“GENDEROLOGY – GENDER EQUALITY FOR AN EQUAL SOCIETY”ERASMUS+ INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE IN CROATIA,JUNE !CLOSED!
This project should contribute to the better position of women in European society as well to increase awareness on gender and human rights issues among young people. After a long discussion, project partners have come to conclusion that young people in Europe are still facing gender inequality and they are exposed to gender-based violence. Thus, there is a need to introduce concepts and activities to build young people awareness and provide them with tools which can be used to mobilise young people around to work for gender equality.
Objectives:
– to reveal gender stereotypes in national and international fairy tales among young people,- to develop skills and competences of youth workers to use gender stereotypes in fairy tales as a start point for reconstruction into new fairy tale with use of art and multimedia as a tools for education of young people in the field of gender equality and human rights,
– construct new fairy tales that are in line with European values related to gender equality,- to promote a more flexible attitude towards cultural diversity in society,- to promote a new form of intercultural dialogue and gender education in broader European context,
– to foster cooperation and socializing among young people, including those with fewer opportunities- to promote Erasmus+ program as a possibility to promote gender equality and human rights issues among young people Europe wide.Partners have come to conclusion that young people in Europe are facing gender inequality and they are exposed to gender-based violence.
Trough project we introduced concepts and activities to build young people awareness and provide them with tools which can be used to mobilise young people around to work for gender equality. Fairy tales were used as patterns for focusing on identifying and tackling gender stereotypes and reducing gender-based violence.All original objectives of the project were met.
We planned everything upfront and connected every activity to a goal and objectives and that is why it was very successful.Achieved results during the project contributed to achievement of the objectives described in the project application. Participants improved their knowledge, competences and skills and increased their awareness on the topics. Through creative means we explored issues of borders and violence and also to change patterns of behaviour like low motivation and antisocial behaviour.Selected methods and tools respond in the proper way to reach of the objectives.
The project is in accordance with EU Strategic Engagement for Gender Equality (2016-2019), UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and EU Strategy for Youth.
Check here the previous edition training
“INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS WITH ENTREPRENEURS II”BARI, ITALY, JUNE 21-27 !CLOSED!
The project “International meetings with entrepreneurship II” includes the organization of 4 activities, related to learning and 4 international project meetings as part of building a strong and lasting strategic partnership, related to young people. The aim of the project is to exchange good practices related to the activities of the organization staff of the project and acquiring by young people, participating in the project, knowledge in the field of the European labor market, entrepreneurship, social rights, workers’ rights and equality, as well as raising awareness of the participants and increment of their leadership potential. 
Participants in the framework of the project will increase their social skills – they will learn the art of good communication and assertiveness,
self-management in time, also they will develop creativity, leadership skills and master their art public speaking.
This last educational meeting will take place in Italy. Organizer – EUROSUD , which will provide participants with training in the branches of creativity and innovation, self-confidence, charisma and encouragement in business (participants will learn how to use their own potential and be effective), and also classes on self-presentation and public speaking. Classes of the project will be interactive, based not only on the transfer of knowledge, but mainly on exercises, role-playing, presentations, case studies, and seminars.
Classes will include both: group work and individual work. The trainers will be people who have not only knowledge and experience in the topics that will be discussed, but they will be also practitioners, who use this knowledge in everyday life. In addition to strictly educational activities, participants will learn about the culture, art and history of host countries.
They will try to make it possible to approach it by cooperating with the young people from partner countries. They will definitely get to know about each of different cultures. Also they will try to oppose many stereotypes: like nationalism. This project will definitely make it easier to improve the future international cooperation, also to improve European ties. In addition, as part of the project there will be a film about all these project activities. It will maintain the idea of entrepreneurship and economics, realized through social and international cooperation of young people. All activities will be promoted by the informational campaign of the coordinator and partners in local and central environments.
Classes will be focused on active job seeking in the labour market, taking into account the specificity regional / national, self-management in time and change, rapid adaptation to changes, assertiveness and communication in business, also taking into account intercultural differences and development of leadership skills.
