Youth Public Speaking Skills Development Towards a Democratic Society in Contemporary Europe
Project Code: 2022-1-SE02-KA220-YOU-000086337
Welcome to the Speak It Up! Project
The main aim of the Speak It Up project was to provide a modern informal educational package, consisting of an app and a board game, for youth trainers and youth employers to develop young people’s (aged 18-30 years) public speaking ability in politics.
- It created an innovative non-formal educational package for youth trainers and youth workers to assist young people in developing and/or improving their life skills related to public speaking.
- The interactive and fun learning game app supplemented the target group training to catch the youths' interest in their learning process.
- It supported the processes that trainers, educators, and youth workers used to motivate young people to participate in democratic structures and institutions through practical activities.
More About The Project
According to Sloam (2014), there was a strong correlation between the engagement of those aged 15 to 24 and overall membership in the EU. However, a child’s educational level was more closely related to socioeconomic status, which was a key determinant of young people’s civic and political engagement.
As per Sloam’s findings in 2014, there was a strengthened, freed link between education and political engagement. Sant (2015) found that while even young people were skeptical of traditional electoral politics, they were able to distinguish between these old forms of political engagement and more contemporary alternative forms. Political participation was viewed as a progressive process, according to Emler (2011). Politics receiving attention was seen as a turning point.
Furthermore, during the focus group discussions, the young participants’ conceptions of political involvement included ideas of being involved in politics, being informed about politics, and having a variety of political perspectives (Xenos, Vromen, & Loader, 2014). Grasso and Smith (2022) discovered that there were gender variations in young men’s and young women’s political activities across countries. They discovered, however, that young women were more engaged in societies and more likely to petition, boycott, and volunteer (Grasso & Smith, 2022).
Based on the preceding conversation, the project outlined a contemporary informal educational program for youth workers and youth trainers. It also included a board game and an app to help young people (aged 18 to 30) improve their public speaking skills in the political arena.
The educational package aimed to give students communication, interpersonal, presentation, and other public speaking abilities. The app and the board game served as tools to support the intellectual experience.
Objectives Of The Project
The objectives of the project were the following:
- Promoting an innovative non-formal educational package for youth trainers and youth workers to assist young people (aged 18-30) in developing and/or improving their life skills related to public speaking.
- Devising an interactive app and a fun learning game to supplement the target group's training and catch the youth's interest in their learning process.
- Motivating the processes that youth trainers/educators and youth workers benefited from to encourage youngsters to attend democratic structures and institutions through their participation in real-life activities.
Target Groups
The target audience for the Speak It Up! project was:
- Youth workers and youth trainers/educators: During the lifetime of the project, they had the chance to take part in different project phases. The participants acquired important skills and knowledge and interacted with peers from the project's partner nations to discuss issues related to youth engagement in politics and active citizenship.
- Young people/Youth: Young people were invited to take part in project activities like training and Multiplier Events to obtain the best overall project outcome.
- Young people/Youth: Young people were invited to take part in project activities like training and Multiplier Events to obtain the best overall project outcome.
- Staff members and connected partners: These individuals were directly involved in the project's development and, by this means, improved their public speaking, training, and gamification knowledge and abilities in relation to the youth sector.
