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.
