Youth for Sustainable Europe - the contribution of youth to the implementation of SDGs
From 25 to 27 September 2017, the Young European Federalists (JEF) organised the LADDER‘s Special Initiative “Youth for Sustainable Europe” in Brussels, to discuss the links between Sustainable Development Goals and youth.
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The initiative consisted of a series of panels and workshops. In the first panel discussion Dejan Bojanic (المنتدى الأوروبي للشباب), Noora Löfström (Finnish Youth Co-Operation Allianssi), Ingo Ritz (SDG Watch Europe) and Jacob Kornbeck (European Commission) debated the role of youth and sustainable development related to the Agenda 2030, by providing examples from their local and institutional realities. The panellists ultimately agreed that the SDGs can only be tackled in a holistic approach and that the whole spectrum of political stakeholders – from Active Citizens to the European Commission – must be involved in this task. On the second panel, the discussion was centred on the EU consensus of Development and the role of youth in EU external policies. The panellist, Martin Heather from the EU Commission (DG DevCo) pled for more funds for development, emphasising that national concrete plans are needed to implement the SDGs.
In addition, the first day of activities was a particular day for SDGs, celebrating their 2nd anniversary! More than 880 actions involving over 500 organisations in 109 countries took place on this day, in order to support the implementation of SDGs. ALDA took part in two actions through the LADDER project. Together with SDG Watch Europe, a large social media campaign was run in the last three weeks raising awareness on each SDG, and ending with the stunt of the “Pink Elephant” in Brussels, linked to the slogan “Can you see the elephant in the room?”, referring to the weak implementation SDGs as the problem to be solved. The action’s aim was to ask the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, to do more on the implementation of SDGs at the European level. The second campaign was run in cooperation with Concord Europe, consisting of a video on people’s wishes related to SDGs, and the responsibilities covered until now by the European Union on the issue, but also a website with recommendations sent to Frans Timmermans, responsible for the implementation of SDGs. The video was presented to the audience during the first day of activities within the Special Initiative.
The 3-day event saw the use of workshops to engage the audience, the first of which was held by Democracy 21. During this workshop, all participants got involved in group exercises and learned about the company’s e-participatory tools and practices. At the second workshop ALDA’s project manager Aldo Xhani, together with Secretary General of “ARS for Progress” Alessio Lupi, presented the scope and the results achieved by project Youthmetre, which we have already discussed in this article. In parallel with Youthmetre workshop, a similar project (project DEEP) was presented by ECAS. Project DEEP aims at creating a digital platform on which active young citizens can present and discuss their proposals with policymakers and other stakeholders.
The second round of parallel workshops engages with the topic of youth participation in raising awareness to the implementation of SDGs at a local level. The workshop held by ESN(Erasmus Student Network) focused on the role of European mobility as a tool to increase the number of young people engaged with political and environmental topics, while the one held by EFIL (European Federation for Intercultural Learning) concerned the importance of volunteering and how to get young people involved in voluntary work.
The conclusive debate of the event was held in the beautiful University Foundation venue. The panellists Valentin Dupouey (JEF), David Garrahy (European Youth Forum), Jovana Majstorovic (Young European Socialists) and Danica Vihinen (European Liberal Youth) discussed the effective possibility to reach the goals of sustainable development by their deadline, highlighting the importance and the difficulty of making the private sector aware of the problems of sustainability.
From 25 to 27 September 2017, the Young European Federalists (JEF) organised the LADDER‘s Special Initiative “Youth for Sustainable Europe” in Brussels, to discuss the links between Sustainable Development Goals and youth.
***
The initiative consisted of a series of panels and workshops. In the first panel discussion Dejan Bojanic (المنتدى الأوروبي للشباب), Noora Löfström (Finnish Youth Co-Operation Allianssi), Ingo Ritz (SDG Watch Europe) and Jacob Kornbeck (European Commission) debated the role of youth and sustainable development related to the Agenda 2030, by providing examples from their local and institutional realities. The panellists ultimately agreed that the SDGs can only be tackled in a holistic approach and that the whole spectrum of political stakeholders – from Active Citizens to the European Commission – must be involved in this task. On the second panel, the discussion was centred on the EU consensus of Development and the role of youth in EU external policies. The panellist, Martin Heather from the EU Commission (DG DevCo) pled for more funds for development, emphasising that national concrete plans are needed to implement the SDGs.
