| Abstract [eng] |
Citizen Participation is crucial and significant for a number of important reasons: the increasing frequency of economic crises, the growing lack of democracy at different levels of government, and an aging society. In order to avoid negative consequences, the public sector must constantly look for innovative ways of Citizen Participation in public security, education, health and other important areas of public administration. Active citizenship helps to develop empathy, universal social trust, a community-oriented citizen, to create quality public services, to alleviate the consequences of poverty and social exclusion. Only by actively participating in decision-making processes do citizens help to set policy goals and priorities that affect a person's social, cultural and economic life. Citizen Participation in Youth Policy is an integral process, which is aimed at purposeful activities in order to solve the relevant problems of young people, the aim is to create appropriate conditions for the formation and development of a civic, democratic, intellectual, moral personality. One of the priorities of Youth Policy is to create suitable conditions for young people to realize themselves by choosing the most acceptable form of Participation in society. Researchers note that as emigration increases, the country is losing more and more educated and skilled young people, who are the country's main workforce, which is hampering the country's sustainable development. In order to increase the number of young people in small Lithuanian towns who have the opportunity to meet their needs, the empirical research aimed to identify the factors that Promote the Participation of Citizens in the Implementation of Youth Policy in Šilalė District Municipality. The object of the research is the factors promoting the Participation of Citizens in the Implementation of Youth Policy. The aim of the project is to identify the factors that promote the Participation of Citizens in the Implementation of Youth Policy in Šilalė District Municipality. Objectives of the project: 1. to analyze and systematize the theoretical preconditions for the Participation of Citizens in the Implementation of Youth Policy; 2. identify factors that encourage Citizen Participation; 3. to reveal the conditions for the Participation of Citizens in the Implementation of Youth Policy; 4. to carry out an empirical research and identify the factors that Promote the Participation of Citizens in the Implementation of Youth Policy in Šilalė District Municipality. Research methods: analysis of scientific literature, analysis of statistical data, analysis of strategic documents and legal acts, qualitative research. The results of the conducted qualitative research showed that the Participation of Citizens in the Implementation of Youth Policy in Šilalė District Municipality is promoted by socio-economic (income, time, education, which includes acquired competencies related to political literacy and skills), community factors. Both socioeconomic and community factors are attributed to internal factors. Funding factors also influence citizen participation, they are classified as external factors in the scientific literature. The authorities consider that Citizen Participation is influenced by funding factors, and that socio-economic and community factors are crucial for citizens (youth representatives). The master's thesis consists of three main parts, the first part systematizes the concepts, forms and models of civic participation, substantiates the meaning of civic Participation, defines the concepts of public and Youth Policy, and develops a theoretical model of factors promoting civic Participation in youth policy. The second part of the project reviews the public management process in Lithuania, describes its parts, and provides an analysis of secondary data. Legislation and strategic documents related to the implementation of Youth Policy at international, national and regional level are analyzed. The third part of the final project presents the results of the empirical research and provides recommendations related to the Promotion of Citizen Participation in the Implementation of Youth Policy in Šilalė District Municipality. |
