The Award is a cross-border project (Slovenia-Croatia) financed by the Erasmus+ program. It was created by Youth Centre Šentjur in response to the multi-year challenge of poor response when involving young people in various activities in the local community and in local organizations.
By participating in the project, young people have the opportunity to gain new knowledge, skills and, above all, experience, meet new people and build their own social networks.
Young people are motivated to actively participate in the local community by the rewards offered by the program for a certain number of collected points. Young people collect points by actively spending their free time, which requires a certain degree of self-initiative to either get involved in the offered activities or find suitable activities in the local environment on their own. Volunteering, new knowledge and skills, building social networks, implementation of own projects and the acquisition of leadership skills are encouraged. Participation in the program gives young people positive affirmation, which has a positive impact on their self-esteem.
What does the project bring to the environment and target groups?
The project brings a new approach to motivating young people to participate in activities in local communities, which indirectly promote active citizenship, acquisition of new knowledge, skills, employment competencies and also intergenerational cooperation and involvement of young people in decision-making processes in the local community. For the local community, the project activates young people who recognize the opportunities in the local community, have a positive self-image, know how to set goals and realize them, take the initiative and actively participate in the local community.
What are the target groups?
The target group is young people aged 13 to 30 who either want to be actively involved in the local community, gain new knowledge, skills and experience, or young people who are in the period of searching for their own identity, who need a safe and stimulating environment to they take the first steps towards getting to know themselves, gaining affirmation, and building a positive self-image.
A special target group is local non-governmental organizations and public institutions, which can offer young people activities in which they can get involved.
What is the response?
The first response of young people was measured during the testing period of the web application and the responses of the test groups were good, young people suggested improvements and corrections, which were then introduced into the web application.
Who are the partners (cross-border component)?
The partner organization is the Zagor Network of Associations from Zabok, Croatia. The network of Zagor associations is a non-governmental organization. It was created on the initiative of youth associations of Krapina-Zagorje County in 2007. They work in the field of representing the interests of young people and their involvement in decision-making processes in the region. Within their organization, there is a day center for young people, an info center for young people and a volunteer center. They offer young people participation in various programs in the field of personal growth, non-formal education, as well as the opportunity to participate in various projects that they develop or. implemented.