In addition, the first day of activities was a particular day for SDGs, celebrating their 2nd anniversary! More than 880 actions involving over 500 organisations in 109 countries took place on this day, in order to support the implementation of SDGs. ALDA took part in two actions through the LADDER project. Together with SDG Watch Europe, a large social media campaign was run in the last three weeks raising awareness on each SDG, and ending with the stunt of the “Pink Elephant” in Brussels, linked to the slogan “Can you see the elephant in the room?”, referring to the weak implementation SDGs as the problem to be solved. The action’s aim was to ask the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, to do more on the implementation of SDGs at the European level. The second campaign was run in cooperation with Concord Europe, consisting of a video on people’s wishes related to SDGs, and the responsibilities covered until now by the European Union on the issue, but also a website with recommendations sent to Frans Timmermans, responsible for the implementation of SDGs. The video was presented to the audience during the first day of activities within the Special Initiative.
The 3-day event saw the use of workshops to engage the audience, the first of which was held by Democracy 21. During this workshop, all participants got involved in group exercises and learned about the company’s e-participatory tools and practices. At the second workshop ALDA’s project manager Aldo Xhani, together with Secretary General of “ARS for Progress” Alessio Lupi, presented the scope and the results achieved by project Youthmetre, which we have already discussed in this article. In parallel with Youthmetre workshop, a similar project (project DEEP) was presented by ECAS. Project DEEP aims at creating a digital platform on which active young citizens can present and discuss their proposals with policymakers and other stakeholders.
The second round of parallel workshops engages with the topic of youth participation in raising awareness to the implementation of SDGs at a local level. The workshop held by ESN(Erasmus Student Network) focused on the role of European mobility as a tool to increase the number of young people engaged with political and environmental topics, while the one held by EFIL (European Federation for Intercultural Learning) concerned the importance of volunteering and how to get young people involved in voluntary work.
The conclusive debate of the event was held in the beautiful University Foundation venue. The panellists Valentin Dupouey (JEF), David Garrahy (European Youth Forum), Jovana Majstorovic (Young European Socialists) and Danica Vihinen (European Liberal Youth) discussed the effective possibility to reach the goals of sustainable development by their deadline, highlighting the importance and the difficulty of making the private sector aware of the problems of sustainability.
ALDA is present at the first "project ENSIE" meeting in Fil'akovo, Slovakia
On the occasion of the first meeting of project ENSIE, ALDA’s ambassador Mitja Bukovec presented our association to the partners of project ENSIE, to representatives of the Slovakian government, to the local administration and to the citizens of Fil’akovo.
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تم عقد اجتماع Association for Developing Voluntary Work (DRPDNM), ALDA’s member, participated to the first introductory meeting of the partners in the project “European Network for Social Integration Entrepreneurship: Social Inclusion and Development of the Rural Areas for a Better European Perspective – ENSIE”. The aim of the project is to establish an international network to support social entrepreneurs and promote social inclusion and rural development.
During the event, which lasted from September 20th to September 22nd, DRPDNM introduced the audience to the work of ALDA on two different occasions: on the 21st of September to the project partners and on the 22nd of September to the representatives of the Slovakian government, to the local administration of town Fil’akovo and to the citizens of Fil’akovo.
The project includes 12 partner organizations from 10 countries – Town Fiľakovo (Slovakia), Bátonyterenye Város Önkormányzata (Hungary), Proactive (Serbia), Comune di Santa-Severina (Italy), Social Innovation Centre (Latvia), Town LABIN (Croatia), Camara Municipal da Madalena Do Pico (Portugal), Consiliul Judetean Harghita (Romania), Comune di Penne (Italy), Društvo za ravijanje prostovoljnega dela Novo Mesto (Slovenia), Town Jirkov (Czech Republic), Stredná odborná škola – Szakközépiskola Fiľakovo (Slovakia).
ENSIE project is financed by The Europe for Citizens program.
Useful Resources:
أوروبا للمواطنين program
On the occasion of the first meeting of project ENSIE, ALDA’s ambassador Mitja Bukovec presented our association to the partners of project ENSIE, to representatives of the Slovakian government, to the local administration and to the citizens of Fil’akovo.
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تم عقد اجتماع Association for Developing Voluntary Work (DRPDNM), ALDA’s member, participated to the first introductory meeting of the partners in the project “European Network for Social Integration Entrepreneurship: Social Inclusion and Development of the Rural Areas for a Better European Perspective – ENSIE”. The aim of the project is to establish an international network to support social entrepreneurs and promote social inclusion and rural development.
