Workshop
Europe@DJHT
THE CIVICS Innovation Hub
Young people are developing a ‘Toolbox for resilient democracies’. This toolbox aims to make populist and anti-democratic attitudes from different EU country contexts visible; and aims to strengthen the resilience and democratic future skills of young people, especially in peripheral regions.
CIH is planning a 2.5-day Design Thinking Workshop (DTW) on ‘Future Skills for a Resilient Europe’ and means to present the outcomes at the 18. DJHT. A democratic, resilient society thrives on the commitment and participation of its citizens. Particularly in rural regions, where functioning services of general interest and equal living conditions are becoming increasingly critical compared to urban milieus, experiences of destabilisation and fears of social and economic loss are leading to the rise of anti-democratic attitudes. Young people are either moving away or are attracted to right-wing extremist milieus or are trying to counter these tendencies with good arguments and forms of a democratic debate and negotiation culture. This is where we come in: Together with an experienced design thinking facilitator, two experts will discuss their ideas for strengthening democracy and active civic participation with young people in the context of their experiences and countries. Furthermore, a space of transnational, European understanding will be created in which the problems of young people in rural areas will be exchanged, future perspectives will be discussed together and ideas for strengthening the local political culture will be developed.
By organising a 2.5-day DTW with approx. 20 young adults (18-25 years) from peripheral regions in Bulgaria, Germany and Croatia, the first step is to compare and contextualise transnational anti-democratic and populist challenges. In a second step, low-threshold content and materials for the piloting of a ‘For Democracy Toolbox’ are to be developed, with which young adults are to be brought into action and which is to be used in transnational youth work in the future.
The validation and scaling process can be carried out within a designated NECE Lab (www.nece.eu) in which the 18th DJHT takes a central role. The NECE network is coordinated by CIH.
The workshop will raise awareness of the fact that structural differences in rural areas in many parts of Europe and the associated challenges for young people are similar. The young people are strengthened in their ability to participate & future-proof through the open creative format, so that they can experience self-efficacy & deepen their knowledge. As part of the Call for Participation for our NECE Lab, we will request a proposal from our young people. This project idea should include how processes of change can be initiated in the respective local communities of the applicants in order to promote democracy & empowerment.
Further information
https://thecivics.eu/projects/nece/
Host
THE CIVICS supports both citizens and civic educators to deal with the challenges of our time by strengthening democratic competencies, self-efficacy & resilience of citizens across Europe.
Project / department
Networking & Advocacy | NECE