„Strengthening Political Youth Organizations“
Sude Çelikörs; member of the liberal youth movement 3H, has attended the first online training at the International Academy for Leadership in Gummersbach.
I have participated in the first virtual training at the IAF of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation on the topicof “Strengthening the Political Youth Organizations”. As a member of the 3H Movement, this training was a useful experience, it inspired me and provided me with new ideas on how to develop our organization. Starting from the ground up, we received trainings on various topics, from setting a strategic goal for our organization, volunteer communication and crisis management to organizational infrastructure. Moreover, we applied multiple online tools throughout the productive training.
Democracies needs strong democrats, institutions and individual freedoms. To achieve democracy, we need education that prepares the next generation to solve problems in society democratically.
As 3H Movement, we understand the importance of education. This training provided by the IAF has prepared me for many challenges, such as the management of a youth organization or the implementation of our organization’s objectives. During the course, we brainstormed with participants from countries from all over the world about our primary goal of education and also the strategic objectives we want to define for our organizations. We talked about factors in our working processes that influence our objectives and how we can turn challenges and weaknesses into opportunities.
Campaign directors from liberal political parties and associations shared their experiences in very interesting presentations. In group works, we have discussed problems youth organizations may face and we realized that youth organizations all over the world deal with similar problems despite working in different political cultures. Another focus point was marketing and branding of our organizations. We discussed the ideas that we support and then brainstormed how we can promote these ideas - and ourselves. We ended up producing our own promotion videos and published them on Instagram.In the training, we experienced that interactive education models work well to get attention and learn successfully. Also for us as members of the 3H movement, it is important that the participants in our events express themselves and take part in vibrant discussions and experience interaction.
For me personally, the most important outcome of the IAF training was to realize that although our views on many issues may differ, we as liberal-minded people will always have much in common. There is no reason for us not to work together based on our common values, as long as we rely on individual freedoms, the free market and the rule of law.
As youth organizations, we face similar problems and we can learn from each other and serve as examples for each other. This training has contributed a lot to my personal as well as to the organizational development of the group I represented. By sharing my experiences with my friends in the 3H Movement, I will make sure the knowledge gained will become part of our organizational memory.
As organization, we support the promotion of freedom. Thanks to our partner, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, we have the chance to always improve what we do. Stay free!