“Leadership Academy” Project is a tool of YMCA Europe, created to assist YMCA National Movements and to empower young people to take action as active citizens, equipping them with skills so they can promote social change and strengthen their movements as bearers of democratic values and change-makers.
Goal: promoting civic engagement of young people through enhancing their capacity as leaders for local communities.
Objectives:
- Promoting social inclusion and peace as a core value of youth work;
- Promoting youth participation, its values and forms (on the basis of “Have your say” manual and European Charter on Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life);
- Equipping young leaders with necessary knowledge and tools of change-makers (vulnerability and social inclusion, needs assessment, creating a social project, CSO (Civil Society Organisation) with its mission and democratic governance, advocacy and communication);
- Promoting International cooperation of leaders of local communities;
Target group: near 30 young leaders of CSOs (from approximately 15 European countries), 18-35 years old, who take or are going to take governing or managing positions in their CSOs (acting or potential Board members, staff).
The “Leadership Academy” will consist of 3 sessions and fulfillment of homework between the sessions. Each session will last for 4 full days.
Update on the schedule of the sessions:
1st session: January – February 2021, online
2nd session: March 24 – 29, 2021 in Brussels
3rd session: June 2 – 7, 2021 in Malta
The participants of the “Leadership Academy” will receive knowledge and master their skills in such topics as:
- Youth Participation (forms, principles, etc.);
- Introduction of "Have Your Say" manual of Council of Europe;
- Target Group in work of a civil society organisation (SCO);
- Vulnerable groups of people;
- History and mission of YMCA;
- Needs assessment;
- How to start a social project?;
- Project management;
- Democratic governance in a CSO;
- Decision-making levels: local, National, European. European Institutions;
- Advocacy campaigns;
- Partnership and negotiations;
- Policy papers;
- Efficient communication and public speaking;
- Inclusive language of a CSO.
Homework will include:
- Elaboration and implementation of socially relevant mini-projects aimed at answering the needs of the target groups and providing adequate services for young people.
- Running meetings or seminars on democratic governance in their organisations.
- Elaborating and implementing advocacy campaigns.
The methodology of the training course will be based on interactive methods of education.
Criteria for choosing the participants:
- Active or potential Board members of YMCAs (National and local Boards) or Staff with a potential to grow further, aged 18 to 34 years old;
- The participants should clearly understand and agree for participation in all three sessions and fulfill homework;
- The participants (or their YMCAs) pay the participation fee at the first session. The amount is below.
- The participants should possess a good command of English to be able to communicate;
- Possessing a strong motivation to play an active role in the life of local communities and CSOs.
We will select 1-2 participants per movement. Due to the project requirements, the participants have to be citizens of one of the European Countries.
The project team will agree on the selected participants with the National movements.
The responsibility of National movements:
- To provide mentoring at all levels, especially at the stage of mini-projects’ implementation and organizing seminars on governance;
- To provide further involvement of the participants in YMCA activities at local and national levels.
Financial conditions:
- YMCA Europe has received a grant from the European Youth Foundation to cover 65 % of the whole project. So, we announce the participation fees.
- The participation fee covers travel cost, board, lodging and training itself for 3 sessions.
- The full participation fee should be paid before or during the 1-st session.
- The sum of the participation fee is 500 euro. Partial subsidies are possible.
We recommend distributing the amount of the fee among the participant, local and National YMCA.
Deadline for application is 25 November 2019.
For more information please contact Olga Lukina olga[at]ymcaeurope.com
Watch the video of the 3rd session of Leadership Academy: Young European Advocates organised from 27 March to 01 April 2019 in Malta.
This project is supported by the European Youth Foundation.
