Young in Eastern Skåne

Young people in eastern Skåne want to be involved and have an impact – now we are creating the structures to make it possible. Through a youth-led initiative, we are strengthening commitment, knowledge and faith in the future throughout the leader area.

Leader Östra Skåne is seeking support for a LAG-owned, youth-led project aimed at young people between 15 and 25 years in the area's nine municipalities. The project's purpose is to ensure that young people benefit from allocated leader funds and that the goals of the local development strategy are met, while also strengthening young people's participation, influence, and belief in the future. The initiative will also contribute to generational change within associations and professional life, as well as increase knowledge about the EU, rural development, project management, and association work.

The background is a youth conference in December 2023 where young people expressed the need to be seen, heard, and to receive concrete tools to influence the development of their hometown. The project has been developed in dialogue with a reference group consisting of young people from all municipalities.

A youth board with 18 representatives (two per municipality) will be appointed and trained. The board will lead the project's implementation, plan activities, and make decisions about support within three parallel umbrella projects where young people can apply for funds for their own initiatives. At least two activities per municipality will be carried out with a focus on skills development, democratic dialogue, as well as experience exchange and networking.

The project will engage at least 200 young people, create a lasting network across municipal borders, and contribute to more young people taking seats on boards and in association life. Through new working methods and structures for youth influence, the project strengthens place attractiveness and lays the foundation for long-term and sustainable youth engagement in eastern Skåne.

The board's assessment

Decision date: 2024-06-25
Total selection criteria: 865 points
The board's justification: In Leader Östra Skåne's local development strategy, young people are a designated target group. The project's foundation has been anchored with the target group, they have themselves shaped the conditions for the project, and they will be the driving force for its implementation. This will lead to stable, anchored, and engaged networks for and by young people being created, and these will be strengthened and motivated for continued engagement through the activities created within the project's framework. The project's potential for impact is assessed to be significant.