In a first step a simulation on youth participation in Kyrgyzstan was developed. During the simulation game, the participants have the task to decide on thematic priorities for youth development in their city as well as concrete activities, which should be financed from the communal budget. Via a training of training, local facilitators were enabled to make use of the simulation in workshops for youth leaders from 20 municipalities. Apart from the simulation, the workshops included exercises on formal and informal ways of participation as well as reflections on the situation of young people in the respective communities. In a final step, a workshop for community representatives has been conducted, raising their awareness on the value of youth participation.
Project Goals
The consultancy pursued the following three objectives:
- To develop the competences of young people in taking part in decision making processes on a local level
- To increase the awareness of municipality workers about the importance of youth participation
- To develop innovative practices for youth participation
Target Groups
Within the framework of the consultancy, we worked with two main target groups:
A) Youth leaders: These were young people active in youth development efforts in the targeted municipalities, who took part in the local workshops. They were recruited among school and university students, youth center activists, CSO representatives and young teachers.
B) Community representatives: These were staff members of the local administration of the participating municipalities. The group included among others, head and deputy heads of municipalities, youth workers and specialists of the social departments.