Youth Empowerment for a Stronger Europe

ongoing

The Youth Empowerment for a Stronger Europe (YES) project aims to increase youth’s participation in democratic processes in their local communities and on the European level by providing them with tools and opportunities for developing innovative solutions for social challenges and advocating for their implementation. The consortium, led by Caritas Czech Republic and including Caritas Europa, Caritas Slovenia, Caritas Finland, and YES Forum, seeks to empower young people as advocates for an inclusive and just Europe, emphasizing core values: human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. The project addresses the lack of participation among young women and men coming from vulnerable backgrounds: experiencing poverty, coming from migrant families or ethnic minorities, experiencing health problems, being excluded from the housing and labour market, struggling with addictions, coming from disadvantaged areas, including rural areas, suffering loneliness, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic from vulnerable backgrounds, aiming to empower them to advocate for inclusive policies and design innovative solutions for social challenges. Opportunities for participants include creating a network of Young Advocates, training on designing social innovations and advocacy, running local and national campaigns, visiting the European Parliament, and disseminating project outcomes through various activities. Additionally, the project targets professionals working with young people, European CSOs, and European and local policymakers to enhance their knowledge and skills for engaging youth in activism, recognizing the importance of youth leadership, and understanding the needs of vulnerable groups in policy-making processes.