Youths vote – Youths matter

SMART DEVELOPMENT CENTER

WANT TO BE PART OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CAMPAIGN FOR CIVIC PARTICIPATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN 2014?

The Youth Council of Romania – YCR, in partnership with a number of public institutions and non-governmental organizations at national and local levels, runs the National Awareness and Information Campaign “Youths vote – Youths matter” or League of Young Voters Romania, funded by the European Commission’s Youth in Action Program, Action 4.5.

The aim of the Campaign is to stimulate the active participation of young people in European and national democratic life, in particular by encouraging them to participate in elections to the European Parliament as well-informed and responsible citizens.

One of the most important activities in the campaign is the creation of the League of Youth Ambassadors for Participation. It will consist of 16 Young Ambassadors, 2 from each of the country’s development region.

What role do Ambassadors play?

• Represent the Campaign at local / regional level

• They act as youth leaders at local / regional level, promoting civic participation of young people in general, and Campaign message, in particular

• Multiply the message of the Campaign, its values

• Work at the local / regional level, developing initiatives for young people from diverse backgrounds

• Initiate local activities dedicated to young people in line with the key elements of the Campaign, namely to promote the active participation of young people, using their creativity and the networks they belong to

• Maintain the relationship with local / regional key actors: schools / universities, youth authorities, youth NGOs, networks and youth groups

• Participate actively in the activities implemented by CTR and local partners in their development region

• They share their experiences and keep the Youth Ambassadors League active

How can CTR support you?

• We offer you the opportunity to be part of a national community of young leaders who will actively participate in the development of the most important Campaign for civic participation of young people in Romania

• We offer you the national, regional and local framework and exposure to enhance your leadership skills and mobilize your generation colleagues to be responsible citizens

• We provide you with an important database of information & resources on the national and European youth agenda

• You will join, together with the other Young Ambassador, two training sessions [1] on civic participation of young people

• You will participate in the events of the Campaign that will take place in your development region

• You will attend the final conference at the national level, having the opportunity to promote your activity as a Young Ambassador

• We will provide you with a certificate of recognition of the competences gained from the project involvement (following the volunteering contract concluded), respectively a diploma of participation

Do you want to join our team?

We are looking for people strongly motivated to bring about a change in their creative community and wanting to promote civic participation of young people. A detailed profile of the Ambassador Young includes:

• You are aged 16-25

• You are passionate about volunteering, involved in the life of your community and with a strong civic sense

• You are willing to change things for the better in your community and the world

• You have proven leadership in school, an organization, or community

• Have the ability to send clear messages (written and spoken), to mobilize your colleagues for a cause and a strong sense of initiative

• You have time availability within the next 6 months, including country trips, for involvement in extracurricular activities

• You are NOT a political affiliate: you are not part of a political party, a youth political party organization, you are not involved in the work of a political foundation or any other form of political affiliation *

Other important issues

• The selected young people assume their involvement during the entire campaign period, i.e. until June 30, 2014

• To ensure the promotion of an apolitical and non-partisan message of the Campaign, especially through the activities of the Young Ambassadors, candidates who have political affiliation are not eligible

• All costs related to participation in project activities that are mandatory [2] for the Young Ambassadors are fully covered by CTR (based on a discount at the end of the project)

• The participation as Young Ambassador is exclusively voluntary and is based on a voluntary agreement signed and agreed by both parties (CTR and Young Ambassador)

• By joining the Campaign, Young Ambassadors assume their principles and values, respectively commit themselves to having a non-discriminatory behaviour (to all implicated parties), nonpartisan and apolitical. Otherwise, CTR reserves the right to remove the Young Ambassador from the project

Young people interested in being part of this community are kindly requested to send us the address tineriiconteaza@ctr.ro, until March 2, 2014, at 23:00, the following:

1) Application Form completed and signed in original, in PDF format;

2) Motivation Letter explaining why it is important for you to participate in this Campaign and how you will use your Young Ambassador status to benefit the youth of your community

3) A material created by you that expresses your vision of the role of Young Youth Ambassador and the possible impact on your community. We encourage Video Creations (max 5 min), Photovoice, Essays (max. 1 page) or mini-questionnaires interpreted in a PPT document (reflecting your colleagues’ opinions on a chosen theme, up to 10 slides).

4) Any other creative and relevant approaches are expected!

Only complete applications submitted and sent before the deadline will be evaluated!

We wish you great success and we are waiting for you along the CTR Team!

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[1] Approximate dates are 12-16 March and 11-15 June 2014, to be confirmed later

[2] The 2 training sessions (4 days each) and Campaign activities in the Ambassador Development Region (max 2 days)

REGIONAL ACTIVITIES CALENDAR

March 18 – 21: Bucharest and Timisoara 18-19: Bucharest 20-21: Timisoara

March 25-28: Targoviste and Craiova 25-26: Craiova 27-28: Targoviste

April 1-4: Sibiu and Cluj Napoca

1-2: Sibiu

3-4: Cluj-Napoca

April 8-11: Galati and Iasi 8-9: Galati 10-11: Iasi