The first phase of the Erasmus+ Youth Participation Project Training led by the Department of Sociology at MAKÜ has been completed.

The training activity carried out under the Erasmus+ KA154 Youth Participation Project “Youth as Pioneers, Future Secure: Participatory Youth in the Fight Against Addiction” (Project No: 2025-1-TR01-KA154-YOU-000302215), conducted under the leadership of the Sociology Department of Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, in which our university is a project partner, was successfully held at Lavanta Tepesi Hotel between May 19-22, 2026.

The training program conducted within the scope of the project, which aims to encourage more active participation of young people in the fight against addiction processes, addressed the individual, social, and psychosocial dimensions of substance addiction in a multifaceted manner. Activities conducted with the contributions of expert academics, psychologists, youth workers, and civil society representatives included sessions on preventive measures against addiction, participation of young people in decision-making mechanisms, peer education, youth policies, digital awareness tools, and participatory solution models that can be implemented at the local level.

During the training activity, participants had the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in developing projects in the field of combating addiction, creating social awareness, and producing youth-based solution proposals through group work, practical workshops, and interactive discussions. It is aimed that the youth-focused proposals prepared at the end of the program will contribute to the addiction prevention efforts to be carried out at local and national levels.

The project also aims to increase young people's awareness of social responsibility, strengthen their participation in decision-making processes, and develop a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration in youth work. The activities conducted with the academic contributions of our university's Department of Sociology serve as an important example in terms of youth participation and community-based preventive efforts.