Belgium’s young people build skills to promote social cohesion and peace

ISD’s Young Cities programme gathered young people in Zuienkerke, Belgium, in early April to work on building skills to address discrimination and anti-social behaviour in their communities. The four-day event, a Youth Innovation Lab workshop, was delivered in collaboration with local partner Roots vzw.

Eleven participants from the city of Antwerp worked on theoretical and practical skills for planning and delivering effective and sustainable social change projects, including project management, strategic communications, monitoring and evaluation.

On the final day of the workshop, participants pitched project ideas they had developed during the workshop to officials from Antwerp’s Youth Department and Prevention Department, as well as the US State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism. These projects will be developed and implemented over the coming six months.