with Kabinet J and to ensure their recommendation is heard by all politicians in power. Kabinet J wants to listen to as many youngsters as possible and have used several different methods such as events, on line chatting, visits to schools etc. Kabinet J has been successful in being an organisation that includes youngsters from all different communities in the city. Kabinet J works hard to get as many young people as possible involved in the topics that politicians wants the answer of, from young people but also helps groups of young people to be listened to. Jeugdadviseurs (Youth advisors) Youth advisors are a project about friends helping friends. Young people have a tendency to go to the peers when they have a problem. The purpose of this project is to teach a group of young people the basic counselling skills so they are equipped to deal with all sort of problems presented to them by their peers but also signaling issues and problems to JAC (the organisation that Youth advisors works within). Every year in February a new course is on offer to young people to become Advisors. The training starts with a weekend away with teambuilding and the group then meets regularly to get skills needed to be a good Advisor. Every year we train around 15 young people at the age 15-25 years old to become Advisors. The group in Leuven, Belgium April 2015 Methods Opera Opera is a communication method that makes sure everybody in the group gets to say their opinion. In big groups often only a few people speak their mind and the result of the discussion is not a conclusion of the whole group, but the result of the people comfortable speaking their mind. The aim with Opera is to create an environment where everybody feels comfortable and safe to express their thoughts. The key for this to succeed is a structured conversation in five steps. The five steps are Own suggestion, Pair suggestion, Explanations, Ranking, Arranging – the first letter of each step makes the word OPERA hence the name of the method. Opera was designed by Kari Helin who also is the founder of Innotiimi, .
Required competences: Individual level General knowledge: Local politics Local policies and priorities Youth cultures/young lifestyles Diversity/Equal opportunities Other organisations User knowledge: Youth cultures/young lifestyles Needs of target group Daily activities/habits Living conditions Language Prospectives Health Skills: Leading a group Conflict resolution Counselling Listening Pedagogy Solution focused Reflective Fascilitating Group dynamic Communicaton/social media Promoting Outreach Motivation Creativity Social competencies/attitudes: Patience Empathy Tolerance Curiosity Proactivity Respectfullness Trustworty Genuine Humour Being able to empower Couraging Democratic values Organisational level General knowledge: Latest research/results Local politics/politicians Local policies and priorities Other organisations Evaluation Legalisation Law Funding Organise a platform for youths User knowledge: Same as the individual level Democratic processes Skills: Solution focused Fascilitating Promoting Networking Sustainability Chain management Policy making Innovative Training Communication Media strategy Participation Receptive and responding Quality assure processes Social competencies/attitudes: Encouraging/proud Receiptivness Inclusive Respectfull Democratic valuea Useful tips / observations: Sustainability Open mindedness Motivating