Ashoka
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Advocacy Pathways
Empowering Youth in Decision-Making
Welcome to Advocacy Pathways – a competence center dedicated to showcasing the mechanisms and initiatives that empower young people to shape decisions that matter. Discover how youth are driving change, and get inspired to listen, engage, and collaborate with the next generation of changemakers.
Discover initiatives that empower youth
We showcase efforts that actively involve young people in decision-making — especially those from marginalized groups whose voices are too often overlooked.
City Youth Councils
Act as a platform for communication between young people and local authorities, enabling youth to express their opinions and participate in the decision-making process on issues affecting them.
The Sejm of Children and Youth
The Sejm of Children and Youth is a participatory-educational project aimed at pupils in the last three years of primary school, the aim of which is to educate the youngest generation of Polish citizens about parliamentarism and democracy.
Polish Council of Youth Organizations
Polish Council of Youth Organizations is a cooperation forum of non-governmental organizations which members are young Poles. They are the National Youth Council representing Polish youth in the European Union.
Have Your Say
“Masz Głos” (Have Your Say) is a project of the Batory Foundation that supports organisations and informal groups that work for their local communities. Programme participants set up community apiaries, run workshops for local residents, monitor the condition of trees, submit petitions, or undertake other initiatives. “Masz Głos” helps them to do all of this in cooperation with the local authority and the community.
Beyond Theory
Since 2013, they have been meeting school education by complementing it with a space for practical experience. They enable young people to carry out their own social projects, through which they acquire skills that are essential on the labour market, such as project management, empathy, creativity, teamwork or problem solving.
They organise the practical, nationwide Beyond Theory Olympiad. They believe that education should go hand in hand with practice. Thanks to the support of the zwolnienizteorii.pl platform, young people implement social initiatives that enable them to gain valuable experience and competences, as well as bring real benefits to society.
They are changing the face of education by combining science with practice and helping young people to become leaders of the future, ready for the challenges of the modern world.
The Starter Youth Council
The Starter Youth Council is a group of young people, active at the Starter Incubator. They are an advisory voice, but also organise workshops, meetings and educational events.
PLAN International Poland
Empowering girls and young people affected by the Ukraine war: reducing risks, enhancing resilience and fostering agency. Plan International works with children, young people, supporters and partner organisations, aiming to build a just world where we are all equal.
Go to the website >>
Edu-Leadership Development Program
This initiative organized by Teach for Poland aims to support teachers in adapting to the rapidly changing world of education, equipping them with the latest tools and competences needed to teach future generations.
With the rapid development of technology and the changing needs of students, it is crucial that teachers have access to up-to-date knowledge and practical skills. 'Mobile School of the Future' is the answer to these challenges. It is a comprehensive programme of workshops with experts.
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More resources
Young leaders shared their insights on collaboration and participation — we’ve captured them in 6 short lessons.
We brought together a Polish-German-Ukrainian Youth Leadership Team to strengthen their voice in the EU. The group developed recommendations for meaningful youth participation.
A joint initiative by Ashoka, Save the Children, and the Humanitarian Leadership Academy to empower local youth leaders who drive change in their communities and spark systemic transformation.
Advocacy Pathways is a part of the ICPN project (Inclusive Child Participation Networks), a two-year (2025–2026) collaborative initiative funded by the EU’s CERV programme (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values). It brings together 18 organizations from 11 countries with the shared goal of promoting inclusive and systematic child participation in decision-making processes, from the local level up to the European level.
