Participant Call: EYRN International Activity – Beyond Borders, Building Change: Youth Advocacy in Action!
Sunday 1 September 2024 – Saturday 7 September 2024, Spain
About the Activity:
YMCA Europe is happy to announce the Call for Participants for the non-formal educational international workshop activity: “Beyond Borders, Building Change: Youth Advocacy in Action!”.
This workshop-based international activity is co-funded by the European Youth Foundation and will facilitate young people (18-30 years old) coming together through a collaborative, participatory process to design and implement joint, pan-European awareness-raising campaigns on topics important to them in the areas of health and wellbeing; employment; climate action; and human rights.
By the end of the activity, participants will have a greater sense of their rights and how they can use them in coalition with others to create positive change to better society and contribute to a healthy culture of democracy across the continent.
Methodology of the Project:
The activity will focus on creating a non-formal learning process that guides small groups of participants in creating awareness-raining campaigns on a European chosen topic. The activity will be workshop-based and utilise non-formal / peer-based learning when possible to develop or enhance skills that participants say they would like to grow.
Participants will:
- Grow their skills and capabilities to create pan-European awareness-raising campaigns in the areas of health and wellbeing; employment; climate action; and human rights as well as work in small, international groups.
- Built stronger relationships and connections between each other to help create community and facilitate working online throughout the rest of the year.
Overview of the Activity Structure:
The following is the overview of the activity’s stages:
- Preparation of the in-person Activity (June to September): In preparation for the in-person meeting, participants will meet together online to as a group select the 3-4 topics they would like to raise awareness on. The participants will be split into small groups (6-8 participants) and assigned one of these chosen topics. Each small group will prepare some initial research to gather background information on the topic in order to devise an engaging campaign. During this phase, further skills, expertise, and knowledge will be identified that network members would like or require further development on in order to create engaging and value-adding workshops during the in-person meeting.
- In-person activity (September 5 days): The participants will meet in-person to work on various elements of creating the campaign to finalise it. Throughout the 5-days, they will attend workshop sessions that will guide them through this process and develop their skills. There will also be time for team-building activities.
Implementation of the campaigns (September to December): After the in-person activity it will be expected that each small group implement their awareness campaign according to their developed implementation strategy as well as monitor and evaluate the campaigns according to what was set out.
About the EYRN:
The European Youth Representation Network (EYRN) of YMCA Europe is a youth-led network of National Youth Representatives that seeks to be a platform for young people to practise active citizenship, express their views, and develop joint positions to create a just, sustainable and inclusive Europe.
The group was officially kicked off in the summer of 2023 in Berlin with training on active citizenship and advocacy techniques. It supersedes YMCA Europe’s Youth Policy Group (YPG) and Youth Empowerment Space (YES) which were merged to create this one network to facilitate youth participation, active citizenship, and European-wide advocacy.
The network is led by a coordination team that helps the network members to meet regularly throughout the year both online and offline to create and advance various advocacy initiatives and projects together as well as to grow their leadership and technical skills in a community setting.
Activity Training Team:
The training team is composed of trainers from the YMCA and Members of the YMCA EYRN Coordination Team as well as special expert guests.
Profile of Participants:
- 18-30 years old who are citizens/residents of European countries;
- Have a background or interest in active citizenship/youth participation at a European level to work toward systemic change in the areas of health and wellbeing; employment; climate action; and human rights;
- Have a background or interest in developing/learning more about advocacy techniques and methods;
- Motivation to work on implementing jointly created awareness campaigns in small groups at a European level;
- Ability to interact in an intercultural environment respecting each other’s backgrounds;
- Are a current OR desire to be a member of YMCA Europe’s youth representatives’ network (EYRN) AND are committed to being involved with the network for at least the next 6-12 months;
- Good command of English.
Where:
YMCA Camp Salduero (C. Jose Carrascosa, 6, 42156 Salduero, Soria, Spain).
The location is 2.5 hours from the Madrid Airport – Transportation to the venue will be arranged for the participants
When:
Sunday 1 September 2024 to Saturday 7 September 2024
Training Days: Monday 2 September 2024 – Friday 6 September 2024
Travel Days: Sunday 1 September 2024 and Saturday 7 September 2024
Participation Fee:
The participation fee for this activity is 150 euros.
Subsidies are possible for participants who are in need of them, please, mention this need in the application form and/or contact Jessica Woitalla at jessica[at]ymcaeurope.com to request assistance.
We highly recommend sharing the cost between individuals and their sending organisations.
What’s Included in the Participation Fee:
- Programme Costs, including workshop sessions and materials;
- 6 nights accommodation in a youth hostel (in shared rooms with common bathrooms);
- All meals from dinner Sunday 1 September until breakfast 7 September;
- Cost-efficient and ecological international transportation to/from your home to the venue of the training;
- Local transportation as needed;
- Visa costs;
**Attendance/participation is mandatory in at least 80% of the online/offline meetings and work of the activity (including preparation of the in-person meeting/in-person meeting/follow-up work to the in-person meeting) for a full reimbursement.
Application Procedure:
Please submit an application form by Sunday 16 June 2024 at 23:59 using this LINK
Contact:
If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Woitalla – jessica[at]ymcaeurope.com
This International Activity is co-funded by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.
