What does it mean to meaningfully engage youth? And how can organizations that already involve young people in their work deepen youth engagement? These were some of the question five community-based organizations working with migrants and refugees in Southeast Europe discussed in May when they met in Belgrade, Serbia, for a three-day convening.
The convening – which also included workshops on wellbeing and communications – was part of an ongoing collaboration between members of the Balkan Refugee Network, a coalition of organizations fighting for the rights and wellbeing of refugees. Most of these organizations are also part of GFC’s Reducing Violence Against Migrant Children in Southeast Europe initiative, which is a partnership with the Swedish Postcode Foundation.
For the youth participation workshop, led by Nino Ugrekhelidze, a feminist activist and Spark Fund panelist from Georgia, the Balkan Refugee Network members invited youth volunteers and young people who work for their organizations to participate. Early into the workshop, Nino divided the participants into two groups – under age 30 and over age 30 – and asked them to define what meaningful youth participation means to them.
In the over-30 group, Jasmin Redjepi, the General Secretary of the North Macedonian organization Legis, said he appreciates that young people bring new ideas and creativity.
“They’re our main way of changing the future,” Jasmin said.
Lovorka Šošić, a Communications Coordinator at the Croatia-based Centre for Peace Studies, said she values the unique perspectives young people contribute to her organization. “They have a different point of view,” she said.
Meanwhile, the under-30 group wrote down their ideas about meaningful youth participation. They included “experience exchange,” “flexibility,” and “opportunities.” Ismail Tufekchi, a youth volunteer with Legis, said he believes meaningful youth participation can help young people with “building our confidence.”
When the participants had finished sharing, Nino remarked that she’d noticed a lot of similarities in their experiences. “Each of us said that [at some point] we felt like a decoration,” she said.
Toward the end of the day, the members of each organization brainstormed ideas for deepening youth participation in their work. The proposals included engaging youth volunteers and young refugees through language and cultural exchange workshops; engaging youth volunteers in advocacy efforts; and offering microcredits and business courses to unaccompanied migrant youth once they turn 18 to help them start their own businesses.
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