Napoca Porolissum LAG Association Celebrates the Successful Completion of the Erasmus+ Rural Youth Parliament Project

Napoca Porolissum Local Action Group (LAG) Association implemented innovative initiatives for the involvement and engagement of young people in rural areas.

CLUJ-NAPOCA, CLUJ, ROMANIA, January 10, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The main results of the project include:
- Best practice guide for transnational cooperation in rural youth engagement
- Methodology for organising rural youth parliaments as tools for active youth involvement in disadvantaged communities
- Implementation of 2 rural youth parliaments in 2 countries
- At least 20 youth workers better trained to work with young people in rural areas
- At least 20 rural youth with improved attitudes towards democracy
- A project website
- Social media channels for the project
- A network and collaboration between the 4 partner organisations from Romania, Finland, Lithuania and France.

By implementing the project, the partners aimed at two main outcomes: Best practice guide for transnational cooperation in rural youth involvement and Methodology for organising rural youth parliaments as tools for active youth involvement in disadvantaged communities.

This guide is an excellent tool for youth workers as it collects information, methods, examples of activities and local best practices for youth involvement. The guide is easily accessible and can be found on the project website and is free to download. This methodology aims to be interactive and not just theoretical. Its main purpose is to provide best methods for organising a rural youth parliament, including logistical aspects, selection of participants, motivation of participants to want to be part of the rural youth parliament.

Simulated Rural Youth Parliament

Through practical, engaging and interactive activities, the project promoted the development of positive skills and attitudes towards democratic values and active citizenship. The simulation of a rural youth parliament was used as a powerful educational tool, providing young people with the opportunity to develop essential skills such as public debate, expression of opinions, public speaking, negotiation and critical thinking.

Through these objectives, the partners aimed to develop an active community of engaged young people, able to propose and implement local projects, uphold democratic values and become active citizens. The project contributed to the creation and strengthening of transnational partnerships, ensuring permanent access to ideas, opinions, tools and digital innovations to support the missions and objectives of organisations at local, regional and international level.

The locations where we organised the simulation of the rural youth parliament using the first two results of the project Innovative Methodology for Organising Rural Youth Parliaments and Best Practice Guide for Rural Youth Involvement in Romania are:

20.05.2023 - Bucharest, Romania

28.06.2023 - Sângeorz-Băi, Bistrița-Năsăud

25.07.2023 - Slănic-Moldova, Bacău

09.08.2023 - Potoceni, Buzău

26.08.2023 - Căpușu Mare, Cluj

09.09.2023 - Băbeni, Vâlcea

16.09.2023 - Tulucești, Galati

17.11.2023 - Bilbor, Harghita

25.11.2023- Bucharest, second edition

25.11.2023- Vorniceni, Straseni district, Republic of Moldova

This experience revealed that young people in rural areas are full of ideas and desire to contribute to their communities. With the right support, their confidence grows and their creativity shines.

In addition to organising mock rural youth parliaments in different regions, the project also included activities to support participants' personal development, as well as encouraging increased self-confidence and public speaking skills.

Claudiu Iancu, our youth worker, was instrumental in creating a Rural Youth Parliament within our territory. By training others involved in youth work, Claudiu has helped to develop an environment that is conducive for young people to open up and develop. The importance of forming an educated generation, aware of their rights and able to defend their point of view becomes evident in the current social and political context.

We have found it essential to invest in young people and give them the tools to become active and responsible citizens. Through our project, it has created a network of educated young people who are able to organise and collaborate for the development of the country.

In addition to mock parliaments, we have also organised meetings with young people, including two participations in the Romanian Parliament. The first meeting brought together young representatives from all regions of the country, contributing to the formation of the Rural Youth Parliament. The second meeting involved a group of young people from Beliș, giving them training to become active leaders in their local community.

Our aim is to develop an active community of young people involved, able to propose local projects and support their implementation in order to contribute to the sustainable development of Romania. We are proud of what has been achieved so far and are determined to continue supporting and encouraging young people in rural areas.

Napoca Porolissum LAG is committed to using these exceptional ideas that young people have to contribute to the development of rural areas in Romania. Young people are the future and their enthusiasm for a better world is an inspiration to us all.

After the end of the EU funding, we are committed to maintaining and expanding the impact of this project by:

- Continuing the cooperation between the 4 partner organisations and their activities with young people

- Maintaining the results on the project website, YouTube channel and social media accounts for continued impact

- Turning the Youth Parliaments into annual simulations organised by the partner organisations and other interested organisations

- Use the methods and practices acquired in the project in new initiatives for environmental protection and climate change in rural areas

- Managing the website and organising the Youth Parliaments with limited resources, covered by our own sources as well as writing and implementing new projects with European funds to help us take this work forward

For further information, please contact us at contact@napocaporolissum.ro.

PADUREAN BIANCA CLUJ TODAY PRESS
Cluj Today Press SRL
email us here
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
YouTube

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.