From March 31 to April 4, Cooperative City’s Lukács Hayes – traveled to Rome to take part in the kickoff meeting and training of the Young People for Resilient Communities (YoReC) project, financed through an Erasmus+ grant. Hosted by Ecomuseo Casilino and Duas Lauros, the five-day training brought together partner organizations from across Europe for a deep dive into youth activation and participatory education methods.
The aim of the training was to explore and exchange pedagogical tools that help spark and sustain young people’s interest in civic engagement. Each day was packed with workshops, discussions, hands-on activities, and opportunities for learning from each other’s programs.
Cooperative City, the partner organisation of Eutropian, brought along the Katalizátor Program, our democratic education and youth activism initiative, which was presented during one of the workshops by Lukács. While YoReC as a project aims at youth empowerment more broadly, the Katalizátor framework offers a unique testing ground for embedding democratic education into long-term youth activation strategies.
Throughout the week, each partner organization – from Greece, Portugal, Germany, Hungary, and Italy – introduced their methods and approaches. The first two days were dedicated to these presentations, allowing the group to develop a common language and shared understanding before diving into co-creation.
On Wednesday, our hosts, Ecomuseo Casilino and Storie di Mondi Possibili, facilitated a powerful workshop on storytelling and community memory. Participants were invited to share a personal story with their peers, reflect on its meaning today, and explore its wider social relevance. The afternoon included a visit to the Museum of Urban Art on Migration and a guided walk through the catacombs – creating strong connections between place, memory, and identity.
Thursday was all about pilot project design. Each team developed the structure and objectives of their national pilot, with support from the organizers. By the end of the day, all teams had shaped a first version of their program to implement over the next year – including our redesigned Katalizátor, which we are eager to launch in its YoReC-enhanced format.
The training was filled with generosity, openness, and an inspiring spirit of collaboration. We are thankful to our hosts and partners for making it a truly memorable experience.
Stay tuned for updates from the Katalizátor pilot – and for more activities from the YoReC project, where we continue building civic competence, storytelling tools, and community resilience with and for young people across Europe.
About the Partners
YoReC brings together organizations with complementary expertise to achieve its mission. Key partners include:
- Associazione per l’Ecomuseo Casilino ad Duas Lauros (Italy): Project coordinator, with extensive experience in heritage and youth engagement.
- Comparative Research Network (Germany): Lead for research and toolkit development, focusing on digital tools and civic participation.
- ARCSS (Portugal): Dissemination lead, specializing in social inclusion and cultural programming.
- Cooperative City Nonprofit Ltd. (Hungary): Lead of pilot activities and local engagement in Budapest.
- Organization Earth (Greece): Specialist in experiential education and sustainability practices.
- Storie di Mondi Possibili (Italy): Lead for digital storytelling and archiving tools.
