Street For The Youth - the first studio visit behind us! In the second part of the event we had an unusual opportunity to co-create a creative space, we independently created mock-ups on the broad design of public spaces, experimented and shared knowledge and ideas, using a range of materials available at the MaM - Mind- And Makerspace studio. The idea stating that everyone can become a creator, not just a consumer, fit the design guidelines 100%. There was also time to visit the Sports Innovation Campus in Brugge. (https://www.howest.be/nl/campussen/brugge/sportinnovatiecampus) and to be active at Sportscube, an innovative sports space aimed at supporting physical activity and technology development in the field of sports (Sport Vlaanderen Brugge). We were also enriched with knowledge of good practices regarding other projects in which young people actively co-create solutions, spaces, events and initiatives, such as art, technology, urban planning, education or sustainability projects.
The next physical meeting of the partners will take place at the end of this year in Poland, and until then we will continue implementing the planned project activities.
Street For The Youth - a visit to Brugge
As part of the Street For The Youth project, a visit to the Belgian city of Brugge is underway. As this is the first physical meeting, the agenda included a lot of space for getting to know each other, presenting their priorities in relation to the project assumptions, and identifying potential places to be adopted and designed by the youth. We invited representatives from Gdynia, Elblag and Dzierzgon to implement project activities. Young delegates from the Youth City Council of Gdynia, the Youth City Council of Elbląg and the Youth City Council of Dzierzgon Municipality, who accompanied us on the delegation, presented interesting proposals for the vision of the city of the future. We also had the opportunity to participate in a workshop on the future of cities, taking into account the needs of younger generations, and took part in an exploratory walk through Bruges, combining it with a challenge using the YET mobile application, through which young people can creatively share their ideas in the area of public space. And there are still more workshops and presentations and activities ahead.
The Streets for the Youth project is implemented from the Erasmus+ program
Association of Polish Municipalities Euroregion Baltic (PL)
HOWEST Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen (BE)
Comunidade Intermunicipal do Cávado (PT)
Funded by the European Union
Funded by the European UnionThe European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflect the views only of the authors; the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Streets for the Youth - online meeting
Yesterday, a partnership meeting of the Streets for the Youth project, implemented under the Erasmus+ program, was held online. During the event, topics such as the legal and financial framework of the project, communication and promotion of future project activities, as well as substantive aspects of the partners' activities within the framework of individual work packages were discussed. The municipalities involved in the project were also presented, in the context of youth activities. A physical meeting is scheduled for next January and will be held in Bruges.
Funded by the European UnionThe European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflect the views only of the authors; the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein..
Streets for the Youth - Online Meeting
Streets for the Youth - the first meeting regarding the youth project under the Erasmus+ program is behind us. Although the official launch conference will take place in November this year, project partners have already met online today to discuss the details of future cooperation.
We talked about the involvement of municipalities, youth participation, various aspects of the partnership agreement, and, of course, the first physical meeting, which will take place in Belgium.
We are very pleased that over the next 2.5 years, we will be carrying out activities directly related to one of the five main directions of our Association's activities, namely social activity, including actions aimed at youth participation and supporting their local activity.
Funded by the European UnionThe European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflect the views only of the authors; the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Streets for the Youth project
Below are the design assumptions of "Streets for the Youth":
Project under the ERASMUS+ program, no. KA220-YOU-C70942A0 (2024-1-FR02-KA220-YOU-000245435)
Project area: Placemaking in practice; the process of planning spaces with public participation, urban space development together and for the needs of the youth
Main themes: youth in the city, city transformation, city of tomorrow, public spaces for youth, environmental, social and economic changes and transformation, youth participation in local life and spatial planning.
Partnership: 4 partners
Project Leader: Saint-Brieuc ArmorAgglomération, Local Authorities in France
Association of Polish Municipalities Euroregion Baltic (Poland)
Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen Howest (Belgium)
Comunidade Intermunicipal do Cávado (Portugal)
Polish partners: STG ERB as the partner responsible for activities carried out by the municipalities of Gdynia, Dzierzgoń, and Elbląg
Short description: The "Streets for the Youth" project will engage young people aged 15-20 from 4 EU countries (Portugal, France, Belgium, and Poland) in building the city of the future - a city that is flexible, friendly, and resilient, and meets the diverse needs of its users. The project will create connections between young people, urban planning specialists, and local councilors (i.e., those who create the city) so that together they can develop and test consultation techniques for public space development projects.
Context: The cities of tomorrow will not be like those of yesterday. Both small and large cities must change as they face significant transformations: ecological, demographic, mental, and digital. To adapt cities to the world of tomorrow, it is essential to engage their residents, especially young people, as they are the residents of the future. Thus, addressing the placement of young people in public spaces is like "opening a window" to see where young people are, how they move around the city or countryside, and how they use it. To do this, we must consider the diversity of young people (both those who commute and those who stay in one place, as well as places intended for girls, etc.), design spaces that concern them as a whole, not just for recreational purposes, and finally ask the youth for input by recognizing their knowledge about usage (recognizing their knowledge of the city) and by listening to and considering their expectations for the future. Young people can help us respond to transformation challenges and prepare our cities for the world of tomorrow.
Project objectives: Exchange, develop, and test techniques for engaging young people in thinking about the future of their city and its planning:
How do young people approach the topic of public space? What are their expectations, needs, and ideas?
How can social planners ensure they have a place in their projects for changing and improving public spaces (public squares, parks, gardens) and consider environmental and social transformation issues? How can development meet young people's expectations, ensure social bonds, and common prosperity?
The project aims to encourage the cooperation of three groups:
YOUNG PEOPLE to participate in democratic life and think about living together by expressing their vision of the city today and tomorrow (usage, needs, challenges to be addressed).
SELECTED REPRESENTATIVES, decision-makers, and local government employees to include public space users, especially young people, in the process of creating or remodeling public spaces.
YOUTH PROFESSIONALS to adopt new techniques for motivating and engaging young people to participate in community life.
Over the 30-month duration of the project, partners hope to contribute to ADAPTING their cities to tomorrow's challenges by MOBILIZING young people, selected representatives, and specialists to address the transformations we must jointly prepare for in cities and rural areas. The project aims to mobilize and empower stakeholders in these matters to give young people a voice in decision-making processes regarding the construction and planning of public spaces, and to enable selected representatives and urban planning specialists to develop their skills in engaging society in public policy. The need to find appropriate means and methods of engaging young people is very high. The aim of this project is to identify, develop, and test youth-friendly and accessible mechanisms and structures that will allow them to actively engage in creating quality public spaces.
Project content: Exchange of practices, joint development of tools for engaging young people and testing in partner areas, connecting selected officials and planning specialists, youth professionals and young Europeans, creating recommendations for communities to facilitate the engagement of young people in public space development projects and strategies.
Target audience: The project is aimed at young people aged 15 to 20 . It is proposed to create an exchange between professionals and young people.
Funded by the European Union
Funded by the European UnionThe European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflect the views only of the authors; the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
