A strong civil society is essential for democracy and the rule of law. A diverse and pluralist civil society has paramount importance in achieving sustainable and inclusive development, good governance and responsible citizenship. One of the key factors ensuring that democracy and human rights are guaranteed is to encourage young people to take an active role in society. The Council of Europe’s recent work on the issue of youth participation affirms that the younger generations are, in fact, very much committed to actively address issues in their communities and wider society.
To further strengthen this activism, authorities and civil society organisations should ensure that young people, especially those coming from the religious communities, are included in civic spaces. Therefore, it is crucial to elevate young voices when promoting democracy, human rights, justice and peace on all levels, from local to global.
The capacity-building of our member movements and young people with a shared agenda on justice and peace has always been one of our key activities. We continue to support youth participation, active citizenship, access to rights and opportunities, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Advocacy and Solidarity Working Group is inviting representatives of the WSCF member movements from Europe and beyond and a number of young people from partner organisations to take part in its first Winter School, titled “You(th) Voice: Faith and Advocacy for human rights in the 21st century”, which will be run online, from 27th to 30th November 2020.
Aims and objectives
The Winter School aims to educate and empower young people to participate in civil society, addressing the issues that affect their lives and the communities they live in.
The specific objectives we set for this training course are to:
- helping participants find empowerment in the unique intersection of religion/church and civil rights;
- helping uproot the political movement that seeks to obstruct the exercise of the most vital rights and
freedoms;
- providing historical background on the human rights movement and the role that religions/churches played
in civil rights movements worldwide;
- providing specific insight into the work of some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and International Organisations (IOs);
- creating a safe and constructive environment for conversations about the future and establishing strong cooperation between young people from Europe and beyond, encouraging them to advocate and plan common campaigns and activities;
- motivating young people to further share the information and experience they will gain during the training course in their communities and movements, in particular through the development and implementation of their actions and campaigns; and
- training young people in advocacy skills, and enabling them to formulate policy arguments, communicate with confidence and deliver effectively.
Programme
The training programme will include daily online sessions built on non-formal education principles and participant-oriented approaches. The project leadership team will ensure that the entire programme is based on the active participation of young people. We expect that the invited delegates will interact and exchange with the trainers, facilitators of the sessions and with other participants of the training course.
During the 4-day training programme, young people will have opportunities to learn from interactive lectures, field experts’ talks, discuss case studies, work in pairs, small and big groups, receive individual support from the trainers in the form of the mentoring sessions, gain knowledge on various advocacy tools and methods, reflect during daily debriefings, share their own experience, best practices and develop a clear vision on how to maximise outcomes for their communities and movements.
To ensure the smooth and efficient learning process of the training course, the number of selected participants to take part in the Winter School will be limited (max. 30 people). Therefore, selected participants must commit to taking part in the whole duration of the training course – that means that participating in all daily sessions is obligatory and direct and personal interaction between the participants and organisers of the Winter School will be expected.
All selected participants will receive full technical and on-boarding support for three weeks before the Winter School. A detailed daily programme and all other relevant documents will be provided before the start of the Winter School. The working language of the training programme will be English.
The detailed programme, which details the sessions of the Winter School and the speakers involved, is now available here.
Profile of participants
We invite the students and young people from WSCF member movements in Europe, WSCF member movements in other regions, representatives of WSCF-Europe partner organisations, youth leaders, youth activists, youth workers who:
- commit to take part in the daily online sessions, contribute to the discussions and exchange with the experts, facilitators of the sessions and other participants on the issues raised during the Winter School;
- have experience or interest in actively participating in society or policy-making at local and/or regional levels;
- are willing to bring valuable insight from their own countries and communities in regards to human rights and civic participation;
- are open and motivated to cooperation and common understanding; are
- willing to further share the information obtained during the training course and disseminate the results within their movements and communities.
Application procedure and selection of participants
Young people interested in taking part in the Winter School must submit the completed application form ASAP, in order to receive the programme materials. Participation in the entire programme is compulsory, and it is not possible to attend only one session of the training course.
The leadership team of the Winter School will select the participants based on their motivation and will ensure that invited participants represent a balanced group with regards o gender, geography, cultural and religious background and experience.
Selected young people will receive the confirmation of acceptance to the training course shortly after the application deadline.
All enquiries related to the Winter School should be sent the email address winterschool@wscf-europe.org.
The leadership team is looking forward to hearing from you and receiving your applications for the Winter School.
Julia Alexandra Pocze, WSCF-Europe Programme Coordinator
Marta Sappé Griot, European Representative on the WSCF Executive Committee
Shoghakat Muradyan, WSCF-Europe Treasurer
Natia Tsintsadze, WSCF Executive for Europe & Program Director for Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation
