To enhance youth civic engagement and strengthen local democratic processes in Batumi, the youth club "Get Involved in Governance" was established under my mentorship, within the framework of the USAID Local Governance Program. The project aimed to familiarize young people with the working principles of local self-government, develop their active citizenship skills, and promote their participation in municipal life.
The project attracted significant interest from the outset,
with 51 young people initially expressing a desire to participate. Based on
their motivation letters, the project team selected 15 of the most motivated
and active young individuals ready to make a real contribution to their
community's development. My main task as a mentor was to facilitate their
understanding of local self-government, citizen participation mechanisms, and
local challenges, based on which, with my facilitation, they developed their
own action plans.
Under my mentorship, the club members initiated advocacy
campaigns in two main directions: 1) identifying local needs and promoting
participatory mechanisms; 2) identifying youth needs and strengthening their
engagement. To this end, they carried out diverse activities: developed
questionnaires and conducted research on local needs, held informational
meetings with various groups (the elderly, volunteers, religious minorities,
students), organized a public discussion, and finally, analyzed the results and
prepared a report.
At the end of the project, participant feedback was
overwhelmingly positive: 100% stated that they would actively use the
acquired knowledge and experience in the future, and 75% expressed a
desire for the club's activities to continue. They particularly highlighted
field activities and informational meetings. For me, as a mentor, this project
once again confirmed that young people possess immense potential and a desire
to be the driving force for positive change in their communities, provided they
are given the appropriate knowledge, skills, and support.