Between the 23rd and 26th of October 2025, 34 active ESN volunteers from 20 countries got together in the beautiful city of Braga in Portugal to take part in the Local Changemakers Training, hosted by ESN Portugal. The Local Changemarkers Training is part of the SPEAK OUT project, which is funded by the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme of the European Commission. The project aims to empower international youth to engage with local communities, challenge stereotypes, and fight misinformation. It promotes intercultural understanding, democratic participation, and solidarity.
The Local Changemakers Training Braga focused on empowering young people to become ambassadors of active citizenship by equipping them with the skills and tools to organise local events that inspire civic engagement and community participation. It aimed to support participants in designing initiatives that raise awareness of democratic values, inclusion, and the benefits of being active members of society.
During their time in Braga, the participants attended interactive sessions and presentations which provided them with the needed knowledge and skills to design and implement local activities aimed at fostering civic engagement and democratic participation.
The content of the training was structured around Kolb’s Learning Cycle. During the first day, the participants were provided with a space for sharing and reflecting on their current local realities. They were encouraged to share and understand their personal experiences with stereotypes and misinformation, as well as draw key learning points. The aim of the first day has been laying a strong foundation of understanding and reflection related to the topic of active citizenship, civic engagement and democratic participation.
The second day focused on experiential learning, conceptualisation and design. The whole day was dedicated to the strategic planning of local actions that could, later on, be implemented by the participants in their local communities. The participants were fully immersed in the process and managed to design specific, goal-oriented activities that would focus on fostering a concrete space for active and democratic participation in the civic life of their local communities.
The third and final training day has been structured around peer sharing and evaluation. The people involved were encouraged to analyse their peers’ work, provide feedback and incorporate needed changes in their designs. They were also provided with concrete tools to assess and understand the outcomes, outputs and impact of their events, while later on implementing the newly acquired knowledge to assess the impact Local Changemakers Training Braga had on their development.
Overall, the event proved to be a grand success amongst ESN’s active volunteers. Through Non-Formal Educational activities and experiential learning, the 34 participants have been able to deepen their knowledge on civic engagement, democratic participation and ways to fight misinformation. After this experience, they are now ready to act as multipliers and bring the change to their local communities!
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