“DON’T FEAR TO DIFFER! EMPOWERING INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE IN EUROPE”BULGARIA, JULY 12-18 !CLOSED!
Don’t fear to differ! Empowering intercultural dialogue in Europe is a youth exchange project focusing on building tolerance, mutual acceptance, intercultural dialogue between young people and combating hate speech, stereotyping, prejudices and stigmatization. In the last years, the cultural map of Europe is constantly changing due to the waves of migrants and refugees.
The new situation makes people more insecure and afraid of the ‘unknown’ other. Cultural diversity is one of the most valuable features of Europe, embracing our different cultures, history and languages makes us part of a vital and inclusive community.
The aims of the project are to develop young people’s soft skills as intercultural competences, cultural awareness and social interactions, to help them overcome all forms of stereotypes and prejudices, to make them more tolerant to people with a different social, cultural and religious background, and also to combat hate speech.
The project Don’t fear to differ! aims to bring youth from six different European countries to work together on overcoming the negative consequences arising from hate speech, intolerance and disrespect.
“INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS WITH ENTREPRENEURS II”MALAGA, SPAIN, JULY 11-17 !CLOSED!
The project “International meetings with entrepreneurship II” includes the organization of 4 activities, related to learning and 4 international project meetings as part of building a strong and lasting strategic partnership, related to young people. The aim of the project is to exchange good practices related to the activities of the organization staff of the project and acquiring by young people, participating in the project, knowledge in the field of the European labour market, entrepreneurship, social rights, workers’ rights and equality, as well as raising awareness of the participants and increment of their leadership potential.
Participants in the framework of the project will increase their social skills – they will learn the art of good communication and assertiveness,self-management in time, also they will develop creativity, leadership skills and master their art public speaking.
This educational activity will be related to getting to know the European labour market. Classes will concern labour law, conditions of employment in EU countries, workers’ rights in the EU, freedom of movement of workers in EU, community rights for entrepreneurs, international labour standards and equality on the labour market. The meeting will be organized by a partner from Spain – EGERIA company.
Classes will be focused on active job seeking in the labour market, taking into account the specificity regional / national, self-management in time and change, rapid adaptation to changes, assertiveness and communication in business, also taking into account intercultural differences and development of leadership skills.
INTERNATIONAL KA2 MEETING ,, INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS WITH ENTREPRENEURSHIP II’’ – KOSOVO, JULY 28- 31 !CLOSED!
Participants in the framework of the project will increase their social skills – they will learn the art of good communication and assertiveness,self-management in time, also they will develop creativity, leadership skills and master their art public speaking.
As part of the project, the youth will also have the opportunity to improve their language competences by the English business course. During project meetings there will be 2 representatives of partners, and one coordinator,while during the learning activities there will be no more five participants plus by one counsellor from each side.
The first educational activity will be related to getting to know the European labor market. Classes will concern labor law, conditions of employment in EU countries, workers’ rights in the EU, freedom of movement of workers in EU, community rights for entrepreneurs, international labor standards and equality on the labor market. The meeting will be organized by a partner from Spain – EGERIA company. Next meeting will take place in Croatia, its organizer will be Udruga Enas company which will prepare for the participants of the project a block of training in personal development and business competences.
Also there will be competences that will allow young people to develop interpersonal skills, to increase faith in their own abilities, in addition there will be competences that will help the youth to navigate the labor market and business in the future. Classes will be focused on active job seeking in the labor market, taking into account the specificity regional / national, self-management in time and change, rapid adaptation to changes, assertiveness and communication in business, also taking into account intercultural differences and development of leadership skills. The third educational meeting will be related to social economy, social business and the development of person’s own career. The participants will try to develop a cross-border business model and an idea for international business. The meeting will be organized by the project coordinator – FCiM.
INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE ,, DIGITAL REVOLUTION ’’HOREZU, VÂLCEA COUNTY – ROMANIA, AUGUST 07 – 18 !CLOSED!
We live in a digital era that is constantly evolving. Parelel with this, more and more cases of exclusion, isolation,inappropriate behavior are recorded among young people. Society, especially young people, does not cope with so many changes. Causes can be multiple, from indifference to lack of specialized education, and the effects can be dramatic.
Using the Internet, tablets, smartphones, cards, have benefits but also risks. This generates behavioural changes,with major implications in particular for young people with an emphasis on those with fewer opportunities. 
In this context, the project offers to the youth workers from 12 organizations the opportunity to expand their skills in this field in order to streamline the current activities of organizations in support of the social inclusion of marginalized young people by applying non-formal methods and good practices accumulated during the seminar.
Digital Revolution (DIGI) proposes the following objectives:
• Illustrating the risks of digitalization, through concrete examples (12 case studies) for a profound understanding of the pattern of behaviour of young people in situations of social or professional exclusion;
• Illustrating the opportunities for digitalization by acquiring 12 methods of using new communication technologies by the 4 participants / NGOs, in order to reach the marginalized young people through non-formal methods (previous experiences /exchange of good practices).
• Improving competences in the field marginalized young people inclusion through the exchange of good practices for risk prevention, identifying opportunities and implications of digitization, 48 youth workers from 12 international organizations.
• Applying the acquired methods from the seminar at the level of their own organizations in order to increase the efficiency in the social and professional inclusion activities of the young target group, on digitalization.
The Digital Revolution Project (DIGI) will include a 10-day seminar (9.05.2020 – 18.05.2020) in Caciulata, Romania, where will participate 48 youth workers, representatives 12 organizations from 12 countries (Ecoworld Rhodopes Association – Bulgaria; International Labour Association (ILA)- Netherlands; Hellas for Us – Greece; Marketing Gate – Macedonia; Stowarzyszenie Sztukate –Poland; Associação Juvenil da Ilha Terceira (AJITER)-Portugal; Seiklejate Vennaskond – Estonia; EUROSUD-Italy; Bilgi ve Beceri Dernegi-Turkey; Jaunimo mainai-Lithuania; Asociación Mundus – Un Mundo a tus Pies – Spain and Pro Dezvoltare DACIA Association (APDD) – Romania).
“FROM ESC TO GREEN DEAL ” BONZEE,FRANCE, AUGUST 07-14 !CLOSED!
The “ECSC to the Green Deal” youth exchange project aims to provide participants with a better vision of European construction from the creation of the ECSC until the elaboration of the Green Deal for Europe.
The objectives of this project are :
– To provide a better knowledge and understanding of European construction, from the ECSC to the Green Deal,
– To invite young people to develop their critical thinking skills, by putting into perspective current events,practices in ecology and the environment and the different stages of European construction,
– To become more responsible for the environment and an actor in this field, by acquiring new knowledge and practices in this area.
The stakes linked to this project are multiple. No one is unaware that the world is today threatened by all the impacts linked to the overexploitation of resources, climate change, the population of soil, water, the use of substances harmful to the environment… Europe is working more and more in favor of actions and information intended to act in a more sustainable way of consumption, in particular through the Green Pact.
Through this project, we want to bring the participants to first of all understand how the European Union was built, by putting this in parallel with the evolution of awareness and the implementation of concrete actions related to the environment.
We are going to organize an activity within the framework of this project which will take place in France, in Meuse,in local partnership with the CPIE de la Meuse, an actor engaged in activities related to ecological transition and environmental protection.
This exchange will revolve around several activities, theoretical and practical workshops, visits, aimed at providing participants with a better vision of European construction, to be able to analyze the evolution of the integration of concerns related to the ecology and the environment in political speeches and in European
decisions, and finally to acquire new knowledge related to more environmentally friendly solutions and practices. For this project, we will ensure that there is diversity in the profiles of the participants, in terms of the gender balance between girls and boys, their situation (students, employed or not, etc.) and to include young people .
