The joint program of YWCA-YMCA Sweden, YMCA Belarus, YMCA Ukraine and YWCA Belarus "Youth in Development – IV" has started! The program’s activities will work for youth as a part of inclusive communities, respected by themselves and others, and for YMCAs as capable rights based organisations that reactivate youth civil society and raise the awareness on youth issues in the wider community. The project will be implemented till the end of 2017.
On the 29th to 31st of May, an international seminar on rights-based approach gathered 26 participants from 4 partner-organizations in Belarus, Volozhyn. The representatives of Swedish Mission Council shared their experience and demonstrated what methods can be used when delivering this topic to youth.
Participation, non-discrimination, transparency and accountability are the main principles the rights-based approach promote. The participants of the training were discussing the themes of human rights, equality, civil society, gender, and advocacy. The representatives of the Y movements shared their experience and provided master-classes on the topics "Rights-based theater", "Active citizenship", "and Gender equality".
The training was a perfect opportunity for young people from partner-organizations to meet, know each other, interact and build their own connections. Social evenings were devoted to cultures of Belarus, Sweden and Ukraine, so the friends not just had fun together but discovered new facts about each other’s countries.
On the 1st to 3rd of May, there was a start-up workshop as a logical continuation of the training. The leaders of the delegations stayed and continued discussing practical aspects of the project: activities’ plans, indicators, reporting. This year the partners stressed the importance to have a program instead of a project. By this reason, they devoted time for discussing how the partners can be helpful to each other and what expertise they can provide. The joint program opens possibility to learn from each other, share best practices and models; think globally and reach higher results; have international dimension; build strong further going international relationships.
