Seminar on e-Participation unfolding in Budapest, Hungary

During June 14-18 I am attending the Expert Meeting on New Ways of Participation in Multicultural Youth Work Based on Information and Communication Technologies. The seminar is organized by the Council of Europe at its Youth Centre in Budapest, Hungary. The aim is to bring policy makers, youth researchers, youth organizations and young people together to explore how new ways of participation can contribute to improving the access to social rights of young people from disadvantaged neighborhoods. The objectives are very generous and include:

To explore the concepts of youth participation and e-participation.
To explore current trends of e-participation in multicultural youth work.
To explore the challenges of inclusive multicultural youth work and how e-participation can be a tool to overcome these.
To analyze the motivation of young people from disadvantaged neighborhoods for e-participation, as well as the effects of e-participation on their social inclusion and democratic participation.
To exchange experiences and good practices of e-participation in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
To explore ways of overcoming digital divide and ensuring that e-participation is democratic, inclusive, meaningful and empowering for young people.
To make recommendations on promoting e-participation as a mean to support the access to social rights for young people from disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Here’s a presentation of the results of a working group on challenges to youth participation and e-participation:

There are some good research documents that the Council of Europe has issued so far. They include the “Revised European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life,” the manual “Have your say!” which is related to the implementation of the Charter with young people, the report of the seminar “New ways of participation based on information technologies” organised by the DYS in 2009 where SMART Method of Public Policy is also mentioned, and the Agenda 2020. The seminar is organized under the framework of ENTER project on access to social rights for young people from disadvantaged neighborhoods.

And here are some relevant photos: