The event took place at Turku Main Library courtyard on Europe Day 9.5. at 12-4 pm. The workshop took place at same time as the opening event of the Turku City Kaupunginosapäivät, which brought more visibility for the workshop. The tables were set with not only t-shirts, but also different kinds of snacks. Balloons were given out and we told the visitors about Youth week 2019, Europe Day and the international opportunities of StepEurope. There was a lot of people from the beginning and the activity of pimping t-shirts and the theme Democracy and Me awakened interest, dialogue and creativity. The text #DemocracyAndMe was printed on the back of the t-shirts and the visitors were encouraged to ponder the topic with the help of following questions:
- What does democracy mean to you?
- How is it possible to influence in your opinion?
- How have you influenced in your own community?
With their own thoughts, ideas and the discussion in their mind participants were invited to get creative with their t-shirt, that they were able to keep after. Photos were taken of the t-shirts with the participant permission and shared to social media. Yhdessä-yhdistys and Globaalinuoret ry, partner organisations of StepEurope, took part in the workshop. They shared information of how it is possible to influence through their activities. Two volunteers who had been in Erasmus+ trainings through StepEurope, shared their experiences and opened conversation about ways of influencing on European level. During the event information about upcoming trainings was shared to those interested.
At the workshop food and drink was provided all day. Balloons and the music program of the opening of the Kaupunginosaviikot gave the event a festive atmosphere to celebrate the European Day. The weather was nice and we had the luck to be able to enjoy the warm sun.
A group of young people named Transeuropa Caravans found their way to us by accident. They took part in the workshop, filmed an interview of the project coordinator of the organisation and shared materials from the workshop in their social media. Transeuropa Caravan consists of groups of young activists travelling around Europe promoting for example inclusion and electoral rights in different ways. More information about them you can find here: https://transeuropacaravans.eu/
After the event the volunteers were offered dinner, as a thanks for helping out with arranging the event. During the dinner the events of the day was discussed, feedback was collected and the responsibilities according to creating a blog text and video of the event was shared.