The project "Participation Ladder" implies strengthening capacity of youth organizations and youth councils via training and networking (so that they could participate efficiently in planning and implementation of youth policies in respective cities), making voices of the young better heard at the city halls and empowering young people to participate actively in their communities (by providing information on participation opportunities and decision making process on local, national and EU levels).In short, the objectives of the project are:¢ to foster active youth participation in their communities and to support development of civil society;¢ to create preconditions for participation of youth organizations in planning and implementation of local youth policies;¢ to develop knowledge of youngsters on participation opportunities and decision making process at local, regional, national and EU levels;¢ to prepare young leaders for work in youth organizations.The project will be jointly implemented by the cities of Goteborg and Riga (represented in the partnership by both municipal institutions and young people). It is estimated to continue 16 months (February 2011 - May 2012) and will involve at different stages 968 young people.