About the portal 'Youth has impact'

This portal aims to inspire including young people in decision-making processes at schools and local communities by developing student councils and municipal youth councils.

We present here three kinds of content:

• Practical guidelines for teachers and youth animators – guidebooks and scenarios for lessons and educational projects
• Examples of good practices from Poland and other countries
• Knowledge resources – research results, practical  texts and Polish translations of foreign publications that help to see youth participation in a broad context.

This portal is developed in the framework of the project  “Youth has impact. Involving young people in decision-making processes at schools and local communities.” This project aims to work out, implement in six municipalities and widely disseminate a model of youth participation at schools and local communities.

By ‘model’ we mean an approach that is:

• Simple, based on everyday cooperation and regular activities
  We believe that active citizenship is a process, not an event that happens from time to time. That it is a kind of awareness of and sensitivity to different needs and interest, and that it is a regular cooperation of all stakeholders with the aim to satisfy the various needs.

• Based on belief in the potential of young people
  Treating young people seriously, keeping promises given to them, providing proper information, careful listening, partnership and openness to the ideas and needs of young people as well as mutual respect – are the values and approaches that constitute good cooperation.

• Subject of reflection, evaluation and adjustment
  We encourage to reflect on the experience of cooperation, to set aims and evaluate the scope of results and to try various working methods to respond to current needs.

There are six municipalities participating in the project  ‘Youth has impact’ and 50 schools. They are committed to:

1. Work out in an inclusive and democratic process and approve in a secret vote of all pupils a Statute of the Student Union
2. Organize transparent elections to the representation of the Student Union
3. Organize 2 debates  with pupils on school matters in each of the 50 schools
4. Organize regular (monthly) meetings of the school authorities with pupills
5. Carry out 2 consultations with pupils
6. Implement initiatives initiated by pupils
7. Involve the municipal youth council in public consultations
8. Encourage municipal youth council to carry out their own consultations with peers
9. Organise 2 community debates with the municipal youth council
10. Organise regular (monthly) meetings between municipal youth councils and local authorities
11. Facilitate regular contact between municipal youth council and their peers

Those activities will be carried out based on the guidebooks, educational projects and lessons scenarios developed in the first phase of the project.

The project is managed by the Civis Polonus Foundation in cooperation the Field of Dialogue Foundation (Fundacja Pole Dialogu). Moreover, the Centre for Lifelong Learning and Community Engagement (CLLCE) of the Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a partner in the project and contributes by sharing its experience during the two conferences organized within the project (March 2013 and March 2014), study visits in UK and Poland and input to the publications prepared in this project. Contact persons from CLLCE are also inspiring advisors in the project team. Dr. Shukra is also currently working on an evaluation of the Young Mayor's Programme in Lewisham and it is a very intresting topic for our project team.

The Field of Dialogue Foundation takes care of:

• Coordinating PR activities to develop a debate on civic education
• Organising study visits
• Research on existing knowledge
• Coordinating preparation of two publications – one printed reader and one practical guidebook available on-line.

The project is supported by a grant from Switzerland through the Swiss Contribution to the enlarged European Union