Launching the Activist Lab programme for youth activists
We are proud to be announcing our participation in the Activist Lab programme! Together with 8 other organisations from around the world, we will be working together to foster inclusive and welcoming spaces where youth activists can come together, connect, and learn new and strengthen existing skills to lead their social movements for change.
Activists from the Activist Lab project were gathering together in Georgia in November 2022 to exchange knowledge, experience, and collectively shape the future of the programme. Follow our socials to keep up-to-date with the latest activities from the Activist Lab.
What is the Activist Lab?
Imagine a world where youth’s voices are heard loud and clear and they are equipped to use their voice to advocate for and create the changes they want for and with their communities, regions, countries and the entire globe. This is the aim of the Activist Lab.
“If we want to achieve our goal, let us empower ourselves with the weapon of knowledge and protect ourselves with unity and togetherness”
– Malala Yousafzai (children’s rights activist)
Over the next three years, Activist Lab events and workshops will be hosted in the countries where the participating organisations are based. The programme’s activities are contextualised to each country and happen in different formats. What they do hold in common however is: the aim to strengthen the work of these youth activities, equip them with tools to reach more impact, and the network to support them in that journey. The Activist Lab is an opportunity for young activists to gain knowledge about influencing policy, developing campaign skills, and exchanging knowledge with activists within and outside their region.
The topics focused on also vary depending on the needs of the youth activists and their contexts, whether that is on topics from opening up civic space, to human rights, climate and environmental justice, and tackling false information.
A global exchange
The Activist Lab spans from Peru, to Tanzania, Lebanon, Georgia, and the Netherlands. Working together throughout the next three years, all organisation’s taking part will play key roles in supporting youth activists in their region, connecting them with other activists from around the world, organising creative events, and sharing campaigns. Furthermore, all partners will contribute to fostering Activist Labs that value youth leadership, foster a diversity of voices, and are proudly feminist, welcoming, and inclusive.
The network is made up of 9 organisations, including Actua.PE, the African Human Rights Network, Justice & Peace Netherlands, MAAN, Oxfam Novib, Oxfam Novib Activist Lab, Oxfam Peru, Pax, and World of Tolerance.
We at Justice & Peace will be working with our partners the African Human Rights Network and World of Tolerance over the next three years to create and host Activist Labs with youth activists in Georgia, Tanzania, and in the Netherlands. Stay tuned for more!
