Last week, representatives from CONNECT International travelled to Ljubljana for “Digital and Analogue Youth Voices”, a five-day training hosted at BAZA, the city’s newly opened central youth centre.

Organised by Mladi Zmaji, the training focused on digital third spaces for young people, exploring how youth workers can create safe, participatory, and creative environments where young people can express themselves, share honest feedback, and develop their own ideas using both digital and analogue tools.

The programme combined discussion, site visits, and hands-on practice. Participants toured BAZA and were introduced to its participatory model, one built around giving young people not just a space, but a real voice in shaping programmes and decisions. They visited the Computer History Museum of Slovenia, tracing the shift from analogue to digital society, and heard from Radio ETER and the Young Dragons’ Movie School about using media as a tool for youth expression. A dedicated session introduced MZ Digi, Mladi Zmaji’s Discord-based participation platform, followed by a hands-on workshop. Across the week, participants also worked in small groups to plan, record, and produce their own podcasts in a studio setting, putting the training’s themes directly into practice. The final day was dedicated to next steps, with participants discussing dissemination and how to bring these tools and approaches back into their own local contexts.

For CONNECT International, the training offered valuable insight into practical, youth-led approaches to digital participation, work that closely mirrors our own mission across Europe.