Partnership Building Activity (PBA) “Youth participation for sustainable local democracies” at the University on Youth and Development 2023

Activity

The Partnership Building Activity (PBA) “Youth participation for sustainable local democracies”, organised by DYPALL Network, took place from 17th – 24th September at the 22nd University on Youth and Development (UYD) in the Centro Eurolatinoamericano de Juventud (CEULAJ) in Mollina, Spain. This activity aimed to link municipalities and civil society organisations working on youth participation in local decision-making to enhance youth involvement in designing local policies, especially environmental ones.

The primary objective of the PBA was to create a space for exchanging different realities, promoting good practices, methodologies, and tools while developing cooperation projects that link young people, environmental policies, and local democracies in alignment with the EU Youth Strategy for 2019-2027 and the Erasmus+ programme. The specific objectives of this PBA included bringing together partners from all countries of the network to develop their knowledge of European youth policy framework, youth participation, and democracy projects. It aimed to explore how youth participation in creating local environmental policies contributes to building stronger, more sustainable, and more peaceful local democracies. Additionally, the PBA encouraged the exchange of expertise, experience, and good practices of youth work at the local level, with a focus on building fruitful and long-lasting partnerships. The ultimate goal was to develop new projects within the framework of existing European programmes that could be applied in upcoming deadlines.

The participants delved into the framework of support provided under the Erasmus+ programme, examining its priorities and key actions as tools to support their project ideas. They worked on mapping key environmental challenges in their local communities and creating sustainable partnerships to address these challenges with the support of the Erasmus+ programme. Furthermore, they engaged in a productive dialogue with Thaïs Leray, Team leader for Youth in the unit in charge of Youth, Education and Culture of the European Commission DG for International Partnerships, which added valuable insights to our event.

The PBA took place at the University on Youth and Development, which gathered 240 participants from 70 nationalities to participate in 9 activities that happened simultaneously, with a central focus on the theme: “Young People, Peace and Climate change”. Participants had the opportunity to network, share, and reflect with participants from other activities at UYD during a series of plenary sessions as a part of the Joint Programme. 

You can discover the dedicated website for the UYD here.

The PBA was organised by DYPALL Network with the support of the Erasmus+ programme through the Portuguese National Agency. The UYD 2023 is an international youth event part of the iLEGEND III Joint programme co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe

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