Mentoring civic engagement multipliers

Three skill-building webinars equipped young civic leaders with critical tools for carrying out their ideas, connecting with peers, and preparing for potential participation in Alpbach Ideas 2024.

Promoted extensively through EFA’s social media channels and highlighted during introductory meetings with 2024 scholarship holders, the webinars served dual purposes: preparing participants to engage more fully with the Forum and providing practical skills to apply in their civic projects. Each session, facilitated by experts from I4E consortium partners, aimed to build capacity in advocacy, negotiation, and project management.

The webinars were introduced as a unique opportunity for participants to connect with peers, build essential civic leadership skills, and gain practical insights for effective project development—even where they were at an early stage. The emphasis was on fostering skills in advocacy, negotiation, and strategic project planning, empowering participants to act as emerging civic mentors in their communities. Some participants attended more than one webinar, demonstrating the success and appeal of these sessions in providing valuable, relevant skills that resonated with the scholarship holders.

The webinars were promoted within the Forum Alpbach Network (FAN) WhatsApp group, connecting alumni and new scholarship holders—many of whom return as Forum participants. A direct pitch during the introductory webinars for the 2024 scholarship holders further underscored the benefits of joining these sessions, framing them as an invaluable preparatory step to fully immerse in the Forum and maximise the impact of their civic initiatives.