During the event, which lasted from September 20th to September 22nd, DRPDNM introduced the audience to the work of ALDA on two different occasions: on the 21st of September to the project partners and on the 22nd of September to the representatives of the Slovakian government, to the local administration of town Fil’akovo and to the citizens of Fil’akovo.
The project includes 12 partner organizations from 10 countries – Town Fiľakovo (Slovakia), Bátonyterenye Város Önkormányzata (Hungary), Proactive (Serbia), Comune di Santa-Severina (Italy), Social Innovation Centre (Latvia), Town LABIN (Croatia), Camara Municipal da Madalena Do Pico (Portugal), Consiliul Judetean Harghita (Romania), Comune di Penne (Italy), Društvo za ravijanje prostovoljnega dela Novo Mesto (Slovenia), Town Jirkov (Czech Republic), Stredná odborná škola – Szakközépiskola Fiľakovo (Slovakia).
ENSIE project is financed by The Europe for Citizens program.
Useful Resources:
أوروبا للمواطنين program
Summer’s over, but autumn rocks with ALDA training courses in Spain and Italy
ALDA has been selected to deliver a training on project cycle management and European funds specifically addressed to nature guides and environmental educators, operating in natural parks and delivering numerous educational activities in schools in Veneto Region, Italy.
ALDA has been selected to deliver a training on project cycle management and European funds specifically addressed to nature guides and environmental educators, operating in natural parks and delivering numerous educational activities in schools in Veneto Region, Italy.
Promoting e-participation of youngsters across Europe: YouthMetre in the spotlight
On September 26, Our project manager Aldo Xhani and Alessio Lupi from ARS for Progress presented project Youthmetre in the frame of the event “Youth for Sustainable Europe”, organized by LADDER and JEF.
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In the framework of the Youth for Sustainable Development days organised by the Young European Federalists as special youth initiative of the LADDER community, on 26 September ALDA and ARS for Progress engaged more than 30 youngsters and youth workers in debating on promoting e-participation of youth at the local level. The workshop was led by Aldo Xhani, Coordinator of the Citizenship programme of ALDA, and Alessio Lupi, Secretary General of ARS for Progress, and focused on the use of the YouthMetre e-tool.
Youthmetre is a forward-looking tool which aims to bridge the existing distance between youngsters and policy-makers and at supporting EU Member States, municipalities & regions by gathering data and feedback from & about their young citizens on a national and regional level, in order to enact effective policy reforms able to tackle real local problems, in line with the indications provided by the EU Youth Strategy.
Participants got introduced to the features of the project, in particular the indicators and the data on the 8 policy areas of the EU Youth Strategy as well as to the good practices and the “My Idea for My Community” map. Participants had an opportunity to reflect on the capacity of the tool to respond to youngsters’ needs in terms of e-participation in the policy process at local level and provide feedback for the improvement of the tool. The workshop was also an occasion to collect attendees’ ideas, opinions and recommendations in each of the policy areas of the EU Youth Strategy.
Useful Resources:
Youthmetre website and tools
ARS for Progress website
Special youth initiative of LADDER project
On September 26, Our project manager Aldo Xhani and Alessio Lupi from ARS for Progress presented project Youthmetre in the frame of the event “Youth for Sustainable Europe”, organized by LADDER and JEF.
***
In the framework of the Youth for Sustainable Development days organised by the Young European Federalists as special youth initiative of the LADDER community, on 26 September ALDA and ARS for Progress engaged more than 30 youngsters and youth workers in debating on promoting e-participation of youth at the local level. The workshop was led by Aldo Xhani, Coordinator of the Citizenship programme of ALDA, and Alessio Lupi, Secretary General of ARS for Progress, and focused on the use of the YouthMetre e-tool.
Youthmetre is a forward-looking tool which aims to bridge the existing distance between youngsters and policy-makers and at supporting EU Member States, municipalities & regions by gathering data and feedback from & about their young citizens on a national and regional level, in order to enact effective policy reforms able to tackle real local problems, in line with the indications provided by the EU Youth Strategy.
