Geomove

The international network of committed young people

Geomove (international network of committed children and young people) is a digital platform that aims to support the collective force for change by organizing a referencing/grouping and promoting civic initiatives carried out by children and young people in Belgium, Benin and Togo (initially). 

This listing will be sorted according to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to which the initiatives relate, their location and their timeframe (past, current, future, short/medium/long term).

The main aim of this platform is to build bridges between committed young people here and abroad, so that they can draw inspiration from each other in their commitment, promote their civic initiatives and receive logistical support or visibility. 

Bringing these initiatives together in a platform for exchanging projects and ideas will enable children and young people, girls and boys alike, to be sources of inspiration, motivation, optimism, respect and change, and to promote their right to participate in building a fairer, more sustainable and more united world.

More specifically, Geomove aims to :

Mobilize and inspire young people around citizen initiatives with a societal scope in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set up by the United Nations

• Familiarize children and young people with the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Offer a diversity of approaches to citizenship and the achievement of the SDGs. 
• Reinforce the civic commitment of children and young people
• Promote the right to participation of children and young people
• Bring together Belgian and international organizations active in the field of civic engagement for children and young people.

Promote social projects via social networks (YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.)

• Promote an optimistic vision of the future by highlighting positive actions.
• Promote and centralize the work of organizations that support young people in implementing civic initiatives.

Network young people interested in the issues in question

• Provide a space for exchanging projects, ideas, knowledge and techniques.
• Enable people to meet, support and co-create projects.
• Bring together young people looking for projects to get involved in and projects looking for volunteers through "project fairs".

Offer additional visibility to projects referenced on the platform

• Take part in workshops led by artists, the results of which you can share through mass media.
• Take part in competitions that will enable you to spread the word about the project you're involved in through mass media.

Provide assistance/support for the creation, follow-up and management of these projects

• Organize meetings between young people committed to the same theme (classified by sustainable development goals) and experts, to enable them to help each other and advance in their thinking/action. 
• Regularly inform initiative bearers of funds and calls for projects put in place by various organizations from which they could benefit.
• Organize training courses to help you move forward in the design of your project/action (e.g.: project writing, budgeting, writing sponsorship/funding applications, etc.).

Target audience : children and young people under the age of 26

1. Individual children and young people interested in ODD issues;
2. Groups of young people and children such as youth centers, classes (secondary and primary), youth movements, etc;
3. Adults (classroom teachers, educators, staff members, etc.) who accompany young people and children who get involved.

Origine of the Geomove project

The fast-changing world in which we live presents us with a paradox: on the one hand, a rise in extremes and fear, and on the other, a greater commitment to a society that is more respectful of everyone and of the planet, particularly on the part of young people. 

Yet little attention is paid to promoting the civic initiatives of children and young people. And yet, promoting and sharing these initiatives would be a way of inspiring other young people to avoid a feeling of powerlessness or a loss of hope for the future.

Giving children and teenagers who wish to get involved a more prominent place and a space for discussion seems to us to be a necessity if we are to act through "strategic optimism" and avoid a feeling of powerlessness in the face of unacceptable situations.

This is why Geomoun is launching its international network of committed children and young people, under the name GEOMOVE. 

Geomove is the brainchild of Geomoun (Belgium) and Carrefour Jeunesse Afrique (Benin). Since the development of the platform, Visions Solidaires, a Togolese organization, and Resedh, a Haitian association, have been involved in promoting the network. Various Belgian organizations also support Geomove, including the International Youth Bureau, Plan International Belgium, the Belgian Red Cross, Unicef Belgium and Dynamo International.