The ERASMUS + project saw the discussion “coffee with politicians”

On 10 January, an informal discussion on “coffee with politicians” was held in the municipality of Rezekne, where the Rēzekne municipality, together with members of the ERASMUS + youth mobility programme “Youth actors in Decision Making” from nine European countries, discussed the development of new methods and tools for the involvement of young people in decision-making processes by members of the Rēzekne council and local government employees. The discussion was organised by the municipality of Rezekne in cooperation with THE DYPALL Network (Developing Youth participation at Local Level: promotion of youth participation at local level) and the youth international programme agency.

Before the participants split into groups and jointly discussed various issues related to the involvement of young people and the motivation of young people, the leader of the discussion, the founder of the “NEXT” association and the discussion “coffee with politicians” in Latvia Vilis Broveris said of the beginning and essence of the informal talks “coffee with politicians”: “such a format of discussion occurred in Sweden, but shortly afterwards was successfully adapted to other countries, as the questions everywhere are similar – how to find a successful dialogue between young people and politicians, as politicians make it clear that young people are an important and important resource in local government life and how the ideas of young people can be put into life.“ Since 2008, more than 100 “coffee with politicians” have been organized in Latvia, after which “tangible” results have also been achieved: “In Sabile, young people initiated the resumption of the long-standing construction of the sports centre, the young people of Aizputes themselves created their own urban logo and themselves started a small business, starting to produce T-shirts with the Aizputes logo, while Ventspils young people made the creation of a youth house in the city.”

It should be noted that “coffee with politicians” is one of the activities under THE Erasmus + youth mobility programme “Youth actors in Decision Making”. International training on the participation of young people in decision-making processes is held by the Rēzekne Municipality Čornajas parish in the guest house “Razna Bay” by 13 January. More than 30 participants, representatives of public organisations, youth workers, youth leaders and local government representatives from 9 countries participate in training: Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Turkey and Latvia.

As the project organisers explain: “this initiative will serve as a space for the development of competences, dialogue and exchange of experience between the youth workers involved and local government officials who jointly implement and form the structure and mechanisms of the participation of young people in decision-making.”

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