Participants got introduced to the features of the project, in particular the indicators and the data on the 8 policy areas of the EU Youth Strategy as well as to the good practices and the “My Idea for My Community” map. Participants had an opportunity to reflect on the capacity of the tool to respond to youngsters’ needs in terms of e-participation in the policy process at local level and provide feedback for the improvement of the tool. The workshop was also an occasion to collect attendees’ ideas, opinions and recommendations in each of the policy areas of the EU Youth Strategy.
Useful Resources:
Youthmetre website and tools
ARS for Progress website
Special youth initiative of LADDER project
Formation pour les travailleurs de jeunesse en communication assertive - appel urgent pour 6 participant(e)s français(es)!
ALDA recherche de manière urgente 6 travailleurs de jeunesse expérimenté(e)s dans le domaine des politiques de genre pour participer à une formation sur la communication assertive, qui se tiendra à Grocka / Belgrade, en Serbie, du 6 au 13 octobre 2017.
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La formation se tiendra en anglais et se concentrera sur la communication assertive, la solidarité de l’UE et les politiques de genre. Grâce à un travail interactif comprenant des composantes théoriques et pratiques, les participant(e)s apprendront de nouvelles compétences et produiront une vidéo finale en groupe.
ALDA recherche de manière urgente 6 travailleurs de jeunesse expérimenté(e)s dans le domaine des politiques de genre pour participer à une formation sur la communication assertive, qui se tiendra à Grocka / Belgrade, en Serbie, du 6 au 13 octobre 2017.
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La formation se tiendra en anglais et se concentrera sur la communication assertive, la solidarité de l’UE et les politiques de genre. Grâce à un travail interactif comprenant des composantes théoriques et pratiques, les participant(e)s apprendront de nouvelles compétences et produiront une vidéo finale en groupe.
ALDA participates to the European Local Democracy Week, check out our events!
The European Local Democracy Week (ELDW) will take place between 9 and 15 October and ALDA will join the event with a number of initiatives organized in the frame of project MEANING.
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The “European Local Democracy Week” is an annual European event co-ordinated by the the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, in which local authorities from 47 member states of the Council of Europe (and beyond) organise public events to raise awareness on a number of issues of current interest.
The ultimate aim of the event is to promote and foster democratic participation at at grassroots level in Europe and, in particular, to let citizens know how local authorities operate and what local elected representatives are doing at the European level, as well as to inform them of their opportunities to take part in local decision-making processes.
This year, the event will pay homage to the European Charter of Local Self-Government, opened for signature on that date in 1985.
Through project MEANING, ALDA will be present and organize the following initiatives:
- “Metropolitan governments shaping EU Urban policy”, which will be held in Brussels on October 11،
- “Promoting e-participation of European youth”, a dissemination activity which will take place in Brussels on October 12،
- “Energies for Local Administrations to Renovate Governance in Europe”, hosted by the city of Milan on October 16، and 17،
- “The 4th Danube Participation Day in the EU Danube Strategy”, held in Budapest on October 17،
Click on the links to learn more about our event!
Useful Resources:
List of ALDA’s initiatives for ELDW
The European Local Democracy Week (ELDW) will take place between 9 and 15 October and ALDA will join the event with a number of initiatives organized in the frame of project MEANING.
***
The “European Local Democracy Week” is an annual European event co-ordinated by the the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, in which local authorities from 47 member states of the Council of Europe (and beyond) organise public events to raise awareness on a number of issues of current interest.
The ultimate aim of the event is to promote and foster democratic participation at at grassroots level in Europe and, in particular, to let citizens know how local authorities operate and what local elected representatives are doing at the European level, as well as to inform them of their opportunities to take part in local decision-making processes.
This year, the event will pay homage to the European Charter of Local Self-Government, opened for signature on that date in 1985.
Through project MEANING, ALDA will be present and organize the following initiatives:
- “Metropolitan governments shaping EU Urban policy”, which will be held in Brussels on October 11،
- “Promoting e-participation of European youth”, a dissemination activity which will take place in Brussels on October 12،
- “Energies for Local Administrations to Renovate Governance in Europe”, hosted by the city of Milan on October 16، and 17،
- “The 4th Danube Participation Day in the EU Danube Strategy”, held in Budapest on October 17،
Click on the links to learn more about our event!
Useful Resources:
List of ALDA’s initiatives for ELDW
Join EURAC's Winter School on Federalism and Governance 2018, register NOW!
From 5 to 16 February 2018, ALDA’s member EURAC is organizing a new edition of their Winter School on Federalism and Governance in Innsbruck and Bozen. Join now!
