On October 10th, Mindchangers celebrated its regional conclusion in Baden-Württemberg under the title “Spot on Young Power – the final Mindchangers Summit” at the New Palace in Stuttgart. Once again, it became evident, that young people in Baden-Württemberg are full of innovative ideas and are actively committed to a sustainable future and the 2030 Agenda!
With the participation of young people, civil society actors and representatives from politics and administration, the event not only honored youth engagement, but also gave space to work on innovative ideas, new perspectives and transformative cooperations within seven different work sessions, operating under the three formats of mini-social häckathons, creative läbs, and exchange hubs.
Rudi Hoogvliet, State Secretary for Media Policy and Representative of the State of Baden-Württemberg to the Federal Government, emphasized at the final Mindchangers Summit that collaboration and innovation create change. Many young people draw their motivation from these two sources.
Sandra Boser, State Secretary in the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, noted that democracy education and participation are the key to a sustainable future.
Philipp Keil, Managing Director of the Foundation for Development Cooperation in Baden-Württemberg, emphasized that the narrative, that younger generations are socially as well as politically disinterested, has been refuted since Fridays for Future at the latest. Young people are more informed and interested than ever before.
In the Political Showcase, State Secretary Sandra Boser, Mayor Antonia Walch and former State Student Advisory Council member M. Berat Gürbüz concluded the event with a discussion, involving the participants of the event, to discern how politics and administration can support and enable in implementation of ideas by young people.
In Baden-Württemberg, the project reached over 220,000 people, funded 22 with 840,000 €, carried out numerous networking and capacity building activities and published the Mindchangers Youth Declaration and the practical guide for local authorities and civil society organizations.
After the official closing of Mindchangers, the results of the project as well as the established networks will be carried on and utilized by the Promotor for Youth Engagement and Climate Justice and in particular by the Network for Youth Engagement Baden-Württemberg.
