Project TRIALOG, full name being Activating youth by encouraging them to form meaningful connections, take an active role in their local communities and empowering them for a violence-free life, was created as a response to noticed challenges that young people in Podravska region are met with. The project stems from the consequences of the COVID-19 epidemic, which has contributed to loss of social contacts, rise of domestic violence and overall distress due to loss of employment and/or inability to balance personal and professional lives because of working from home.

Some noticed challenges include:

• lack of social contacts, lack of contact with the world;
• influence on family, romantic and work relationships as well as rise in domestic violence;
• lack of social inclusion of youth;
• psychosocial distress of victims of violence, especially within young and women, which have already entered the epidemic on unequal ground;
• higher levels of peer violence;
• low confidence, independence and apathy in relation to wider society;
• low self-image within young people and lack of supportive service for them in their region as well as their material deprivation.

Empowerment and social activation are based on three levels:

• activities to strengthen individual self (monologue);
• interactions of individual self with peers (dialogue), and
• interactions of self with wider community and society (the project name – trialog).

Alongside young people and people, employed in areas that work with young people, we address interest groups and non-governmental organisations, educational entities such as high school and youth centres, local administration offices, regional development organisations, adult education centres and state organs in the field of youth and mental health.

Institute for Gender Equality Maribor (IPES) is the project operator. Project is created in cooperation with the following partners:

• Ptuj City Municipality,
• Adult education centre Ormož,
• Centre of extracurricular activities Ptuj,
• Youth Council of Ptuj City Municipality,
• Avisensa, Institute for psychology, counselling and education, Kamnica.

Project Trialog is co-financed by Norway through Norway Grants financial mechanism in amount of 469 000 eur. The aim of the project is to empower and activate young people and youth workers. Its duration is from 15. 6. 2022 until 30. 4. 2024.

The EEA and Norway Grants are funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The Grants have two goals: to contribute to a more equal Europe, both socially and economically; to strengthen the relations between Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and the 15 Beneficiary States in Europe. Through reduction of social and economic disparities as well as strengthening of bilateral relations the internal market is reinforced, leading to more prosperity in Europe.

Topics and programmes covered through grants are:

• Innovation, research, education and competitiveness;
• social inclusion, youth employment and poverty reduction;
• environment, energy, climate change and low carbon economy;
• culture, civil society, good governance and fundamental rights and freedoms;
• justice and home affairs.

Additionally there is the Fund for regional cooperation and the Fund for youth employment. More information on all of the topics can be found at norwaygrants.si, eeagrants.org  and at Ministry’s website.

You can follow the progress of the project via our social media (FB, IG) and our website in the news section (Aktualno).

This text was created through financial support from the Norway Grants. The content of it is the responsibility of project partners and does not in any capacity reflect the views of Programme Operator GODC of programme for Education, Scholarships, Apprenticeship and Youth Entrepreneurship.