Project
Project Description
We nowadays need the involvement and action of young people in our communities and democracies. The world seems to get more complicated than ever with the impact of societal issues such as the covid-19 and climate crises.
The YES-SI project aims at training young people and youth workers towards becoming active democratic leaders and using digital activism tools and practises to look for possible solutions to these problems and drive positive community change.
We believe this can be achieved through Social Innovation, a collaborative and collective learning process for the empowerment and socio/political activation of students to drive social change no matter their professional pathways.
This is why YES-SI project will develop an online and offline incubation program, the Changemakers LABS, to facilitate the application of Social Innovation to the youth sector. These Changemakers LABS will be based on different training modules and will also enable youth to meet (with other youngsters, youth workers and city stakeholders) to take action by launching real life projects.
YES-SI will also create an APP which will introduce the elements of crowdfunding through gamification and edutainment at the end of the incubation program of Changemakers LABS.
This will enable young people to create their crowdfunding campaigns for their own projects developed through the Changemakers LABS. The app will be available for free download in this website and the LABs website.
Impact
YES-SI will have a direct impact on the young people who will be supported and trained, through the Changemakers LABs, towards fostering their initiative to pursue social innovation projects and improving their active citizenship skills and Social Innovation mindsets.
Throughout this incubation programme they will be supported with emotional and cognitive resources to continue and finance their work even after their participation in the YES-SI Changemaker LABs. Thanks to YES-SI these young people will also be connected and inspired by other young changemakers around the world through their Stories of Impact and Inspiration.
They will also have the opportunity to liaise directly with mentors and role models, peer groups and city stakeholders to collaborate and be mutually supported in creating and materialising social innovation initiatives. As well as having lasting access to the open resources and network of the YES-SI Changemaker LABs community. YES-SI will also have a direct impact on Youth workers, who will be directly trained to support young people’s personal and collective development through an innovative changemaking approach. They will also have access to various meaningful and custom-made materials for embedding YES-SI methods in their youth work practices, as well as helping young people to get crowdfunding by using the YES-SI Game.
Moreover, city stakeholders who will be directly involved in YES-SI Changemaker LABs, will experience a genuine process of open innovation, and gain the creative ideas and energy of the youngsters. The LABs will be the platform for participants to create city-related solutions, impacting directly in their communities.
Did you know that that YES-SI will promote specific policy messages for EU and national policymakers with the aim to support them design policies and initiatives for supporting more social innovation education initiatives? The training programmes and the YES-SI Changemaker LABs will be offered as a flexible, transferable and highly adaptable platform that will reach more education providers and support youth organisations at an international level.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them2021-1-DE04-KA220-YOU-000029144
