When young people are trusted to lead, they stop waiting to be heard

For many young people, having ideas is not the difficult part. Finding a way to make those ideas heard is.

In communities around the world, young people are often encouraged to participate, but too rarely are they given the knowledge, confidence and space to influence decisions that affect their lives. They may be invited to meetings or events, but they are not always included where real conversations happen. Over time, this can create a feeling that their voices do not matter.

Twenty-four-year-old Scout and youth leader Bojan Gjoshev saw this challenge in his own community in North Macedonia.

He knew that young people were not lacking motivation. They volunteered and supported their communities. What they needed was an opportunity to understand how change happens.

That observation became the starting point for Voices in Action, a project supported by the European Scout Region's youth-led Local Actions and National Dialogues grants that set out to help young people move from having a voice to using it.

The first step was creating a space where young people could learn, question and grow. From 13–15 March, 20 young participants gathered for an educational camp focused on youth activism, civic engagement, volunteering and non-formal education. During the camp, participants also took part in volunteer activities around the Scout House “Chichko Boro”. They cleaned the surroundings, organised materials, helped maintain the space and supported everyday tasks needed to keep the Scout House running.

For Bojan, these moments mattered just as much as the workshops. "When young people realise that change begins with their own actions, they start seeing themselves differently," he reflects. "They stop waiting for someone else to solve problems." That shift became visible only weeks later.

The same participants who had gathered to learn were now leading activities for around 60 younger Scouts during the Spring camp. They designed the programme, built a symbolic framework inspired by The Jungle Book and facilitated activities focused on teamwork, environmental awareness and personal development.

The final chapter of the journey brought together around 70 Scouts and young people from across North Macedonia for a Youth Forum. Organised by the participants themselves, it created a space to discuss volunteering, youth participation and the future of Scouting in North Macedonia while exchanging ideas for strengthening young people's role in their communities.

The project may have started with 20 young people, but its impact spread like waves from a single drop of water. As participants shared their knowledge with younger Scouts and created spaces for dialogue, their actions encouraged more young people to see themselves as active contributors to their communities.

The truth is, young people do not need to be convinced that their communities matter. They need opportunities to lead and spaces where their ideas can be put into practice.

Through the European Scout Region's youth-led Local Actions and National Dialogues grants, young leaders like Carolina are turning ideas into action. By trusting young people to design and lead projects in their own communities, these grants empower them to create meaningful local impact and to develop the skills, confidence and leadership that will continue strengthening Scouting for years to come.

The Voices of Change project is a collaboration between World Scouting and the Erasmus Student Network, with support from Erasmus+, that aims to amplify the voices of young people at the forefront of civic engagement and peacebuilding. By listening to young people and equipping them with the skills and knowledge to take action, the project aims to empower youth where it matters the most: in shaping the future.