The Capacity4dev editorial team collaborated with INTPA.G.1 and presents lessons learnt and recommendations.
WYDE aims to promote political pluralism and the inclusiveness of democratic processes by significantly enhancing the participation of youth and women in all aspects of public life. The many legal, cultural and economic barriers to women's and youth political participation are being identified, measured and mapped. The program enables women and youth themselves to carry out the awareness and advocacy actions needed to overcome or remove these barriers. The program’s name stands for Women and Youth in Democracy initiative. It was decided by INTPA’s youth sounding board based on a series of options set by EPD’s junior officers. The Youth Action Plan has WYDE as one of its main flagships. It represents a total effort of EUR 43 million invested from EU’s Human Rights and Democracy thematic program. WYDE also aims at addressing the increasing distrust of young people in institutions and political systems. Therefore, WYDE contributes to better inform, network and empower young people so that they can actively, safely and legally participate in democracy support, civic activism and political office. Learning by doing, empowering through subgrants accompanied with coaching, is at the core-heart of the methodology. The WYDE Civic engagement chapter has already distributed 50 small grants accompanied with expertise. WYDE invests in all forms of participation claimed by youth: Political and partisan participation: working with young people and (young) women from political parties and parliaments so that they can play an ever-meaningful role. Citizen participation, often non-partisan: working with youth and women who have chosen to participate as citizens in grassroots organizations that engage in institutional oversight, anti-corruption, citizen election observation, democratic reform advocacy and civic education. Democracy activism: working with bloggers, influencers, researchers and grassroots movements that promote the universal values of human rights and democracy. The many beneficiaries of the program are encouraged to network within the Youth Democracy Cohort co-lead by EPD and the European Commission. The WYDE initiative is multilevel (global, regional, country and local scopes) andmultifaceted (involving Parliaments, political parties, academia (young African researchers), democracy support organisations, youth and youth-led organisations, and grass-roots CSOs).
EL PACCTO 2.0 is the EU’s flagship programme underpinning EU-LAC cooperation aims to fight organised transnational crime using an integrated approach to reinforce the rule of law, citizen security and stability, both in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and Europe.
Capacity4dev Ambassador Diana Wolski, Senior Expert on social and democratic inclusion, conducted a very insightful interview with Ken Godfrey, Director of the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD), to discuss the topic of...
The small Mediterranean island of Lampedusa became the meeting point for 20 young people from 10 European border towns and islands. Thanks to the DEAR project SUBLIME SDGs, leaders-in-the-making from across Europe spent six days...
Everything boils down to whether we can solve the root causes of global inequality. The DEAR project Connect for Global Change is showing its first results. Tackling global challenges like climate change, conflict, and...
In cities and villages across Europe, the promise of equality often feels unevenly distributed. For many, discrimination is still part of daily life: in the workplace, at school, or at the border. The Pact for Equality was born...
