Active Citizens
In partnership with the British Council, this youth based program was designed to tap potential and enhance the knowledge base of youth to become useful members of society. It was based on the belief and premise that youth matter today and are also the future. Active Citizens Program (ACP) aims to develop leadership skills in young people around the globe by facilitating community and political participation amongst young people through interaction with local community, organizations and local and national governments. The program used national and local resources as well as UK expertise to build capacity of partners and facilitators. It also developed an understanding of global issues which affect young people and their communities. The Program aimed to develop the ability of young people to think for themselves and act for others. Realizing the crucial need to guide young people to achieve their full potential, ECDI continued to channelize their energy and build a cadre of young leaders and adults working together with a common purpose for the development of the country. Through the ECDIs involvement, the ACP aimed to:
- Develop leadership and advocacy skills and empower young people to play a pivotal role to bring positive social change within their communities, and sensitize them to identity and conflict issues, understanding intercultural dialogue as a conflict resolution process and developing skills to set up successful dialogues for increased interaction between diverse groups of youth.
- Build networks within their communities collaborating with local government, community influencers, policy makers, educational institutions, and media and civil society organizations to actively engage on community based issues through social action.
- Develop an understanding of diversity and difference, ensuring inclusively in terms of gender, disability, ethnicity, faith, and vulnerability.
- Facilitate young people to understand the links between local and global issues so that they can correlate the national and global resonance of local actions.