The key objective of Reinventing Democracy in the Digital Era is to increase youth participation in democratic governance by empowering young people from across the world to invent and propose new, innovative and concrete actions. More than 1000 young people will contribute their ideas either face-to-face and/or virtually during the five Co-Laboratories of Democracy, which will take place in the five regions, virtual Co-Laboratories and the many the Webinars that will follow. The process is designed to mobilize young people and to increase interaction among youth globally with the aim to advocate for and enable meaningful youth participation in democratic processes.
At the core of the project are 100 carefully selected participants, 20 from each region. Each Core Participant will be backed up by peers and regional civil society and media organizations and also supported by three international mentors:
- Peer Empowerment and Support Mentors
- [[Mentors in Digital Communication Strategy and Policy]
- Mentors in the Science of Dialogic Design
Each mentor will be in charge for at least 5 Core Participant, one per region.
Peer Empowerment and Support Mentors
These are other young people from across the world who have already demonstrated a unique ability and braveness to pursue their personal aspiration in some aspect of life. They will serve both as inspiration and as resource for ideas. Their role is to engage in brainstorming together with their mentoree about options for taking action and also empower them in taking the steps needed to convert their visions and ideas into action.
Mentors in Digital Communication Strategy and Policy
These are international experts and/or scientists in the fields of communication strategy, communication policy, promotion and dissemination of results. Their role is to mentor the mentee in all her/his efforts from developing a strategy to promote her'/his messages all the way to identifying, contacting and convincing relevant stakeholders and./or decision makers to support them in all their endeavours.
One Mentor in Digital Communication Strategy and Policy will mentor 5 Mentees, one per Continent. The Mentees choose their Mentors using the available information in their respective pages and their personal videos.
Specific Tasks
- Ensure that their Mentees remain active throughout the project lifetime
- Arrange regular Skype meetings with their Mentees, both individually and sometimes as a group
- Have Mentees research and identify all media related organizations in their area
- Have their Mentees explore for opportunities to present their work; if necessary help by writing a letter to the media channel
- Support them in preparing their communication plans and practice their presentations
- Facilitate the exchange of information, ideas, and projects between their five Mentees
- Encourage their Mentees to work on their own specific projects
- Help their Mentees with ideas on how to secure support and funds to implement their own projects, including applying to this program
- Encourage their Mentees to learn from each other, replicate what the others have tried
The following individuals serve currently as Mentors:
Mentors in the Science of Dialogic Design
These are scientists and practitioners experts in the Science of Dialogic Design. Their role is to support the