The Assembly of European Regions and Young European Federalists (JEF Europe) are looking for 3 trainers to develop and facilitate a training on advocacy that will be held online from the 4th to the 6th of March (final dates to be agreed with the selected trainers), as part of the project “Y-FED: Europe is what we make of it”. The three trainers will be responsible for the preparation and the conduction of the training session, as well as the preparation of a report/dossier containing the main lessons shared during the training.

About the Assembly of European Regions

The Assembly of European Regions (AER) is the largest independent interregional organisation in broader Europe, with around 140 regional authorities as members from 30 countries. Established in 1985, AER is a forum for regional politicians to engage in interregional cooperation and to advocate regional interests on the European stage.

About the project

The project “Y-FED: Europe is what we make of it” aims to bring the EU closer to its young citizens by developing a proposal for an improved institutional framework of the Union in line with the European Youth Goals. The initiative, supported by an Erasmus+ “European Youth Together” grant, will be implemented in the years 2020-2021 through a series of capacity-building training courses, public policy hackathons, a large-scale simulation of a reformed EU and advocacy actions. The project partners comprise 18 civil society organisations as well as 2 networks of European and regional decision-makers.

The main aims are thus:

  • Bring the EU closer to its citizens by raising awareness of the EU institutional framework and advocate for its reform based on young people’s recommendations.
    ● Raise awareness of the European Youth Goals (EYGs) and support their implementation by embedding them in the reformed EU institutional model and bringing them from the European to the local level.

To achieve these objectives, the project offers young citizens the possibility to develop proposals for a reformed EU that embeds the EYGs in its institutional framework and decision-making model. At the same time, it provides youth with the necessary skills to participate and influence political dialogues and decisions.

About the training

Promoting the active participation of young people in decisions and actions at local and regional level is essential to build a more democratic, inclusive and prosperous society. Participation in democratic life is more than voting, hence, active citizenship is fostered by having the right, the resources, and the opportunity to participate and influence in decision-making processes, as to be engaged in actions that contribute to building a better society.

To provide young citizens with the necessary competences and resources to boost their active citizenship, AER and its partner are organising a training on advocacy at the regional and European level. The training will be offered to 30 young citizens from 15 different countries across Europe, including mainly Bulgaria, Finland, Malta, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovenia, and Spain.

It will be held from the 4th to the 6th of March (final dates will be agreed with the trainers) in an online learning format. The specific online learning platform to be employed will be jointly agreed by the trainers and AER. The training working language will be English.

Throughout the training, young citizens will develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to become Youth-Ambassadors in their local and regional contexts. At the same time they will design, organise and implement advocacy actions at a local and regional level. As a result of the training, participants will:

  • Strengthen advocacy skills
  • Strengthen advocacy tools
  • Become acquainted with the European Youth Goals
  • Develop knowledge on the principles of multi-level governance and subsidiarity
  • Develop the skills to interact with decision-makers
  • Develop an advocacy plan

Modules and activities of the training

The training course will adopt methodologies from non-formal education to strengthen participants’ advocacy competencies. It will include sessions on the European Youth Strategy and its Youth Goals leading to the development of regional and local advocacy plans focused on one out of the eleven European Youth Goals, ideally goal 9, Space and Participation for All.

The training seminar will be composed three modules that will be completed throughout 10 hours:

1. European Module: The European Youth Strategy 2019-2027 and the European Youth Goals (Thursday 4th March, 18:00 – 20:00 CET)

The training seminar will start with the introduction to the European Union Youth Strategy 2019-2027 and the European Youth Goals, which outline the main challenges that young people face in their daily lives and present the vision for a Europe that enables young people to realise their full potential.

