Claim your city - Strengthening the spatial representation of young people living in slums

Project period:

01.03.2020 - 01.03.2022

Granted amount:

99,724,- DKK

Organization:

Dreamtown

Partners:

Youth Dream Centre Sierra Leone (YDC-SL)

Pool:

Civilsamfundspuljen

Grant type:

Små Indsatser

World goals:

Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Efforts take place in:

Sierra Leone

Overall targets

The development objective of the intervention is: To empower young people to claim their rights to spatial representation in the city.

Immediate targets

The specific objectives of the intervention are: 1) Dreamtown, YDC-SL, and CAF have strengthened their capacity to empower youth through spatial research processes; 2) Young people dwelling in Bonga Town have the capacity to map their community and mobilise stakeholder support around their dreams for spatial development.

Target groups

Primary target group: Youth leaders representing the community that are directly participating and engaged in the workshops; Youth who are engaged in the project through surveys and interviews conducted by the youth leaders. Secondary target group: Community stakeholders who will participate in workshops during the project. Ultimate target group: Young people living in the community that are not directly linked to the project, but will benefit from the long-term impact.

Resume

A major challenge in informal settlements around the world is that the mere existence of such communities is not acknowledged. Slums are often overlooked as a part of the city as a whole. Since the youth in the slums are not represented spatially anywhere, they struggle to claim their right to space both within their community and within their city. This project addresses the importance of young people’s spatial representation in cities. In the context of this project, spatial representation implies that young people claim their right to participate in decisions regarding the spatial development within the community, and that their community claim their right as an acknowledged and valued part of the city.