Workshop announcement: meaningful participation of young people

MAKE IT HAPPEN!
Tuesday 9 June 2009
9.30 – 15.00 h    
‘How can I assist our counterparts to make participation of young people meaningful?
STOP AIDS NOW! warmly invites you to a workshop on Meaningful Participation of Young People. In this workshop we will introduce you to a manual that was developed by the SAN! OVC development project in South Africa. With a variety of presentations, discussions and exercises, we hope to give you the necessary information and skills to further stimulate meaningful participation in the projects of your counterparts.

Goal of the workshop
In this workshop we will make you familiar with a manual on meaningful participation (based on the SYP model). After this day, you will be able to actively share and promote this tool with your counterparts. The ultimate goal is to improve projects servicing youth and children by including these youth and children actively (and meaningfully) in the ideas, design, implementation and evaluation of projects that are targeting them.

What is meaningful participation?
Young people have a right to participate in matters affecting them.  This right is founded upon spiritual and humanitarian values, and enshrined in international and national legislation.  There is overwhelming evidence that the participation of young people leads to better outcomes for projects, programmes and organisations.  Through their participation young people learn, develop and are empowered.  The participation of young people is integral to the democratic ethos and strengthens society.

Capturing good practice in an accessible and transferable form
The SYP model evaluates the stage of the youth’s involvement in decision-making within an organisation. How this can be applied in a development organisation, will be discussed in detail in the workshop. Furthermore the case studies of the various participating organisations in the SAN! project in South Africa will be discussed to give examples of how youth participation can be increased at different levels within an organisation.

Practical information
The workshop will be held on Tuesday 9 June, 2009 in The Hague (9.30 – 15.00, Cordaid office). Milly Siebrits, director of the South African Scouts Association (SASA) and participant of the Meaningful Participation Learning Track of the SAN! OVC Development project in South Africa, will be our facilitator. The workshop will be in English!
Please register yourself for this workshop before 26 May with Charissa van der Vlies at STOP AIDS NOW! (cvandervlies@stopaidsnow.nl) For more information you can contact:  Doortje ’t Hart, project coordinator OVC development project of SAN! (dthart@stopaidsnow.nl).