For one week, Ogulin became a European space for discussion on civic participation, youth activism, and community engagement. Through workshops, exchanges, and hands-on activities, youth workers and activists from ten countries shared experiences, tools, and questions about how young people can truly make an impact in their communities.
From March 23rd to 30th, together with other youth workers and activists from across Europe Europe (Italy, Spain, Latvia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Germany, North Macedonia, Portugal, and Czech Republic), we had the privilege of gathering for an intense training experience about how to participate actively in civic monitoring: Civic X-Ray, organissed by LAG Vallis Collapis. Through teamwork, discussions and practical activities, we explored what active participation in civil society truly means and looks like. We reflected on youth work as a powerful tool that supports young people in raising their voices, making decisions and taking effective action within their communities. We then dived into civic monitoring, discovering how data, information and community voices can be transformed into meaningful stories that highlight issues, raise questions and offer new perspectives. In the final stages, we connected tools and ideas to our local realities: by mapping needs, resources, and challenges we developed concrete action plans that we can now activate together with young people. Civic X-Ray was a journey of learning, collaboration and awareness that left us with valuable tools and fresh ideas to bring back to our communities.
Article written by the Italian team for Civic X-Ray with the support of Maghweb: Francesca di Giovanni, Sveva Accardi, Lucrezia Biscardi
