At the youth exchange Active Youth, carried out within the framework of the Erasmus+ program with KA1 accreditation, which took place from November 20 to 29, 2022 in Tărgovişte, Romania, organized by Be You (Romania) and its partner organizations: Associazione Link APS (Italy), CET platform Skopje (North Macedonia), DefineTely Maybe Gr (Greece), Seagull Youth Association (Turkey) and European Youth Center Břeclav (Czech Republic); 31 young people from the already mentioned six countries participated. The primary goal of this youth exchange, as its name suggests, was to raise awareness of the key role played by the active participation of young people in the life of the community, in terms of its coherent functioning, in terms of providing equal opportunities for all its members. members, that is, their inclusion and integration in conditions of identity diversity (ethnic, gender, sexual, disability, etc.) and avoidance of conflicts. Hence, considering the marginal position of young people in the processes of making key decisions for the further development of the community, the focus of this project was set on highlighting the existing opportunities for youth participation, as well as on developing new skills to achieve changes in our communities.
During the project we discussed the concepts updated above, paying particular attention to the ideas of community, participation, diversity, and inclusion, but we also addressed the local realities in each of the six participating countries. In addition, we worked in (international) teams, which carried out many researches and presentations, in order, through constant interaction, to discover the meaning of community, citizenship, the degree of participation of young people in the community in their countries and developing strategies for their more active inclusion. In that way, we were able to see the potential of young people to contribute to the life of the community and conclude that encouraging youth participation is crucial for the future development of democratic societies. As material products of these processes of mutual dialogue, several videos and posters emerged, as well as several texts. A visit to several historical buildings in Tărgovişte was also carried out, among which the key place was occupied by the Communist Museum, which was illustrative of the consequences of non-participation, i.e., the violence that leads to the exclusion of members from the community from active participation in the creation of its categories.
Bearing all this in mind, as a category of citizens, which in the future will rise to the positions of power in the community, which currently subjugate it, it is extremely important that young people be activated in social life as early as possible and actively create their future, respecting and integrating the diversities that exist within their communities, but also those within the communities of others. This youth exchange, in that sense, achieved its goal extremely successfully, because it managed to create an international community, which, although it manifested diverse diversities, which its members brought with them, shared common values and strived for a common goal, i.e., increasing the degree of active participation of young people and the inclusion of those with fewer opportunities in six culturally related but distinctive countries.
