Security/ Stability/ Reforms
Regional Development

Youth at age of 13 to 25 living in peripheral and / or disadvantaged regions; Personnel involved in youth work and work with youth groups at risk.

A growing number of young people drop out of school without any goals for further education or professional integration and spend most of their time wandering, feeling excluded and misunderstood. This increases vulnerability, including the risk to be involved in criminal offence or to become victims. Latvian Youth Policy, which was prepared as a part of the National Development Plan, foresees to support infrastructures and activities for young people. A prime condition for positive youth activities are meeting venues for youth where to gather and develop activities. Today in Latvia, there are only 39 youth centres to cover 109 amalgamated municipalities. The project will set up 11 new youth centers and will extend / renovate 6. In addition, trainings for persons involved in youth work including various methodologies will be provided under the project.

The goal of the project is to provide personal and professional perspectives to young people living in peripheral and disadvantaged regions of Latvia. A specific objective is to increase opportunities for young people to become socially active, through the development of infrastructures, activities, and exchanges specifically designed for young people.

(i): to establish 11 multifunctional youth centres and to extend / renovate 6 youth centres; (ii): to organise 100 seminars and provide training for approximately 2000 young persons from all planning regions using peer to peer learning methodology; (iii): to provide trainings, seminars, exchange programmes and events for youth itself over almost 6 year period; (iv): to organise regional/national and international conferences and fora for young people and persons involved in youth work for approximately 500 participants.

The expected results are:

• Eleven multifunctional youth initiative centres are established and six extended;
• Specialists involved in youth work are trained; 
• One hundred seminars for approximatelly 2’000 participiants are organised;
• Five regional conferences for at least 500 participants and one international conference with at least 250 partcipiants on work with youth groups at risk are organized;
• Five regional and two national forums on voluntary work are organized;
• Sixty seminars for people working with youth are organised and methodological materials are elaborated;