From 26th-29th June, the European Youth Forum(YFJ) organised the Youth Forum Academy, one of the most highly valued and essential parts of support and services for its member organisations. 

42 participants from the YfJ’s member organisations and partners joined the 3-day intensive capacity-building programme, delivered by the pool of trainers, secretariat members and guests speakers.

The programme was build around 3 specific profiles of participants engaged in the day to day running of the YfJ’s member organisations. Secretary generals, Policy officers, and Communication officers all engaged in workshops tailored to their roles and learning needs.

The Cyprus Youth Council was represented by the Communication Officer of the CYC Ms. Andri Voutouri.

In total, there were more than 20 hours of educational sessions and workshops on offer. Some of the topics we tackled covered:

Effective leadership

Advocacy and lobbying

Communications and social media strategy 

Impact and evaluation

Using data for advocacy purposes

Alternative ways of fundraising

Sustainable offices 

Participants were also able to exchange with secretariat members of the Youth Forum and had the opportunity to get to know more about the advocacy work in practice and the different campaigns and activities.

The Academy is a capacity building activity for the YfJ’s Member Organisation organised every two years. This was the 4th edition, taking place in Brussels, Belgium. The main aim this time was to strengthen the capacity and improve the performance of the secretariat and administrative offices of the member organisations.