This project brings together youth and decision-makers to share experiences, discover obligations, and enhance youth engagement in the electoral process and the democratic process.
Key Results
The project is set to achieve the following key results:
- Engage a total of 115 international and 150 local participants.
- Provide new skills and knowledge to help youth act as wise digital and sustainable active citizens. This includes supporting institutional capacity building and advocating for open society and participatory changes for target groups into more active participation in the election.
- Improve dialogue between youth and regional or state politicians, building trust between parties/decision makers. This will provide an opportunity for them to come together and co-learn, co-create, and co-deliver benefits for themselves and their communities by addressing political culture, responsible approach in politics, social action, and community development.
- Empower the cooperation network of Youth (individuals, community members, and institutions) and coordinate policy making on all levels through partnership, mutual support, capacity building, and initiating new initiatives in the achievement of SDGs.
- Improve the situation with youth political participation & gender equality; empower youth & women and encourage men to include more women in politics and decision-making positions. The project will also enhance the fight for an equal society and integrate required concrete solutions and policies into force to help reduce inequalities at all levels.
Impact
The project is expected to have a significant impact:
- Increase the overall knowledge of social cohesion practice and target audience needs.
- Impact the project target group and organizations’ overall knowledge, capacity, and ability to work with wider target audiences and help them with their needs, thereby strengthening Nordic democracy.
- Contribute to strengthening youth voter behavior and political culture in general.
The results will be widely shared with youth organizations, youth political networks, communities, and involved stakeholders. Practical results will be published on a webpage/spread.
Project Goal
In our contemporary time, the importance and value of democracy are still not valued as they should be. This project aims to raise the awareness of young leaders and voters, ensure compliance with the principles of fair play in election campaigns, and foster a respectful attitude towards the voter. It also aims to strengthen democracy by improving youth and young adults’ knowledge about the role of the democratic process in our everyday life, citizens’ rights and obligations, and enhance youth engagement in the electoral process.
Additionally, we aim to increase youth leadership skills, knowledge about UN SDGs, critical thinking, and attitudes when listening to political pronouncements, so that the democratic process is dominated by well-reasoned arguments rather than demagogy.
Target Group
The target group for this project is youth aged 15-30, from Nordic Countries and Estonia interested in leadership, politics, and sustainability. In total, 265 people will take part directly.
Project Activities
May 2024 - Finland
Spring Awakening: Training for Change
Focus: Youth Leadership & Political ParticipationGoals: Enhance understanding of SDGs, democratic processes, and fair elections
August 2024 - Iceland
Summer Summit: Advocacy & Sustainability
Focus: Youth Advocacy & Sustainability - Goals: Promote youth engagement in the electoral process and respect in campaigns.
September 2024 - Sweden
Autumn Dialogues: Watchdog Public Debate
Event: Watchdog Program MeetingFocus: Raising awareness on life-impacting themes. Goals: Foster dialogue between young politicians/activists and community members.
November 2024 - Estonia
Harvest of Ideas: Nordic-Baltic Youth Leaders Autumn School
Celebration: Program Results & Knowledge SharingFocus: Evaluating Nordic political sustainability.Goals: Discuss democracy challenges and celebrate youth electoral participation.
Project activities include:
- two training sessions (May in Finland, and August in Iceland) focusing on youth leadership, political participation, youth advocacy, sustainability, and critical thinking. These sessions aim to improve young people’s understanding of SDGs/democratic processes in our everyday life, youth engagement in the electoral process, and the role of fair/open elections. By this, we ensure compliance with the principles of fair play in election campaigns and a respectful attitude towards the voter, and to strengthen democracy.
- Public debate and meeting of the Watchdog programm (September 2024 Sweden) will be conducted with young politicians and youth civil activists targeting to raise youth awareness about key themes related with their life and also what influences the country, Nordic-Baltic region, to have a dialogue between politicians and community members, to educate and advocate for people’s needs, worries and trying to find solutions on urgent questions for youth.
- Nordic-Baltic Youth Leaders Autumn school in November 2024, Estonia – final event which will bring together youth to celebrate programme results, to provide knowledge and evaluate Nordic political sustainability and with Nordic-Baltic experts to discuss key challenges in strengthening democracy, learn and share new experience/knowledge and to share opinion and impact of youth participation in the elections.
Additionally, a project webpage and communication platform will be developed (as a practical outcome), where all materials will be published for public use