YOUth in ACTivism
youth PROJECT
YOUth in ACTivism Exchange took place in Ommen, the Netherlands between 19th-28th of August 2018.
40 individuals from the 8 participating countries of the project met together, in order to experience 10 days of a dynamic skills-based program and focus on exploring Activism and the LGTBQIA+ Spectrum.
During the program, the inspiring Activists:
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Got to connect, network and created an empowering learning environment and safe space
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Experienced different non-formal and informal learning methods - fostering theirs and each other's learning, self-awareness and overall competencies
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Exchanged about the LGBTQIA+ Spectrum, activism and realities, sharing personal stories and experiences
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Met with inspiring Dutch Local NGO's and activists, in Amsterdam, Den Haag and Breda
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Put in practice their media skills and produced tutorial videos on different topics of their interest, about the LGBTQIA+ Spectrum and activism
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Went on bike trips, discovering the Overijssel province of the Netherlands with its beatuiful landscapes and intercultural aspects
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Organized and performed Street Actions in the city of Zwolle, raising awareness about the LGBTQIA+ Spectrum.
hOW DID IT LOOK LIKE?
You have a wonderful opportunity to get to know the current Changemakers & innovators - our amazing participants and team leaders ready to inspire change in the world!
Watch out for their initiatives!
meet the activists
daily reportages
Every day we asked our change-makers to create a reportage of what they have experienced during the day.
Swipe left and right in the album in order to see & read how they have enjoyed each day of the project!
local NGO's visit
In day 4 of the program, participants had an amazing chance to experience a different kind of activism while visiting local Dutch NGO's, where they had the possibility to learn new information, get inspired and ask all their burning questions.
Each group had the chance to visit one organisation and later on prepare materials in order to share their learnings and insights with the rest of the team and now with you too.
Check out what moved them the most!
video tutorials
This year's Youth Project is based on the idea of exploring and practising Activism.
As "online" activism is one of the major types of taking action to effect social change in our nowadays digitalised world, our activists were set to a task to explore this setting.
In their small teams, the group seized the opportunity to work on different topics about the LGBTQIA+ Spectrum and activism in an interactive way - becoming themselves videomakers and producing a series of tutorial videos, transferring their knowledge and experiences.
Have a look further into the outcomes and video creations and maybe some of the information is really useful to you as well, like how to set boundaries, how to be present for a friend in times of need, how to establish healthy relationships, how to create better LGBT+ representation in the media, how to break the stereotypes about bisexual people and how to have a more ecological approach during the Pride Parades?
Check out what tutorial videos team leaders and participants made in summer during the APV (advanced planned visit).
boundaries
This video can make you feel
uncomfortable, but it's totally fine.
Everyone has boundaries and there is no shame to
have them.
You can always refuse and you don't have to explain why - it's ok to have boundaries.
signs of depression
This stop animation video opens up the door to the Magical Kingdom of mental health in a heart-warming way - providing you with a new insight and perspective about depression and the stigma that surrounds it.
Soon, an updated version of the episode will be uploaded - in which you can also find additional information about where to seek (self)-help. Stay tuned!
healthy relationships
This video is made with humour in which you are encouraged to evaluate your relationships and create positive, nurturing ones early on. In the video there is emphasis on the main components that healthy relationships consist of and encourage you to take self-care seriously.
LGBT+ representation in media
This video in a humorous way equips you with 5 awesome tips + a Bonus one, for a good representation of the LGBT+ community in the mass media (movies and television series)!
breaking stereotypes about bisexual people
This video is a short tutorial on how to make a bisexual. It will give you all the most common stereotypes that you need to use in order to complete this task. You just follow the instructions and combine some physical attributes with certain attitudes, and here you have it: a real bisexual! But is it really that easy? The video will give you the answer to this question and a message of individuality and equality.
PRIDE AND ECOLOGY
This video in an amusing way, supplies you with tips and solutions on how to organize more ecological Pride Parades, taking care of the sustainability of the event.
Coming soon at your screens.
street actions
One of the major forms of Activism that participants and team leaders got to practice by the end of the program was Street Actions.
After a fruitful brainstorming about types of street actions and what they mean to each individual, the group divided themselves into smaller teams, identifying topics and methods they want to develop and implement.
In total 6 actions took place parallelly in the centre of Zwolle, in the Netherlands, giving the opportunity to the teams to interact with the inhabitants there and raising awareness on important topics.
They prepared activities such as sharing a moment of silence with the people on the streets, street art and drawings, sharing a hug, playing crossword games, breaking stereotypes by labelling people as well as having a silent protest for those community members who are not here anymore.
disconnect to connect
When was the last time you shared a moment of ... silence with yourself or with someone else?
We tend to forget about the real connection between human beings, focused too much on our busy lives, notifications on the phones, and lots of information all around us. The aim of the project and this street action was to connect to others without knowing the person who was facing you. No labels, no stereotypes, just a pure connection...