Youth of today
A broader range of young people are characterised by a willingness to take action and a socially sensitive attitude (some research suggests that 15-20% of 18-25 year olds have this attitude). They are typically already aware of the concepts of climate and ecological crisis and want to make a difference and build the world they want to live in.
It is important to reach out to young people who are less active and spend a lot of time online. They can be reached, for example, with the help of influencers (e.g. gamers, youtubers).
Communication channels, online presence
Email should be used to spread news and information.
Facebook should also be used more for news, young adults typically only use Facebook for news and content consumption, they are not active users of this platform.
Posts on Facebook are usually aimed at reaching as many people as possible, with more general messages. Sharing nice, 'cute' content (e.g. pictures of dogs and cats) can be effective alongside the news.
When sharing information, it is important to be precise and simple to make the content as accessible as possible.
Young adults should be targeted and actively engaged on other social media channels, so Instagram and TikTok came up in our discussion. These platforms are also great for channeling and interacting.
On Instagram and TikTok, organizations address young people in a much looser, more direct tone and content: there is much stronger, visual content; Greenpeace often uses memes and drawn pictures to address young people.
The aim is not only to share information but also to start conversations and interactions. A more direct tone, a behind-the-scenes insight, an invitation to exchange ideas are key words here to build trust and ensure transparency.
Activities, personal contacts
Amigos runs a serious recruitment process, with a written report and an oral interview before deciding whether candidates should become members. During the two recruitment periods per year, they run a 1-1 month campaign to reach and engage young people, with a constant presence both online and offline, spreading the word, creating opportunities to meet (festivals, university open days, self-organized talks).
The community itself is a very important and significant, if not the most significant, driving force. A strong, inclusive, open community is attractive to young people - university life alone, for example, often cannot provide this.
Ongoing team-building activities - both casual, informal and professional - help to build community.
Dividing work into smaller teams helps to build and strengthen personal relationships.
Openness and diversity also appeal to young people.
Organizations should take young people seriously.
Organizations should provide space and opportunities for a constructive debate.
Both organizations regularly organize training, education, knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing events for their volunteers and activists.
All of them train members to acquire the knowledge they need to carry out their tasks.
Lectures and workshops are organized for volunteers in more general, loosely related areas, based on needs assessment (what is the topic or area that members need support with - stress management, balloon inflation, etc.).
Another common and essential element in the functioning of the two organizations approached is that they try to involve volunteers as much as possible in the work, giving them as much responsibility and freedom as possible to implement their own ideas.
It is important that there should always be opportunities for active action and participation.
Make room for proactive initiatives.
Operational principles
To sum things up, it is very important that the organization operates in a transparent way - this builds credibility with members and helps to create a climate of trust.
Also the organizations surveyed plan their activities and the organization's operations consciously and with sustainability in mind.
Openness, inclusiveness, involvement, treating young volunteers as equal partners are important guidelines, as well as continuous improvement and asking for and receiving feedback are principles embedded in day-to-day operations.
You can listen to the podcast in Hungarian here on Hive Mind's Spotify channel. The podcast was created by NIOK Foundation's team (Balázs Gerencsér, Vera Bécser) with Kornélia Bilej, activist coordinator of Greenpeace Hungary and Petra Sayej from the Amigos for Children Foundation. Greenpeace Hungary is a member of Greenpeace International, which is active in the field of environmental protection, while the Amigos for Children Foundation aims to motivate children with long-term illnesses who need hospital care to learn and recover.