Context

This training for trainers includes several stages aiming at young  and motivated people who are eager to improve Eastern European cities through alternative ways of urbanisation, as well as in mastering their skills in advocacy and project management.

The objective is to empower them to shape and improve their urban communities, and to ultimately create more sustainable green cities based on the principles of inclusion and democracy.

First step: Online Course “Urban Steps for a Resilient Future

Prior to their attendance of the training, the course introduces the training participants to different concepts concerning public spaces and urban commons, explores various examples of urban activism as well as grassroots and entrepreneurial initiatives, illustrates urban problems and propose good practices. The course Urban Steps for a Resilient Future shows ways to turn ideas into concrete action and how urban activism can serve as a connection point for collaboration between different stakeholders on a local level in reaching common solutions.  

Second step: Face-to-face training

During an intensive one-week face-to-face training, the participants consolidate the knowledge gained while going through the online course, they receive insights from external speakers and receive in-depth and hands-on training on a variety of topics. Among those are a session on “City and Economy” by Dirk Holemans (Director of the Flemish Green Think Tank Oikos, GEF Board member and city councillor in Gent, Belgium), an introduction to useful tools of project management by Vesna Jusup (European Green Party), as well as a hands-on training on effective communication by Pinar Ilkiz  (Co-Founder and Communications Director at Pikan Ajans, an NGO social media consultancy).

Third step: Fortify

Participants of the Training for Trainers will have an opportunity to implement one of four Regional Trainings that they designed and planned themselves. These activities are targeting young people from the regions respectively. Young people will both be able to practice their trainer and project management skills as well as to map decision-makers and existing urban initiatives in their local communities/regions and exchange experiences and practices among themselves. At the end of this phase, every group from each country will have a completed action plan.

About the event

The international activity will take place from 24-29 April near Istanbul, Turkey, in the framework of this year’s transnational project “Creating Socio-Ecological Societies through Urban Commons Transitions”. Both urban activists with experience and people who are new to this topic but keen to develop an expertise in this field were invited to answer the call for participants.

The training is going to enable young people to analyse their cities (think global) as well as equip them with capabilities to conduct local activities on the spot with the goal to improve their communities (act local), and will include, among others, sessions on “City and Inclusion”, “City and Environment”, Manifesto Writing, and more.

All the materials produced during the project: Manifesto, Regional Action plans, impressions, recommendations and other materials will be summed up into a publication that will be translated into four different languages, so stay tuned for the follow up!