The master’s thesis addresses the topic of youth participation in the municipality of Medvode.
In the theoretical framework, we first define the concepts of youth and young people, placing
them within the socio-cultural context. Additionally, we include key insights into contemporary
youth. Moving forward, we define youth participation, which leads us to the concept of active
citizenship and its dimensions. We introduce an important document - The Convention on the
Rights of the Child - along with various models of children and youth participation.
Subsequently, we define the positive effects of participation and the concept of empowerment,
and we also highlight barriers and challenges associated with youth participation. In the
following theoretical section, we transition from the broader context to a narrower one: first,
we present youth policy, documents, and strategies governing the theme at the European level.
Then, we proceed with documents and mechanisms of national youth policy, concluding the
chapter by examining participation at the local level, specifically in the municipality of
Medvode. We wrap up the theoretical part by presenting a range of methods for youth inclusion
and providing examples of good practices.
In the empirical section, we conducted a rapid assessment to explore the actual state of youth
participation in the municipality of Medvode. We focused on the following topics: community
involvement, motivation for community involvement, youth needs within the community, youth
ideas and desires, perspectives of key actors, and the current state. To gather a comprehensive
range of data, we employed various techniques, including semi-structured interviews,
questionnaires, focus groups, and observation lists for events. Additionally, we analyzed
existing municipal documents such as budgets, calls for co-financing, and spatial plans. The
sample encompassed 118 individuals and 8 observed events.
The research results offer insights into the current situation of youth in the municipality of
Medvode. Key stakeholders (municipality, councilors, youth center) aspire to even greater
youth participation in the community, although some emphasize that the current situation is not
dire. They perceive the youth as important contributors to the community and are willing to
help them, but in return expect self-initiative from them. While the youth are ready to engage
and take initiative, they often lose initial enthusiasm due to a lack of community cohesion,
information, and skills. All participants identified the lack of information and ineffective
communication methods as a critical issue. Proximity to larger cities and a more diverse range
of activities also contribute to lower participation rates in the hometown. Moreover, the youth
highlight that they would participate in activities in the municipality of Medvode, especially in
the case of interesting events.
By exploring the topic of young people in the municipality of Medvode, we want to show that
social pedagogues are a suitable link for connecting and understanding different actors within
the community, especially due to our diverse knowledge, competences and cooperative
approach, and that there are many opportunities for employmet (e.g. youth street work,
introducing participatory practices through different projects, setting up NGOs).
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