Young Faces - Young Spaces Award

The first Young Faces – Young Spaces Award goes to the project of the town of Bleckede for the involvement and participation of children and young people (6-21 years) of the town of Bleckede in the “Kinder- und Jugendrat” (children and youth council)! Specifically, for the workshop “Your Voice Counts!”: Ideas and projects for a new recreational area of the town, elaboration in a one-day workshop. In particular, the following people will be awarded:

• the current mayor Dennis Neumann and his predecessor Jens Böhter
• the 13 year old student Alisia Dubs (representing the youth of Bleckede)
• Mail Peyko, process facilitator

Goals of the project:
The participation of children and young people in shaping their own living environment is an important part of ensuring that offers and activities take place in line with their needs. Furthermore, an appropriate participation of children and young people is anchored in law. The goals of the participation process are:

• Working out the wishes and ideas of the young people,
• Inquiring about the needs of the young people,
• Increasing the identification of all participants with the town of Bleckede
• Advertising for the youth council

Target group of the project:
Children and young people aged 6 to 21 were invited to the Future Workshop. This was advertised in the local newspapers and in schools, as well as in social networks. In addition, the Bleckede Youth Council and the Bleckede/Neetze Youth Welfare Office distributed flyers, put them in mailboxes and displayed them in various local stores.

Project funding:
The project is funded in the amount of 1.900€ by the initiative “Mittendrin” and supported by the town of Bleckede as well as the Albert-Schweitzer-Familienwerk e.V. Jugendpflege Bleckede/ Neetze.

What is a future workshop?
Future workshops are strategies for solving problems, finding ideas and planning. The participants develop creative, but also feasible and convincing ideas and concepts for the initial problem in a full-day future workshop.

About the town:
The town of Bleckede is located in the glacial valley of the Elbe River and belongs to the district of Lüneburg in Lower Saxony. The town of Bleckede has about 9,406 inhabitants and consists of other districts in addition to the core town.