In the exchange project “Design and share your city” 24 young people from Latvia, Ukraine and Germany came together to discuss their role in the development of their cities as important actors of civil society and explore possibilities of youth participation.

This project comprised two youth meetings in Berlin, 2021 and Jurmala, 2022.
During these meetings, which were held in Berlin and Jurmala, young people brought upped the following issues for discussion:
What do these participation opportunities look like in the partner countries?
Which procedures and methods are available to achieve positive changes?
How can temporary measures such as e.g. tactical urbanism lead to sustainable developments?
Which strategies are efficient in reaching out to local communities and to the public and invite them to cooperate?

By learning and working together and answering the raised questions, young people from Latvia, Ukraine and Germany found out more about the main topic of the project, develop their own ideas and solutions and get ready to implement them in their home cities – Berlin, Sumy and Riga, etc.

In addition, during youth meetings, the participants was involved in the discussions with the experts, take part in various thematic workshops, and analyses of best practices. It aimed all of this at encouraging the development of their intercultural, creative, social, and project-related skills, and also give impulses for their own future personal and professional projects.

The project was funded as part of the EU program ERASMUS + and in cooperation with CHANCE International (Germany), Solis Tuvak (Latvia), Academy of Innovation (Russia), Center for Euroinitiatives (Ukraine). For further information download the INFOPACK.

Participant’s feedback.
“The European youth exchange project “Design and Share Your City” provided an opportunity to discuss issues related to challenges of the urban environment and the role of young people in improving the surrounding urban environment. During the project I enjoyed various activities, especially the development of the Jurmala city quest. It was as a weekly summary of places that have impressed participants in Jurmala city. 
During the project, I improved my leadership and communication skills, I learned new information about other countries and places. But the main benefit of the project was that I met a lot of young and inspiring people!” – Liga Seja.

“Do you remember the feeling when you were 100% motivated for 10 days in a row?
I had this on a project in Latvia “Design and share your city”. And I will remember these days for a long time – April 15-24.
Lots of great moments from amazing nature and sunsets to wonderful people. I even celebrated my twentieth birthday there with people who really made an incredible evening and memories for me.
Also new knowledge that I gained: first, knowledge of other countries and their cultures and cuisines. Now I even know what the Peruvian flag means. Also a better understanding of how to design a city where people will live happily.
I am really glad that I took part in this project and I recommend others to look for new ways to develop themselves. 
So do not wait long for the right moment, if you see an opportunity for yourself, then use it.” – Anastasiia Fefelova.

“Design and Share Your City Project was amazing! There were participants from different countries. We learned something new from each other and have a chance share our culture. One of the task was repairing a place in Baldone/Latvia. I really liked that part because i had done something with my hands and it looked good after we complete our task. In general i had learned, enjoyed and had a good time in Jurmala!” – Emrullah Tam.

““Design and share your city” has been a great project! Next to many topic related tasks as for example restructuring a public park nearby Riga there has been the great chance to get to know fellow participants very closely. This intercultural exchange with German, Ukrainian and Latvian people has been the best take-away for me!” – Viet Anh Le.

“I participated in the „Design and Share your city“ project in Jurmala. Our hostel was situated near the beautiful beach and the green Dzintaru Park. This was my first enrollment in a youth exchange project and I was surprised how interesting can be non-formal education. During the project we have discussed problems of the Latvian society and the development of urban living in the country. I enjoyed the opportunity to visit different places and to get to know how locals organize their everyday living. As our group was very international, I had also learnt about different cultures and their traditions.” – Cornelia Sahling.