Through Media to Participation. Social media in service of youth NGO’s.

The TC initiated by Eastern Initiative Institute and Stepanavan Youth Center is designed for youth organisations interested in developing effective communication means and particulary – in “new media” to increase the level of active participation of young people from different countries. The project involves young leaders of youth organizations and project coordinators from EU and EECA countries (total – 24 persons), who are in charge or involved in NGOs projects, which include youth. Keeping away from the social media is not an option nowadays, especially for the organizations that are active in the youth field. They need to include appearing in social media as a part of their PR strategy. However, sending a chaotic, unplanned and uncoordinated message through social media can do more harm than good either. Creating a catchy, lively, engaging image of the organization in social media requires practical skills – and the idea of this training course is to equip members of youth NGOs in those skills. What is more, such skills are valuable in modern labor market and therefore taking part in the training course will increase future employability of the participants. During the course, non-formal educational methods will be used, such as: plenary sessions, discussions, workshops, open space, brainstorms, simulation games etc. It will give young leaders a chance to discuss the significance and potential of the social media as a space for communication and mobilization, as well as to exchange best practices from their organizations and countries. As we find the practical aspect of the training the most important, the participants will have a chance to put their newly gained competences into practice. They will create and promote Facebook page, Twitter account, blog etc. of the project. They will also prepare the final event, presenting the topic of the course to the wider audience, and their task will be to make it as interactive as possible, with promotion through social media. Apart from the Facebook page (which would also be used for further communication between participants) and interactive materials from final event (presentations, short movies etc. that will be disseminated electronically after the course), other outcomes of the project will include social media strategies for involved youth organizations and a catalog of best practices in the field of ‘NGOs in social media’.