THE EUROPEAN PROGRAM ERASMUS+ PARTYOUTH HAS BEEN COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY

        On Saturday 20^th April 2019 the actions of the European Program ERASMUS+ PARTYOUTH were successfully completed under the co-ordination of the Department of Planning, Organization & Development of the Municipality of Petroupoli.

    The particular project was accomplished with the collaboration of the School of Fine Arts and the support of Decentralized Administration of Attica. However, the most important role was that of the young people in the city of Petroupoli. The University students, employed and unemployed people, volunteers and high school students who got involved received certificates of participation and the schools received honorable plaques.

        The presentation of the creations took place in the Cultural Center where the visitors had the chance to admire paintings, pottery and sculptures “born” during the program, as well as the video with the various activities of the program.

The Municipality of Petroupoli , with the program “Democracy through the artistic intervention of the youth” laid the foundation for the practice of structured dialogue between the youth and the political representatives. Some of the activities that took place were meetings, seminars, communication with local and national bodies, visits, press conferences, use and projection of social networking sites, recording of opinions of young people, creation of artistic works and presentation of certificates.

      The purpose of the program Partyouth Erasmus+ of the Municipality of Petroupoli was to:

-   Contribute to the delivery of constructed dialogue through the artistic expression of the youth so as to be enhanced with the aesthetic means of expression of Art.

-   Provide young people with the means that enforce the freedom of speech (in the form of art exhibitions in a national and international level) as a springboard to the organization of debates, seminars and conferences whose thematic has to do with the policy-making for the support of the youth.

-   Promote the artistic creation as a political intervention and lead to the solutions of young people’s problems.

-   Furthermore, the program aims at the support of vulnerable social groups and their active participation in the program and its actions.

       This project was distinguished because it has the innovation and initiative to contribute to the consideration of artistic expression as political intervention so as to enable young people to express their political views through artistic actions. In many cases, the use of Art functions as a means of freedom for the individuals and more specifically for the youth. Thus, it can offer much more opportunities for the interested groups to express themselves over more difficult issues, such as the participation in the political process and the communication with other social groups.

      The participation of young people in the political process, the expression of the political views and the communication with other social groups, regardless of where they stand politically, was the ultimate aim of the project. It is important for young people to know that they can express their opinion and this may influence the political decisions of the authorities and institutions. One more significant part was the participation of vulnerable social groups which are sidelined in social and political issues, even though their voice should be strong.

      The general aim of the program is the empowering of the democratic regime and the democratic procedures through participation and discussion. The trust among the institutions, authorities and young people is crucial for the accomplishment of the program as it is the only way to express ideas and have them taken into consideration where possible.