meeting in Spain
The Plataforma del Valle del Tiétar en Transición (PVTT) hosted on the 13th and 14th of February 2023 the 1st Transnational Meeting of the Erasmus+ Youth project “Reactive youth” in Arenas de San Pedro in Spain. Representatives from all the project partners attended this event as a kick off meeting of the project and official starting. The 2-day sessions were dedicated on the team building of the partnership and on the scheduling of the activities for the next 24 months. The meeting was especially important to work on the policy brief for local stakeholders about youth engagement in rural areas that will be the base for the creation of a toolkit for youth workers of the project. This tool for professionals will include information and guidelines to carry out workshops with youth towards their participation as active citizens and to build a common a visual identity of each area that will be share thanks to interactive maps composed by audio-visual elements about each area nature, history and culture. All the participants enjoyed the Spanish hospitality and had the chance to explore cultural and natural aspects of the area.
Research on youth participation and youth active engagement
Between March and June 2023 project partners developed a desk and field research on their areas about youth participation. On one side, the idea was to interview and get feedback from those involved on the youth field about their needs, challenges and expectation on the involvement of youth on the decision making process on their areas towards their sustainability. 52 Local Authorities and Civil Society organisations were involved on this process, as well as 158 young people from all the project partner regions through interviews, focus groups and questionnaires. On the other side, this research was useful to identify good practices on those areas of initiatives already implemented there on the project topics and towards youth active and civil commitment. All the results of this work has been synthesised on a Policy Brief available in English and all the project languages that you can download on the section of results of this site and will be the base for the development of the other project results.
Second transnational meeting in Austria
The 2nd transnational meeting of “Reactive youth” was successfully completed with representatives from all the project countries who met on 14th-15th June 2023 in Werfenweng, Austria. Consistent with the project implementation plan, Pista Magica and Mreža Mama presented the draft Policy Brief which was developed based on the research carried out in the corresponding rural areas on the previous months. The Policy Brief contains key data such as figures, youth testimonies, LAs and CSOs feedback, good practices on youth engagement, etc. that will allow organisations on the youth field on each area to take decisions towards the development of new youth policies for rural areas. This document will be also used for the development of the project toolkit for youthworkers that will be tested in the international training for youth workers in Slovenia on January 2024 and also on local workshops in all partner countries from February 2024 onwards.
Training of Youth Workers and Youth Capacitation
During the 22nd and the 26th of January, the Reactive Youth partners met in Brezice, Slovenia for the 3-day training for youth workers based on the toolkit that was created by the staff of the partner organisations. The participants consisted of partner staff members but also youth workers from each area. The sessions were divided into theoretical and practical parts as partners have to organize in spring local youth workshops to test the toolkit. All the practical activities were designed to be motivational, empower young people, and focus on the value of the environment and culture of the territories.
Completion of Reactive Youth Local Workshops
The Erasmus+ project Reactive Youth completed a series of activities related to the creation of the “Reactive Youth – Toolkit For Youth Workers” in early July 2024. Initially, youth workers from the partner organisations and local institutions were trained in a three-day seminar in Slovenia at the beginning of the year based on the theory and activities included in the Toolkit.
The Toolkit material was then tested in a series of local non- formal workshops in the 6 partner countries in the rural territories that the organisations are based (Plataforma del Valle del Tiétar en Transición-ES, Neo Sapiens-ES, Alpine Pearls-AU, Polygonal-IT, Pista Mágica-PR, Mreža MaMaSL, Vardakeios School-GR) from March to July 2024.
The 25 workshops took place in High Schools and youth centers and approximately 500 young people between the ages of 13 and 20 participated (with the exception of some participants who were up to 32 years old). The schedule was adapted to the needs and commitments of the participants and/or to the curriculum of each school. The main aim was to test the toolkit through theory and activities based on non-formal methods, focusing on how to empower young people to become aware of the value of their territories in terms of leisure, tourism and cultural activities, especially in relation to environmental protection, and how to foster a sense of shared identity and belonging.
The young participants were also critical of the activities and suggested changes to improve the quality of the toolkit and make it more attractive to other young people. During the workshops, they also had the opportunity to talk to representatives of local authorities and institutions and propose initiatives to improve the daily lives of youth and make their voice heard. (e.g. the creation of youth spaces or the improvement of the services of the local public transport).
To get an idea of their impressions of the workshops, here are some of their quotes:
“It was really fun”,
“Its good to know that someone still cares about us, the rural youth”,
“It was nice to think positively for a change and not just about whats wrong”.
Additionally the facilitators of the workshops gave positive feedback on the toolkit material used. According to their evaluations, some changes and adaptations need to be made, but in general the material was well adapted to the needs of the participants. Through the interactive activities, which included videos, collages, photos, role plays and round tables, material was collected that will be incorporated over the coming months into paper and digital maps, reflecting how young people see their territories.