'}}

1st Transnational Meeting in Portugal

Our first "Transnational Meeting" was a fantastic opportunity for partners to unite and recognize each other's involvement in the Power Youth Up project. Over three days, youth coordinators and Youth Workers gathered in Lisbon to review objectives and strategies, and establish an action plan. Visits to inspiring educational spaces in Almada and Sintra allowed us to witness the reality of our host organizations, Novo Mundo and Youth Coop. The meeting aimed to align practices, methodologies, and concepts that form the foundation of Power Youth Up. Despite coming from diverse backgrounds, we discovered common challenges in our work with young people.

Contributed by Youth Coop.

The first "Transnational Meeting" was a moment of gathering and recognition for the partners involved in this project. For 3 days, youth coordinators and technicians gathered to review the objectives and strategies outlined for this project. This meeting took place in different locations in the Lisbon metropolitan area, showcasing the reality of the hosting organizations for this event: Novo Mundo and Youth Coop. The days were organized between Almada and Sintra, visiting workspaces, youth-related centers, and inspiring projects in the education field. The purpose of this meeting was to design an action plan to distribute tasks, create a priority schedule, and get to know who would be involved in this project in the different countries.

1st Day - Almada Recognition (South Bank)

The project representatives were accommodated at Caparica Sun Centre, located in Costa da Caparica, near the intervention area of the hosting organization Novo Mundo. The first meeting was to personally introduce each technician present at this meeting, fostering relationships and facilitating the sharing of expectations from each organization regarding their involvement in Power Youth Up. The meeting also served to share the project's mission and vision, reviewing the application and proposed objectives to be achieved. During the afternoon of this day, the technicians had the opportunity to visit one of the first locations on the agenda. Ponto de Encontro, located near Cais do Ginjal, functions as a space for socializing, creation, and training, where young people, associations, and youth groups from the Municipality of Almada develop sociocultural and/or artistic projects. The session continued with further work related to reviewing the action plan, forming working groups, and outlining priorities for the first months of the project.

2nd Day - Sintra Recognition (Suburban Zone of Lisbon)

On this day, the technicians traveled to Sintra, visiting the geographical area where the organization YouthCoop operates and carries out its work. The first stop was at Casa da Juventude, a space owned by the Sintra City Council, designed for leisure and training of the young people of Sintra. It is located in Tapada das Mercês, one of the most intercultural areas in the Lisbon region, where several organizations work with the local community. The group visited local projects of the Aga Khan Foundation, which focuses on research in areas such as child development, education, civil society, economic inclusion, and seniors. The technicians then traveled to the Agualva-Cacém area to visit Centro Lúdico das Lopas in the afternoon of that day. This center is one of the facilities in the network of ludic centers managed by the Sintra City Council's Department of Education. The offices of Youth Coop have been located at Centro Lúdico das Lopas since 2019, offering a program of activities related to youth work, citizenship education, and sustainability. Another work session took place, where the group reviewed aspects of implementing training for technicians, focusing on the methodology guiding the development of activities to promote creativity and community space activation. The day ended with a brief visit to the historic center of Sintra, having dinner at a Portuguese cuisine restaurant. The technicians returned to Costa da Caparica, filled with different references and having accomplished a lot of work.

3rd Day - Aligning Practices and Visit to Almada

On the last day of this meeting, in the morning, the technicians visited Centro Cultural Juvenil de Sto. Amaro, also known as "Casa Amarela." This facility provides technical and logistical support to the youth community in Almada, in the areas of artistic, recreational, and social activities, support for associative movements, and training in various youth-related areas of interest. After the visit and lunch, the group gathered again to work on the "Intellectual Outputs," the expected results at the end of the project. Four outcomes were proposed, coordinated by different partners. After tasks, plans, and schedules were assigned, the technicians had free time that afternoon to explore the Almada or Lisbon area, bidding farewell to this first meeting that laid the foundation for the project's progress over time.

It is important to emphasize that this meeting aimed to align concepts, practices, and methodologies that constituted the core of Power Youth Up. Each partner came from different realities but discovered that there is more in common regarding the challenges they face in their work with young people. This project fostered reflection on the potential of developing creativity so that young people can feel and experience the opportunity to have a space available to explore their skills, test their ideas, and try new things.