2. Module on Youth and Regions: How can young people be engaged in the  political development of their region? (Friday 5th March, 18:00 – 20:00 CET)

This session will focus on enhancing participants’ knowledge on the principles of multi-level governance and subsidiarity and deepening the understanding of active youth participation in the democratic and political life at regional and local level. This session will be accompanied by some practice examples on how young people can be engaged in the political life of their regions. The module will analyse and present several examples from across Europe about how local and regional authorities have been involving their young citizens in the development, implementation and evaluation of youth policies, and other policies that are most relevant to them. These good practices will serve as the ground for the development of participants’ advocacy plans.

3. Module on advocacy: Introduction to advocacy and development of an advocacy plan (Saturday 6th March, 10:00 – 16:00 CET)

The objective of this module is to build participants’ competences and provide them with the tools required to advocate for youth participation at local, regional, and European levels. Trainees will work in groups of four and each group will jointly develop an advocacy strategy to advocate for one of the previously presented European Youth Goals and address the action to a regional authority from the following countries: Bulgaria, Finland, Malta, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovenia, and Spain.

The developed advocacy strategy will serve the participants as a basis for the implementation of local and regional actions, activity which will follow the training.

After the completion of three modules, participants will attend the AER Spring Bureau Meeting on 17th March 2020. The meeting brings together around 100 local and regional policymakers and trainees will have the opportunity to take part in an international political dialogue and build important connections with policymakers from different European regions.

Services and responsibilities of the trainers

AER is looking for three trainers to actively contribute to all the phases of the training, including its preparation, implementation, and reporting. Specifically, trainers will be responsible for:

  1. The preparation of the training, content, and material needed to perform the training. In the period between the selection of trainers and the start of the training, trainers, in close cooperation with AER, will contribute to the planning and organisation of the the training including: the selection of the final dates for the training and the distribution of the sessions throughout the week, the identification and setting of the online learning platform for performing the training, the identification of the content to be shared in each sessions, and the outline of a list of useful readings and any other relevant preparatory material to be shared with trainees before the start of the training.
    Trainers are expected to provide their availability to prepare the training in the period 15th February – 1st March 2021.
  2. The running and facilitation of the training sessions. Trainers will be in charge of the conduction and facilitation of the online training throughout the first week of March 2021 (according to the structure jointly defined by the trainers and AER). Trainers are not expected to participate in the second part of the training taking place at AER Spring Bureau Meeting but will take this event into consideration while running the three online modules.
    Trainers are expected to provide their availability to conduct the training throughout the first week of March 2021.
  3. The reporting and follow-up of the three online training sessions. After the completion of the training, trainers shall provide a report on the activity. The report will consist of a dossier containing the main lessons presented during the course. It will be published online and shared with the participants for their future reference and use in the implementation of local actions which will follow the training course.
    Trainers are expected to submit the report (dossier) of the training to AER within three weeks from the conclusion of the three sessions (by Monday 29th March 2021).

Requirements

Trainers must demonstrate:

  • Ability and experience to develop an education approach based on the principles and values of non-formal education.
  • Previous experience in organising and implementing advocacy training.
  • Good understanding of the EU decision-making process and knowledge of recent EU policy developments.
  • Knowledge of the European Youth Strategy 2019-2027 and the European Youth Goals (EYGs).
  • Good understanding of the functioning of regional and local authorities at EU level, the principles of subsidiarity and Multi-level governance.
  • Be familiar with online learning platforms, such as Moodle.
  • Ability to respect deadlines.
  • Ability to work in an intercultural team of experts and trainers.
  • Be able to communicate in a proficiency level of English.

Finances

After the completion of the last service (submission of the report/dossier), each expert will be paid a total 800 EUR for the services provided. Additionally, trainers will receive a compensation to cover the costs that they may incur in the performance of the services.

How to apply?

If interested, please send your CV and Motivation Letter to b.sandu@aer.eu AND elitsa.hadzhieva@jef.eu by 5th February 2021, including in the subject of the email ‘Call for trainers – Training on advocacy’.
Best candidates will be invited for a short interview the following week where they will be asked to briefly present their approach and ideas for the training session. Selected trainers will start working on the preparation of the training from the 15th of February 2021.

 

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