Digital advocacy for active citizens

27 March 2022

Program: Erasmus+, KA1 – Youth Exchange
Project leader: Youth on Board (North Macedonia)
Place of action: Štip, North Macedonia
Timeframe of the project: 29 May – 5 June 2022
Partners: 

• Poland – Reflections on Europe 
• Croatia – AYES – Association for Youth Empowerment and Security  
• Turkey – Danube Youth Association
• Portugal – Youth Cluster
• Romania – AT Onix

The main goal of the project is to strengthen young people’s advocacy skills through modern methods and tools, including digitization and the use of online platforms.

Through project activities, young people had the opportunity to learn about strong tools that they can use in their social activity, but also in everyday life. Through the project, participants learned what advocacy and lobbying means, what digital society and the digitization of processes mean, developed their e-skills and learned how to use e-skills in advocacy strategies, what channels they can use, how to clearly define the message you are aiming for, and how to negotiate.

As a result, young people became more active in social processes and gained and strengthened their national and European sense. Young people became the creators of social processes in their local environment and the creators of their own future.

The skills that young people have developed during the exchange include:

• detecting and recognizing problems in society;
• research and find the source of the problem;
• electronic communication;
• digitization, digital literacy and media expression;
• e-skills to raise the problem to the level of a youth interview;
• grouping and e-collaboration;
• clear goal-setting for solving the problem;
• creating skills and conducting e-campaigns;
• finding and engaging influencers or celebrities to help with the e-campaign;

During the exchange we were represented by Dominika, Antek, Maciek and Mary.

Young people had the opportunity to develop their soft skills, improve their language and learn a lot among their peers from Turkey, Portugal, Romania, Croatia and North Macedonia.

At the beginning, the participants gained the necessary knowledge to then carry out their own campaigns. Each of them worked in an international group to create a group campaign on health, local youth involvement, education and the future of the EU.

Then, using social media, each of them prepared their own social campaign. In the meantime, there were of course tasks integrating the group, energizers and activities in the park or city.

The coaches took care of providing participants with various attractions. The young people visited the capital of North Macedonia – Skopje, visiting the most important places there, as well as the beautiful Matka Canyon.

“I love youth exchanges because I can meet people and their cultures there. I learned a lot there and I know that I can get even more out of it. I am looking forward to the next projects” says Antek, participant of the exchange.

The result of this exchange is a handbook called “4 Steps to Reach the Goal”, a step-by-step guide for people who want to create their digital advocacy campaign. It was created to define the framework for the integration of technology with activities for youth in order to contribute to social change. The handbook is available at the link:  https://youthonboard.com.mk/…/4-steps-to-reach-the-goal…

In addition to the mentioned handbook, there were also a website created. There you can find general information about the project, its participants and their online campaigns. In addition, you can read the interviews with the participants of the exchange and read the previously mentioned guide. Link to the page: https://e-advocacy.youthonboard.com.mk