– That we have now been granted this support from the Heritage Fund means that we can move forward with and develop our investment for and with young people in the island's countryside on a larger scale over three years, says Ottilia Söderström, who will be the project manager for ”Young Vitality in Collaboration”.
During 2024, Leader Gute worked with ”Young Vitality”, where reference groups with young people organized, among other things, ”Epa-dunk” in Roma and graffiti painting at the Harvest Festival.
– Here we were met with great interest and engagement from young people – and a desire to do more. At the same time, our surveys and ongoing contacts show that associations find it difficult to involve young people in their activities. Against this background, we formulated the project ”Young Vitality in Collaboration” which has now been granted 5.3 million in support from the Heritage Fund, explains Ottilia Söderström.
Young action group and recruitment of junior project manager
”Young Vitality in Collaboration” will strengthen young people's capacity for self-organization and the opportunity to have influence in rural development. The work will be driven by a young action group that organizes regular meetings with a young network across the entire island. In addition, a junior project manager will be newly recruited to work alongside the project manager Ottilia Söderström. (Read more about the recruitment HERE )
Young people will be given the opportunity to learn about organizational pedagogy, association theory, and leadership. They will also receive support in developing concrete ideas and carrying out activities and events for young people.
At the same time, associations in the countryside will receive support in developing their ability to involve and collaborate with young people in their activities. The goal is to gradually develop a collaboration model that associations can use to include, engage, and work together with young people.
– The project will create conditions for building bridges across generations and lead to activities being organized based on young people's needs and interests, says Ottilia Söderström.