On 19 June 2019, the first event within the Be Active – Shape Europe (BASE) project, a structured dialogue with young people, took place at the Secondary School of Hospitality and Tourism in Maribor. The event was also attended by a representative of the Travel Association of Slovenia – Igor Jurišič and a representative of the Association of Friends of Youth Maribor (ZPM) – Tadeja Dobaj.
The purpose of the event was to get to know the youth work in Maribor and the activities intended for young people and the ideas of young people that would contribute to the enrichment of these programs. Through activities and implementation methodology, we contributed to the restoration of trust in the values of the European Union and encouraged young people to active participation and political activity through the topic of structured dialogue (in our case, the formulation of proposals for activities for young people in summer). Last but not least, the BASE project aims at a structured discussion between young people and decision-makers in order to increase their active participation at all levels and thus contribute to the development of society at local and European level. Throughout the process, we addressed the values of democracy, multiculturalism and social cohesion, which are also the “red thread” of the entire project.
At the beginning, young people got to know the project itself – BASE, organizations MKC Maribor, Travel Association of Slovenia and ZPM Maribor and their programs for summer 2019. They also touched the website (Youth Maribor and Volunteering in Maribor), which lists all organizations from Maribor and links to their websites and contacts.
The young participants then answered the question in groups: If you were to create a tailor-made summer, what activities would you like? In the end, the young people presented the proposals, and we took notes and commented on them.
The proposals of young people will be gathered in a document that will be shared between youth organizations, youth organizations and other stakeholders who create activities for young people, so that only they can include them in their summer programs.
The preparation and implementation of the event took place between 9:00 – 13:00.
photo: Mitja Florjanc