
Our overall goal is to contribute to building a more democratic and inclusive Europe with genuine youth participation through the international project TUNI. In doing so, we focus on the inclusion of young trade union activists (TU) as a numerous but so far neglected subcategory of youth in society. Our goal is to give a new impetus to strengthening youth civic engagement and participation across Europe by engaging young TU members as a new force for articulating the needs and priorities of different categories of youth by empowering them to use their own well-developed organizational structures more actively. The project is designed to last 24 months and aims to create a network of young TU leaders/activists who can first act as multipliers among their peers and in their own unions, and then spread to other relevant structures. The project includes two phases: Research, Education (based on the research findings), and Information.
After researching the key challenges faced by young TU activists and developing a new curriculum for working with young TU members on active citizenship, a 4-month union academy follows for 35 participants, empowering them to develop individual action plans and continue knowledge transfer in their communities to directly reach 700 more young TU members. Part of the learning process also includes a study visit to Slovenia to share knowledge and best practices.
The information component includes a comprehensive online and media campaign called "Unions are IN - engage, act, influence" to reach at least 700,000 people.
The final phase includes a visit by the consortium to relevant structures in Brussels to map out the space for involvement of the youth sections of TU in the development and implementation of European youth policy, and a final conference for representatives of trade unions across Europe to present the new model
The final conference for representatives of trade unions from across Europe served to present the new model and lay the groundwork for follow-up.