In last years theΒ disappointment with politics, heavily widespreadΒ amongΒ theΒ youth of Central Europe. The number of skeptics among young people in relation to politics is significant. According to the results of several public opinion polls,Β more than 80%Β of young people in V4 countries think thatΒ politicians donβt really care about themΒ and politics needs new faces. The majority of Youth is convinced that βpolitical parties are the sameβ and βyouth donβt have the power to significantly influence political decisionsβ.Β Participation in public decisionsΒ is significantlyΒ lower in V4 countries than in western Europe.
TheΒ involvement in youth municipal councils, student councils,Β participation in political discussions or public assemblies isΒ not considered as attractiveΒ among youngsters.
The initiativeΒ You(th) Decide!Β reacted to this un-pleasant situation with the aim toΒ enhance youth civic engagementΒ and toΒ raise awarenessΒ about the importance of participation in civic life among youth from V4 countries, by mobilizing active youngsters and developing their sense of initiative. Tree local meetings developed simultaneously in 4 different communities KoΕ‘ice (SK), BΕeclav (CZ), Ryglice (PL) and TΓΆrΓΆkszentmiklΓ³s (HU) provided local young people with personal experience on how important is their civic engagement and what impact it might cause.Β
During local meetings, young people were presented with the work of local NGOs, student or municipal youth councils and municipalities. The participants were encouraged to active involvement in those organization and their activities.
Initiative You(th) Decide! was supported and co-funded by the International Visegrad Fund and coordinated by Youthfully Yours SK. We truly believe that by its activities we not only to attracted youth attention towards the topic, yet also created communities of active individuals that will fight youth indifference on regular basis, support their region and motivate their peers towards active participation.
Using non-formal education and experiential learning; brainstorming, creative methods, group work, etc. we formed a safe environment, enabling the exchange of knowledge, practices and hands-on experience, supporting the creation of new ideas and development of specific actions. To this space, we invited 20 local young people together with representatives of NGOs, local authorities, representatives of schools and municipalities.Β
