CONNECTING THE DOTS

It is a great inspiration to see how our shared values can become actions within our diverging geopolitical contexts. Through the network, I was able to meet excellent mayors whom we continue to deal with almost every week, and I also met technicians and architects that I want to host in my city. To share and learn from amazing colleagues and talented professionals is a real opportunity and I’m grateful for that!

The ACT NOW Youth Programme was a call for action, showing us that there is no specific moment to wait for to voice our ideas, because the moment is NOW! Activists, politicians, and young people from different countries presented their grassroots initiatives in this shared and international space. It was the communication achieved through this interactive environment that equipped us, the participants, with practical ideas to bring back and implement in our respective communities!

ACT NOW is an excellent source of ideas and new perspectives. Sharing experiences with municipalities across the globe has been both inspirational and practically beneficial. Our common focus is building long-lasting relationships based on respect, diversity and love for the community.

ACT NOW provides real and successful learning experiences, builds the capacity of its members and creates a platform to exchange and test new ideas. It's a great network that connects mayors from different backgrounds and cultures who share the same principles and values and support their communities in working collectively to improve people’s wellbeing. ACT NOW gave me the opportunity to meet wonderful professionals and an incentive to stay the course in pursuit of a better world.

This ACT NOW Youth Programme not only taught me ways to share my voice through a series of group activities, but it also connected me with young people all over Europe with similar interests in change-making! I enjoyed the programme as it was perfectly suited for people my age with lots of bonding time and don't forget the pizza of course ;). It's so important that there are programmes like this that are accessible to young people and encourage us to be a changemaker in our communities!