Ideathon: Meet up for peace!

Objectives of the Activity

Objectives are in the one hand to build the participants capacity in project management in the other hand to promote initiatives related to Culture of remembrance and Youth Participation in Peacemaking & Democratic Process.

Description of the activity

Ideathon is a dynamic event that brings together individuals or teams to generate innovative ideas and solutions. With the main purpose of fostering creativity and collaboration, ideathons provide a platform for participants to pitch their ideas and receive valuable feedback. The Aim: These events aim to solve specific problems or challenges through brainstorming sessions, encouraging out-of-the-box thinking, and pushing boundaries. By creating an environment conducive to idea generation and collaboration, ideathons have become popular in various industries, including technology, business, and social innovation. Participants depend on the Ideathon scope and goals; in our case, eligibility criteria included:

• Age: 16-26 years old
• Ability to work in English (B2);
• Citizenship of the project partner countries (Azerbaijan, Georgia or Germany)
• Interest and ability to be fully engaged in the IDEATHON in all phases.

We have divided the project into two parts. The first round of Ideathon was online, where we collected ideas, evaluated them, and decided on the best two. The two selected groups then traveled to Georgia for the second round to further develop their ideas.

Number of participants reached/ involved

No. of participants in total: 18

No. of young people, who participated: 18

Quotes of  involved young persons

“Even though we all are from different countries we had a lot of things in common and shared experiences from our countries so I learned also a lot about the life in Georgia and Azerbaijan.”–Johanna, participant

“There was a lot to learn from the different and diverse perspectives. It was also exciting to get out of a regular environment, where cultural dynamics are a part of the daily routine.” – Sascha, participant

“We discovered many similarities and differences in our cultures and talked a lot about the historical aspects and approaches to remembrance culture..” – Franka, participant

“In the process, it became possible to understand more precisely why certain national narratives are established in the context of a historical progression.” – Sascha, participant

Quote of an involved staff member

„I thought it was great to bring young people from different countries together through a specific event, especially because people in Germany know little or nothing about Azerbaijan and Georgia. There were lots of cool ideas and important encounters that can be financed through the ECC. It’s always nice when young people can meet in person. For me as a trainer, it was great to support young people in developing their ideas.”– Perdita, project coordinator