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How Youth Participates in European Realities
Start date: May 11, 2015, End date: Nov 10, 2015 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Youth participation, a field of action of the EU Youth Strategy (2010-2018), figured in recent years among the priorities for cooperation between the European Commission and the Member States. The Revised European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life claimed that "The active participation of young people in decisions and actions at local and regional level is essential if we are to build more democratic, inclusive and prosperous societies" The Declaration “The future of the Council of Europe youth policy: AGENDA 2020”2 regards "young people’s active participation in democratic processes and structures and equal opportunities for the participation of all young people in all aspects of their everyday lives" a key priority. The participation and active citizenship is about having the right, means, space, opportunity and, when necessary, support to participate and influence in decisions and to take part in actions and activities to build a better society. But the perception of many young people is that we live in a society that progressively tending more towards individualism and indifference, in which each individual only cares about his own needs. HYPER (How Youth Participates in European Realities) project aimed to encourage youth participation by promoting a broader understanding of the notion of participation, enabling the knowledge of different forms of participation in local communities and discovering how new (or alternative) ways of civic engagement promote social movements and broaden the definition of participation. The project has successfully promoted the exchange of ideas and social awareness of young participants. In addition, it has promoted a model of healthy leisure, environmental activities, teamwork, tolerance and peaceful coexistence, cultural and social knowledge of the local community , focusing on the enhancement of social participation as a transformative element of our areas. Both during the preparation and development of the Youth Exchange, the youngsters have delved into the youth participation through knowledge of various associations and collaborating with them, to realizing differences in participation between participating countries. Through an active and participative methodology and in an educational way young people have achieved the goals of discovering different forms of citizen participation, they have had discussion groups about participation, they have found opportunities to develop voluntary work in different organizations of the town, etc. Participation in this exchange has served to youngsters to strengthen their associative experience, teamwork, decision-making and the assumption of responsibilities, relationships with different classes and social groups and the delegation of functions. The preparation of this type of project is a unique experience as school participation. The project has also served to contribute to their intercultural education and their European awareness as they have learnt to respect and understand other cultures 30 youngsters participated in this bilateral exchange for adolescents with no prior or low experience in the Erasmus+ program, that has been held in Caspe for 10 days (1st to 10th July 2015)
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