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The Winter School on Federalism and Governance is a common project of the Institute for Comparative Federalism of Eurac Research, the Faculty of Law and the School of Political Science and Sociology of the University of Innsbruck. The Winter School analyzes the phenomena of federalism, regionalism and multi-level governance from legal and political science perspectives. Every edition pays attention to a specific topic, which is approached in detail by legal scholars, political scientists and practitioners, this year, the topic will be “Federalism in the Making”. All editions so far have been honoured by the patronage of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
The Winter School is designed for participants from all nationalities who wish to broaden their knowledge of federalism and multilevel governance through an interdisciplinary and comparative approach. Applications from post-docs, postgraduate & graduate students, researchers, civil servants, employees of national/international organizations or NGOs are welcomed!
To apply and for further information, click هنا. The deadline for application is: 26 October 2017.
Useful Resources:
Winter School موقع الكتروني
From 5 to 16 February 2018, ALDA’s member EURAC is organizing a new edition of their Winter School on Federalism and Governance in Innsbruck and Bozen. Join now!
***
The Winter School on Federalism and Governance is a common project of the Institute for Comparative Federalism of Eurac Research, the Faculty of Law and the School of Political Science and Sociology of the University of Innsbruck. The Winter School analyzes the phenomena of federalism, regionalism and multi-level governance from legal and political science perspectives. Every edition pays attention to a specific topic, which is approached in detail by legal scholars, political scientists and practitioners, this year, the topic will be “Federalism in the Making”. All editions so far have been honoured by the patronage of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
The Winter School is designed for participants from all nationalities who wish to broaden their knowledge of federalism and multilevel governance through an interdisciplinary and comparative approach. Applications from post-docs, postgraduate & graduate students, researchers, civil servants, employees of national/international organizations or NGOs are welcomed!
To apply and for further information, click هنا. The deadline for application is: 26 October 2017.
Useful Resources:
Winter School موقع الكتروني
Mostar becomes an open-air theatre thanks to project Caravan Next
The open-air social theatre festival NEW HOPE / NEW HOPES was held in Mostar from 4 to 8 September 2017, in the framework of the project Caravan Next – Feed the Future, Art Moving Cities.
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Over the five days of the festival, shows and performances were displayed and three thematic workshops were held at 16 city locations. The final event of the festival consisted of a parade of all the participants, who went through the streets of Mostar attracting positive reactions from citizens and tourists.
The event featured more than 100 artists, both from local and international theater houses. The performances were extremely appreciated by the audience and the participants to the workshops actively contributed to many shows.
Among others, theatrical groups from Poland, Italy, Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, participated in the festival. Alberto Pagliarino, artistic coordinator and co-founder of the Caravan Next festival, was a special guest to the festival and held the workshop for young theatrical artists.
The main themes of the festival were: Memory Culture, Mostar Mosaic, Mostar – Common Public and Cultural Premises, My Town – Youth City, and Mostar Sevdah. وكالة الديمقراطية المحلية في موستارand Mostar Youth Theater were the key civil society partners of the event. Next year in May, the Festival will open its doors in Skopje, Macedonia.
Project Caravan Next, led by Odin Teatret (Denmark), is co-financed by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
The open-air social theatre festival NEW HOPE / NEW HOPES was held in Mostar from 4 to 8 September 2017, in the framework of the project Caravan Next – Feed the Future, Art Moving Cities.
***
Over the five days of the festival, shows and performances were displayed and three thematic workshops were held at 16 city locations. The final event of the festival consisted of a parade of all the participants, who went through the streets of Mostar attracting positive reactions from citizens and tourists.
The event featured more than 100 artists, both from local and international theater houses. The performances were extremely appreciated by the audience and the participants to the workshops actively contributed to many shows.
Among others, theatrical groups from Poland, Italy, Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, participated in the festival. Alberto Pagliarino, artistic coordinator and co-founder of the Caravan Next festival, was a special guest to the festival and held the workshop for young theatrical artists.
The main themes of the festival were: Memory Culture, Mostar Mosaic, Mostar – Common Public and Cultural Premises, My Town – Youth City, and Mostar Sevdah. وكالة الديمقراطية المحلية في موستارand Mostar Youth Theater were the key civil society partners of the event. Next year in May, the Festival will open its doors in Skopje, Macedonia.
Project Caravan Next, led by Odin Teatret (Denmark), is co-financed by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.