Non-formal Education for Sustainable Development Goals

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Financial Skills & Civic Participation

Budgeting, taxes, financial decisions…it can get confusing fast. NextGen Leaders is a project that helps young people figure all of this out in a fun and practical way.

Do you ever feel like “adulting” comes with a lot of responsibilities… but no instructions?

Together with other young people from Lithuania and Madeira, you’ll join exchanges, workshops, and hackathons where you learn how money works, how your city budget is decided, and how you can propose ideas that get funded. You’ll co-create an illustrated guide to help other youth do the same.

Why does this project even exist?

Have you ever wished someone actually explained money, budgets, or how decisions are made in your city?

Many young people in Lithuania and Portugal feel the same. In fact, studies show that Portugal, especially Madeira island, scores among the lowest in Europe when it comes to financial literacy.

This makes it harder for young people to manage their own finances and even harder to feel confident taking part in things like participatory budgeting (yeah… participatory-what? Don’t worry, you’ll actually learn what it is and how to use it during the project). The truth is that most young people have no idea about all the opportunities their cities already offer or how these systems work, let alone how their own ideas can turn into real projects. And that’s exactly what we’re here to change.

Activities Overview

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Study Visit to Lithuania

Financial Literacy Workshops

Youth Participation Workshops

Hackathons

Final Exchange in Madeira

Study Visit to Lithuania

Strengthening financial literacy and youth participation

August 2025

Our adventure kicked off with an international study visit to Lithuania 🇱🇹.

We were hosted by the Elektrėnai Municipality Youth Center, one of the most experienced youth organisations in the country when it comes to financial literacy and youth employment.

We explored different institutions and NGOs working with young people, learned how financial education is taught in Lithuania, and got inspired by their methods and ideas. We also had workshops, group activities, and plenty of moments to exchange experiences between the Lithuanian and Madeira teams.

Serious people joined us, the Funchal Participatory Budget team (@op.funchal) shared how participatory budgeting works back home and showed us some of the most memorable youth-led projects funded in Madeira. Seeing both perspectives side by side let us compare and learn from both realities.

And yes… the Madeira team definitely made an impression in the calm town of Elektrėnai. The visit ended with a special moment: a meeting with the mayor, who welcomed us warmly and even offered souvenirs to take home.

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Local Events & Workshops

Financial Literacy Workshops

Money doesn’t come with an instruction manual - so we’re creating one. In our upcoming financial literacy workshops, young people will learn the basics (and not-so-basics) of managing money in real life.

We’ll explore:

• How to create a budget that actually works
• Saving strategies and planning for the future
• How taxes and financial systems work
• Real examples, case studies, and practical exercises

These workshops will make money make sense.

Youth Participation Workshops

Ever wondered how your city decides where money goes or how you can influence those decisions? Our youth participation workshops will explore exactly that.

Together, we’ll understand:

• What participatory budgets are and how they work
• The many ways young people can get involved
• A chance to meet the “behind-the-scenes” people of your city

By the end, you won’t just understand the system, you will know how to be part of it.

Hackathons

Our hackathons will bring together young people ready to throw ideas on the table, mix them up, and build real solutions for their communities.

What will happen?

• Teams will develop actual participatory budget proposals
• Local experts will guide them
• Ideas will be pitched to the people who can make things happen
• Creativity + teamwork + community needs = powerful youth-driven ideas

Final Exchange in Madeira

Our final international exchange will bring everyone back together, this time in Madeira.

April 2026

Participants will:

• Look back at everything they’ve learned, tried, and achieved
• Present their final participatory budget ideas and show what they’ve been working on
• Share stories and challenges
• Explore Madeira’s culture, food and nature
• Start shaping follow-up ideas and planning new collaborations for the future

Project Partners

Lead Organisation

Elektrėnų Cultural Centre / Elektrėnai Youth Center

Elektrėnų Cultural Centre is the leading organisation of the NextGen Leaders project and one of the most active youth work institutions in Lithuania. As a public body established by the Elektrėnai Municipality, the centre has been working in culture, community development, and youth policy for more than two decades.

The organisation runs a wide network of youth spaces, including a dedicated youth centre, open youth work areas, and mobile youth work services that reach young people across towns and rural villages in the municipality. With a team of experienced youth workers, they engage hundreds of youngsters every year through non-formal education, career guidance, employment programs, and local initiatives.

Elektrėnai Youth Center has a strong track record in international mobility projects, financial literacy education, and youth participation programmes. They actively cooperate with schools, local institutions, and businesses, and also serve as a Eurodesk youth information point. Their expertise in financial literacy and youth engagement forms the backbone of this project, guiding the development of its methodologies and educational activities.

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Partner – Portugal

Associação My Madeira Island

Associação My Madeira Island (MMI) is a multifaceted non-profit organisation based in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, dedicated to innovation in non-formal education, youth engagement, and community development.

With a strong focus on digital skills, social inclusion, and creative learning, the association designs and delivers programmes that help young people build confidence, develop key competences, and participate actively in society.

The organisation is particularly committed to creating opportunities for young people with fewer resources or limited access to mobility programmes.

Within the NextGen Leaders project, MMI coordinates the implementation of activities in Madeira and plays a central role in connecting young people with local democratic processes.

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Collaboration with the Participatory Budget of Funchal

In Madeira, the project is being carried out in close cooperation with the Orçamento Participativo do Funchal, the municipal structure responsible for coordinating local participatory budgeting processes.

Allowing young participants gain direct insight into how proposals are assessed, financed, and implemented at the municipal level. Through meetings, workshops, and the hackathon, decision-makers from Funchal will support the local youth in developing realistic, impactful ideas and encourage their active participation in local democratic processes.

Resources & Downloads

Coming soon

Illustrated Guide: Financial Literacy & Participatory Budgets

Workshop methodologies

Project reports

Participant stories

Get Involved

Want to boost your financial skills, make your voice heard, and help shape your community?

Join the NextGen Leaders project!

Contact us to get involved, join upcoming activities, or partner with us.

Disclaimer: The European Union support for the projection of this publication does not constitute any endorsement of the content which reflects the views only of the authors. and the Union cannot be held responsible for a n use which mav be made of the information contained therein.