From 7-9 May, we held our final workshop as part of the Academy for Public Policy. This event marked not only a crowning achievement of months of dedicated work by the participants but also the starting point of their real community engagement and applied activism.
Throughout this workshop weekend, expert trainers guided the participants through vivid and thought-provoking topics. The first such topic covered the methods of lobbying and advocacy in policy development: from the origins and evolution of the concept, through global advocacy practices, to real-life anecdotes, the participants were immersed in a lively discussion of both the theoretical framework and practical aspects of lobbying among political parties in the country.
Another topic was the art and technique of political argumentation and persuasion, wherein the participants were exposed to a number of global examples recognized as good argumentations.
The second part of the workshop saw the introduction of the concept of issue-based community engagement in the pre-election and election period, along with the most effective methods for issue-based engagement with the community and with different groups.
Finally, the closing workshop activities reinforced the benefits of community engagement and its true significance from the early stages of problem identification to design of solution.
We are proud to conclude that, having packed a breadth of new knowledge and skills, the youth party politicians are now eager to apply innovative initiatives to tackle their communities’ ongoing issues and challenges.
