Study session “Climbing the ladder – Capacitating youth leaders to facilitate youth participation in the decision-making process at the local level”

Study session “Climbing the ladder – Capacitating youth leaders to facilitate youth participation in the decision-making process at the local level” took place in the European Youth Center of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg between 24th – 29th April and was organised by DYPALL Network and the Assembly of European Regions (AER), in cooperation with the Youth Department of the Council of Europe.

For the whole week, 25 youth leaders from 22 different countries had the opportunity to foster their knowledge in youth participation and to acquire skills and practical tools to reinforce their potential impact as young activists and multipliers in their local realities.

The activities proposed were shaped starting from CoE relevant publications in the field of youth participation, such as “Have Your Say! Manual on the Revised European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life”. Thanks to these starting points, the participants had the opportunity to start from a broader point to actively build an action plan to start a relevant action in their local realities.

The Study session was completed by the meaningful contribution of our external expert Hrvoje Kovač, which explored the “Ladder of Participation”, and provided by AER practical tool Advocacy Cycle, for participants to have a sharp understanding of the topic. 

This process of learning was built up by different methodologies, such as a simulation game provided by the team, in order to give a clear insight on how to approach donors and institutions to get their projects funded. 

The main final outcome, besides the actual action plan that each participant shaped on its own, was also to start the creation of a “DYPALL Network’s Youth Board” that will provide insightful support to the organization to make its projects more in line with the needs and goals of young people and to foster its action on revitalizing the pluralistic democracy in the decision-making process at the local level, which is in line with the core objectives of the Youth Department of the CoE.