Youth participation, civic engagement, and real impact on the development of Kraków
The project “Ambassadors of Local Change” is addressed to young residents of Kraków who want to actively participate in city life and influence decisions concerning their local communities.
The main goal of the project is to show that young people can truly co-create urban space and use participation tools such as the Civic Budget of the City of Kraków. Participants gain knowledge about civic participation, prepare their own social projects, and develop leadership competences.
OUR ACTIVITIES
Study Visit to Hungary
The first important stage of the project was a study visit that took place from 27–29 May 2024 in the city of Pécs, Hungary. Participants had the opportunity to learn about good practices related to youth activation and cooperation between non-governmental organisations and local authorities.
During the visit, we visited the organisation Nevelők Háza Egyesület, which has been implementing educational and social projects for young people for many years. This meeting helped us better understand everyday work with young people and the tools used to develop civic competences.
Participants also visited the city hall, where they met with local government representatives responsible for youth policy. Special attention was given to the promotion of the civic budget and methods of involving residents in decision-making processes.
The study visit was an important source of inspiration and showed that active youth participation in public life is possible when proper conditions for dialogue and cooperation are created.
District Youth Meetings
One of the most important stages of the project was the district youth meetings, which took place from November 2024 to January 2025. During this period, 10 meetings were organised with a total of 212 young participants – secondary school students, university students, and young residents from different districts of Kraków.
The aim of the meetings was to collect ideas for changes that young people would like to see both in their immediate surroundings and across the entire city. The meetings created a space for discussion about the everyday challenges faced by young people and possible solutions through the Civic Budget.
During the workshops, the World Café method was used, allowing discussions in small thematic groups. Participants worked at tables dedicated to areas such as green spaces and ecology, education, culture, infrastructure, sport, and recreation.
Thanks to this format, dozens of ideas were created, which later became the basis for further project activities and the preparation of specific Civic Budget proposals.
Proposal Writing Marathon
The next stage of the project was the proposal writing marathon for the Civic Budget, which took place in February 2025. These meetings had a workshop format and focused on transforming ideas developed during the district meetings into concrete projects ready for submission.
Fifteen young people particularly interested in actively participating in the civic project submission process took part in the event. Participants learned the rules of preparing proposals, creating budgets, describing local needs, and defining target groups for their projects.
As a result of the workshops, five projects were prepared and submitted to the Civic Budget of the City of Kraków.
Youth Leaders Camp
From 1–7 August 2025, an international Youth Leaders Camp took place in Hungary. The aim of the camp was to develop young people’s leadership competences and prepare them to initiate social activities in their local communities.
The programme included workshops, educational games, social simulations, intercultural activities, and project work in small groups.
Participants developed skills related to planning social projects, communication, teamwork, and critical thinking. The camp played an important role in strengthening their sense of agency and motivation for further social engagement.
Submitted Civic Budget Projects
During the proposal writing marathon, young participants prepared five projects for the Civic Budget of the City of Kraków:
- “Green Roof of Kraków – Creating Green Space in the Heart of the City”: The project aimed to create a green space on the roof of one of the public buildings. This place would serve as a garden accessible to residents and an educational space where ecological workshops could be organised.
- “Fruit City – More Greenery and Fruit Trees in Kraków”: The goal of the project was to plant fruit trees in urban spaces, especially in parks and residential areas. The project was intended to promote the idea of shared urban resources and increase residents’ access to green spaces.
- “Flowers for the City – Floral Joy for Residents”: The project focused on creating new flower beds and wildflower meadows in urban spaces. Its aim was to improve the aesthetics of public areas and support biodiversity by creating spaces friendly to pollinating insects.
- “StressUnderControl – A School Without Stress, Full of Support and Balance”: This project focused on youth mental health and included workshops on coping with stress, school pressure, and emotions.
- “Development of Financial Lectures – Financial Education for Young People”: The project aimed to organise a series of meetings and workshops for young people on personal finance management, saving money, and basic economics.
The project showed young people that their voice matters and that they can truly influence their surroundings. For many participants, it was their first experience of active involvement in city matters and their first opportunity to understand civic participation mechanisms.
Participants emphasised that the opportunity for open discussion about youth needs and joint idea creation was especially important. The district meetings showed that young people have many valuable ideas, but they often lack the space to present them.
The process of preparing projects for the Civic Budget was also a major learning experience. Even though not all projects passed formal verification, participants highlighted that they gained practical knowledge and a better understanding of how local government works and how to prepare social initiatives.
The Youth Leaders Camp further strengthened their sense of agency and motivation to continue taking action. Many participants said that thanks to the project, they began to see themselves as people capable of initiating change and actively shaping their local community.
As one participant summarised:
“People often say that young people are not interested in the city, but I think it is exactly the opposite. We are just rarely asked about it. Once we were given space to talk, there were really a lot of ideas.”
