We conducted workshops on strengthening civic competences for 10 young leaders from NGOs in Legnica (Dolnośląskie Voivodeship). We have selected them from different groups with diverse perspectives. Research conducted by Klon/Jawor Association in 2018 showed that many of the NGOs working in our voivodeship are young, operating no more than 5 years from the time of their registration. During the workshops, we talked to young people representing different organizations in the city. They shared their problems and needs and that’s how the idea for our project was born.
We wanted to support these young people primarily due to their limited experience and lack of support from the city. According to our observations, Legnica didn’t offer any actions supporting NGOs, especially the young ones that needed it the most.
We trained young leaders in organizational and leadership skills. Thanks to the training we have created a network of leaders who can develop the potential of young NGOs, now set on better communication with the public. In collaboration with their own organizations, the leaders engaged local communities into completing four initiatives as a form of a test of their newly learned skills.
Self-evaluation from young leaders said they have increased their knowledge and managed to strengthen their civic activism, which will help their professional development. Additionally, six of the participants started a new association after completing our workshops. They decided to create an organization supporting other women in the civic sphere.