Reinvent democracy (YiA 1.3)
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Background and Overview
This nine-month project aims to bring together young people from Greece and Cyprus in an attempt to take apart and reconstruct the concept of democracy, an EU founding principle. Even though young people are undeniably the mould of the future society, they are, however, not actively involved in the political affairs of their respective countries; on the contrary, they are repeatedly described as passive and indifferent in the media and elsewhere; and this despite the unprecedented political and socio-economic changes taking place in our times. Twenty four participants aged between 18 and 30, representing diverse backgrounds and societal groups, will get together for a six-day Workshop, which will take place in Paphos, Cyprus from 5-10 of April 2012. Having as a triggering reference point the fact that Greece was the birthplace of modern democracy, the participants will be invited to actively deliberate in order to develop a vision for ideal systems of governance, and propose action plans for reforms and practical measures. The workshops will be implemented using Structured Democratic Dialogue Process (SDDP). The expectation is that at the end of this process the participants will have a clearer idea of the problems they face; moreover, they will collectively develop vision and action plans to suggest and promote reforms of current systems of governance. Their active engagement in envisioning and designing their own ideal socio-political-economic environments, will furthermore boost their self-confidence, thus bringing young people back at the forefront of political debate and social change.
Vision and Objectives
- Create an online platform for the collection and exchange of views of young people regarding the concept of democracy and active citizenship
- Actively engage youth in developing
a.) a Joint Vision of a European youth environment based on the concepts of democracy and active citizenship b.) a Joint Action Plan towards an increased participation in European youth democratic projects and activities
Target Groups
- Youth organisations in all EU countries
- Young people involved in youth projects
- Youth workers and trainers
- Youth policy makers
Expected results
- Web-based portal and website;
- Joint Action Plans and Vision Maps for the empowerment and youth;
- Joint Declaration on Citizenship and Participation, submitted to local, regional, national and EU authorities;
- Booklet
- Short film
- EU report
