Project

Civic Participation of Indigenous Youth for the Strengthening of Democracy

Grantee: Coordinación de ONGs y Cooperativas

The aim of the project in Guatemala was to increase the participation of Q´eqchi youth, especially women, in individual and collective decision-making and democratic processes in the municipality of Sayaxché, department of Petén. The project strategy was structured around two activities: training young people on citizens’ rights and participatory democracy; and creating organized youth spaces to foster the participation of young people in political decision-making processes.
Civic awareness-raising and training sessions for young people from 23 communities belonging to five micro-regions within the municipality of Sayaxché were held. The project then attempted to institutionalise structures by creating two youth associations. These associations were expected to draft a proposal for public policy on youth at the municipal level, which would be presented to the local government for adoption. These activities contributed to the improvement of the quality of political participation of young people and to the strengthening of the process of decentralization which promotes civic participation at the local level.

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Lessons from Project

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The project had difficulties preparing narrative reports in English. In spite of using a translation service, a number of inconsistencies were noted between the original Spanish version and the English translation, which led to some misunderstandings.

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The issues and suggestions that were identified by the newly introduced youth organizations need to become more visible. The project could have enhanced the visibility of the youth policy through reaching out to media outlets and journalists sympathetic to youth rights.

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Important topics such as the prevention of violence, sexual and reproductive health and gender equality were not been sufficiently elaborated during the training programme.

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By the end of the project, the implementation of the public policy on youth had not been completed and depended on the adoption of a budget by the municipality. The project raised many expectations among the young people and in the communities. They wished to ensure the continuity of the initiatives. The project could have identified concrete initiatives to allow the newly established youth associations to address and push forward local issues of developed by the public policy on youth.

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The process of training youth leaders raised civic awareness and supported organizational processes amongst young people in Guatemala. Although their understanding of civic participation as a tool for political change still needs to be strengthened, the lessons learned were highly valued by the participants who were empowered to include issues that affect them in public policy on youth.

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The adoption of the Public Policy on Youth and the creation of the Municipal Youth Office are evidence that the project managed to establish a link between the youth associations and the municipal authorities in Guatemala. The young people appreciated the project’s training and building of the associations which gave them the opportunity to know their rights and apply democratic practices in Guatemala.

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