The international activity “How e-mazing is your organization?” will offer 35 young people an introduction to the topic of e-participation and encourage them to contribute to the civil society through activities initiated on the web.

The event will be organized in the Naturefriends House De Berk in Belgium, 2-7 May 2016 and will combine networking elements – focused on good practice sharing; capacity building sessions – which will provide space to gain fundamental knowledge about e-participation and e-volunteering in particular; and reflection sessions – to analyse own situation and actions.

By learning about e-participation we also want to acknowledge the importance of offline communication in order to find a good balance between working with a screen and healthy outdoor non-screen activities. And thus critically reflect on the benefits and disadvantages of both sides of the coin.

The programme will be based on non-formal education methods and demand an active involvement from the participants, who are expected to develop their digital competences. By getting familiar with innovative tools participants will be able to enhance their active involvement in the international youth work as well as their civic engagement. They will also learn to understand the disadvantages and dangers of online communication and they will become confident and independent users of various online tools. Furthermore the improvement of digital competences will affect directly social and civic competences, as the online participation should lead to more active participation in the society.

“How e-mazing is your organization?” will be organized in a close cooperation between the IYNF Presidium and Secretariat and will be supported by the local group of volunteers from our Belgian member organization ATB de Natuurvrienden.

Why e-Participation?

In the past years IYNF has been focusing increasingly on topics and actions related to online involvement. We organized webinars, released online publications, created a Social Media strategy and founded a network of online volunteers, which played a very important role in the initial phase of the implementation of the first IYNF online project – ECOmaps. We realized that in order to keep up with a fast changing environment and society, we need to stay innovative and continue to improve our strategies. The combination of the above mentioned activities has led us to declare 2016 as the IYNF Year of e-Participation.

During 2016 we will focus on improving our work related to online involvement, searching for tools to increase participation of young people and providing new opportunities to get active on the international level. As an organization with a strong tradition in outdoor activities we want to explore ways to connect our values and traditional ways of organizing meetings and camps with the technological development. On the other hand, we want to encourage critical reflection on society and make young people realize the importance of having a balance between the time spent looking at a screen and healthy outdoor activities, as well as to use communication technologies as a means to intervene more actively in the civil society.

We believe that e-Participation is a transversal concept that allows us to active an active voice in different matters of our society. You can find an explanation of e-Participation from a political perspective on this website.

Additional info also at:

https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/eparticipation

https://www.salto-youth.net/rc/participation/eparticipation/

Criteria & Objectives

This activity is open to representatives from the IYNF network, delegates of IYNF member organizations and other youth organizations that share common values & are willing to join our network.

The priority in selection procedure will be given to applicants who are currently active in the Naturefriends movement and to applicants below 30 years of age.

Previous experience in e-participation topics such as social media, online communication, e-volunteering, e-activism, digital storytelling or other digital social engagement tools are an advantage. However young people with some or no experience in e-participation whatsoever are more than welcome to participate, as long as they show their motivation.

One of the main goals of this meeting is to create a core group of dedicated IYNF e-participation enthusiasts. They are expected to participate in the 3 main IYNF activities of 2016, become the e-experts of IYNF and to become leaders on various working groups for future IYNF projects. You can find more information in the attachment file.

The particular objectives of the activity are:

• to explore existing resources and share good practice (projects and publications from other organizations and IYNF local and national groups);
• to increase awareness about the importance and opportunities of e-participation and provide good introduction to the topic;
• to discuss the limits of e-participation and to define what is the „online identity“ of a Naturefriend / young environmentalist / young European;
• to introduce the concept of e-volunteering and IYNF recent experience with it;

Practical information:

Venue: The activity will be kindly hosted by the local group of Belgian Naturefriends from ATB de Natuurvrienden at the Naturefriends House De Berk in Essen, near Antwerp, Belgium.

Date: 2 – 7 May 2016.

Information for the IYNF member organizations: The IYNF General Assembly will happen on the 7th May, therefore the participants of the activity who are chosen to be the GA delegates are expected to prolong their stay by one day.

Costs: There is no participation fee; food and accommodation will be fully covered and at least 66% of travel costs will be reimbursed. (IYNF continuously encourages green mobility by offsetting CO2 of international air travels, as well as by fostering use of other means of more nature-friendly travel options. Therefore IYNF expects you to choose the most sustainable way of transportation, only 2nd class/economy class tickets can be reimbursed. For flights and travelling by car prior approval of the Secretariat will be needed)

Participation Rules: Participants are expected to be present at least 80% of the working time. If you are not able to fulfil this condition, please discuss with the Secretariat prior to your application. Violation of this rule might result in IYNF not being able to reimburse your travel costs.

How to apply: Please fill in the following online form.

Application deadline: 13 March 2016

Eligible Countries: Europe (Council of Europe member states)

If you have any questions, please write to henrique@iynf.org.

We look forward to receiving your application!

The IYNF Team

This activity is kindly supported by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe and the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.