When: 16/09/2012 - 23/09/2012

Where: Tirana, Albania

Contact person: Lira Hakani, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Project description:

Generations of today live on a planet where urban development has main focus of attention and importance. Often the sustainability appraisal is neglected during planning process, as well as the right of public information and participation in decision making. There are different examples in different countries where the pedestrians' space is invaded by urban development and there are not less the cases of civil society reactions and community reactions against such an approach, but they are fragmentized. Meanwhile it is being presented as a Europe-wide problem.

The project will involve organizations from different European countries who work in the field of youth and environmental protection and want to make green changes in their cities by influencing decision makers and raise community awareness.

While running all the activities of the project (practical workshops, outdoor activities, environmental games, presentations) methods of non-formal education will be used (interactive workshops - learning by doing, creative activities, reflection in small groups, discussions, simulation games, role plays, group work and participants' presentations). The last day of the youth exchange will include a one day direct action in the city on the occasion of 22/9, the World Car Free Day.

All participants will be involved in preparing different sessions of the agenda - some of the sessions will be prepared by national teams of participants, others by the international preparatory team composed of the group leaders. In this way, they will develop the feeling of ownership of the action and its outcomes, so the enthusiasm will continue and will be transferred in their own communities after the project is finished.

YEE is the applicant and sending partner of the project and EDEN Center will host the YE.

Aims and objectives

Aims:

The Youth Exchange 'Give pedestrians their city back' aims to share experiences and best practices about the concept and various actions on green cities and also to develop cooperation and common awareness aising actions (campaign) that will be afterwards implemented in several European countries.

Objectives:

The project has the following objectives:

• To exchange and share information, knowledge, experience and ideas in the topic of green cities and public information and participation;
• To share experience and examples of good and bad practices from the different countries by methods of non-formal education;
• To encourage the development of green skills and behaviors;
• To provide young people with the opportunity to learn from each other and to learn by doing;
• To cooperate together and design an international campaign on how to influence decision makers into a green thinking;
• To inspire creativity and entrepreneurship in the youth field;
• To provide space for networking and planning common activities for the future.

The objectives of the one day action are:

• To implement and test the campaign that will be designed during the YE;
• To attract attention of the Tirana Municipality into a green thinking;
• To raise public awareness on their rights to public information and participation;

Participating organisations:

Youth and Environment Europe, Czech Republic

Environmental center for Development Education and Networking, Albania

Oddzial Akademicki Polskiego Towarzystwa Turystyczno-Krajoznawczego w Krakowie (OA PTTK), Poland

NaturKultur /FOEJ-Aktiv, Germany

Organizaçao para a Promoçao dos Ecoclubes, Portugal

Young Researchers of Serbia, Serbia

Center for logistics and transportation, Montenegro

DEM, Macedonia

Funders: