In the margins of the conference organized to present the cross-border comparative report and take stock of the situation, project managers in charge of the project CaSYPoT had the chance to meet Ms Greta Klotz from the Eurac Research, Bolzano (Italy) and Ms Annalisa Cevasco from the Agenzia di Sviluppo GAL Genovese, Genova (Italy) to evaluate the possibility to set up a concrete collaboration between CaSYPoT and GaYA (Interreg Alpine Space) projects in 2018.
One of the main outputs of the GaYA project so far is the comparative report “Democratic innovation and participatory democracy in the Alpine area”. It provides a portrait of the legal framework of democratic innovation in the Alpine States and Regions and maps empirical trends by collecting good examples of and statements on participatory democracy implemented in the Alpine region, moving from the belief that the implementation of innovative forms of governance has great potential in terms of more sustainable and legitimate decision-making.
As both projects aim at facing the phenomenon that sees young people leaving small and medium-sized communities because of the lack of personal and professional fulfilment, increasing the involvement of youth in decision-making processes and developing new approaches for decision makers, there is space for a fruitful exchange of best practices between the two projects. In this regard, the face-to-face meeting was also a good opportunity to share knowledge about the tools being used in the City of Słupsk to engage young people and raise the degree of social involvement. To conclude, the meeting represented an interesting opportunity to lay the foundations for a strengthen cooperation in 2018 between projects taking in place in different regions of Europe nevertheless both focused on addressing young people.