Activism by and for young people – a series of online workshops for young activists in Central Europe – organised in the framework of Reclaim Our Civil Space! project
25 May, 30 May, 22 June, online
Partners of the project have for the past 3 years assisted groups of young people in several countries to organise themselves, participate and become involved in issues that matter to them. Most of these are not unique to one country or another, but concern us all in Central Europe, therefore we believe it is worth learning about the strategies, actions and successes from one another.
With this series, we would like to provide inspiration, information and an opportunity to meet and exchange with young people engaged in similar issues all over Central Europe, in three themes.
The workshops will take place online and take about two hours each, in English. All of them will combine short presentations, interactive discussions and small group exercises. You are free to join any or all of them – details of registration below!
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Starter Pack – First vote
Are you ready to vote at elections for the first time? Let’s talk about how we can prepare ourselves for the first vote!
This session will be a conversation about what you’d expect from your ideal leader and how to prepare yourself before going to vote. We invite young people reaching voting age to come and share their thoughts on the expected profile of candidates in their communities, motivation to go to vote and managing the anticipation about election results. Pretty serious stuff but we promise to approach them in a funny and relaxed way.
The workshop will be facilitated by Antonia Pup – she is currently the advocacy coordinator at Romanian Academic Society and a history student, former President of the Students’ National Council in Romania. In this capacity, she was involved in several campaigns in a leading role aimed at improving the access of students to education (free travel on national public transport for all students or equal access to online education guaranteed during the Covid 19 pandemic).
Who can participate – young people reaching voting age (16+) from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.
Date: May 25 (Thursday) at 6 p.m. CET/ 7 p.m. EET,
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Volunteering and sustainable travel around the world with traveller Slávek Král
Slávek Král has been traveling for 9 years: he hitchhiked around the world twice and spent at least half a year on every inhabited continent. He covered over 300,000 km in more than 86 countries and 21 states in the USA, lectures at the biggest festivals, exhibits his photos and wrote a book: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Globe.
With his experience Slavek will give you tips on how you can travel low-cost and contribute to nature conservation at the same time. He will show you how people live in eco-villages, communities or self-sufficiently in the middle of the jungle and how individuals can also change the world around them. Slávek will also tell you how he worked as a volunteer in different parts of the world and what unforgettable experiences he had while breeding horses in Malawi, in the rice fields of Japan, cutting trails with a machete in Brazil, on a farm in Canada, Iceland, New Zealand or Hawaii, as an English teacher in Kenya, or as a beekeeper in Australia. Come and be inspired by his incredible stories and learn about the path to sustainable living on this planet!
Date: May 30 (Tuesday) 6 p.m. CET/ 7 p.m. EET
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Another school is possible!*
Have you ever wanted to make a difference in your school’s life or the way things happen in your community? Do you believe in or feel like speaking out? In making your voice and ideas not only heard, but also considered and integrated in the next changes your school management undertakes or in the actions your community initiates to make change in your town/village, so that life is more interesting and provides activities, places, events that are needed by the young people locally?
If you believe that your ideas are good for you and your peers and that adults and authorities (at school or community level) need to hear them and make them count, you are invited to join our online webinar, which is intended to bring together the voices of young people, high school students, aged 16-19 years from Central and Eastern European countries in a meeting to discuss and share ideas and propositions for change.
Date: June 22 (Thursday), 15:30 CET/16.30 EET
How to participate?
All three events are open to young people (of the indicated ages) from Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia) free of charge. The link to join online (along with the event agenda) will be sent to registered participants ahead of the event date. You should register by filling this form https://docs.google.com/forms/
All workshops will be held in English, without interpretation, so participants must be able to understand and speak the language – but don’t worry if you are not fluent, we will help each other and listen to everyone!
If you are a minor, please bear in mind that we need your parents’ agreement for participation (please check the form and conditions to participate).
In case of questions, please contact: Bálint Farkas at reclaimourcivilspace@gmail.com