INTERNATIONAL OUTDOOR MEETING”EXPLORATION ROUTE” ROMANIA,VAMA BUZAULUI AUGUST 16 – 25 !CLOSED!
Aiming at giving the quintessential tools to young nationals from Romania, Georgia, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Latvia,and Azerbaijan interested in escaping this fast phased, Internet centred world to a more bucolic and slower dimension.
The Exploration Route international training course promoted by the Erasmus + program gives the opportunity to be involved in a outward adventure .in Romania, where participants will receive adventure education, an essential set of skills,learning tools, and facilitation techniques suitable in any work environment that deals with the outdoors and healthy lifestyle.
The main objectives of the project are:
– To offer the target group a series of methods useful in structuring and implementing learning experiences in outdoor education
– To facilitate the exchange of experiences, concepts and methods related to outdoor and experiential education
– To develop cross-cultural awareness through offering a structured space for sharing, experimenting and approaching intercultural learning.
– To develop abilities related to teamwork, leadership, communication and conflict solving among participants.
– To set the basis for future cooperation in frame of Erasmus+ program.
– Raise awareness about outdoors and healthy life style.
The idea of the two stages project follows the logic of providing an intense outdoor experience to the participants (in both stages they will sleep in tenths) and a complex approach of outdoor experience, by going through hiking as a learning method, and one that is at hand everywhere, at the second stage will bring some other elements that we can use in the nature (low ropes, climbing etc) and will help participants understanding the way we can develop educational programs using some materials. They will have then the chance to put in practice what they’ve learned in both stages, by coordinating an outdoor day for local teenagers, combining hiking and adventure elements.
By the end of the project participants will have learned how to employ useful working methods to target groups in order to structure and implement a qualitative learning experience in outdoor education,they will not only broaden their understanding of the importance of preserving, enjoying, and promoting ecological sensitive matters, but will also expand their intercultural awareness,achieve experiential education, strengthen personal development,team work, leadership, communication and problem solving abilities, and will set up the ground for future Erasmus + initiatives.
“BEYOND SOFT SKILLS ” GRONINGEN, THE NETHERLANDS, AUGUST 14-22 !CLOSED!
Over the last twenty to thirty years, understanding has grown that perhaps the soft skills may ultimately be more important than hard skills in career development and determining levels of success.The development and recognition of soft skills is one of the priority of European Commission educational programmes, including
Erasmus+, and youth work in Europe. Nevertheless,youth work mostly concentrates on the development of soft skills at young people, while the development of the same skills at youth and youth NGOs group leaders stays aside.Though their needs in soft skills are not less (and even more) than at any other professionals.
Having developed soft skills and opportunity to improve them raise the quality of a group leader of any NGO and possibility to transfer them to young people. The development and recognition of soft skills is one of the priority of European Commission educational programmes, including Erasmus+, and youth work in Europe. It has valuable results. 
22 youth and NGOs workers and youth leaders answered the questionnaire. Looking at the results, 100 % of the respondents consider that soft skills to be important for their personal life, work and career development. 95.5% from 22 respondents answered that they are not taught soft skills at school/university. 90% underlined that they have to think creatively in order to solve problems and exploit opportunities.81.8% of respondents do not know how to develop soft skills.100% thinks that a TC on Soft Skills for Inclusion would be useful.
Youth work mostly concentrates on the development of soft skills at young people, while the development of the same skills for youth workers as group leaders (as the main body of the sending or applying NGO) stays aside.
Being a group leader requires not just organizing skills but much more than at any other professionals.Having developed soft skills and opportunity to improve them raise the quality of youth work and possibility to transfer them to young people.
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH EXCHANGE “ECO-CENTRIC” LOVINAC, CROATIA – AUGUST 16 – 23 !CLOSED!
Bringing together participants to work together and learn about hacking, environment, ecology and permaculture. Aim is to bring people who are into freedom practices to collaboratively operate into domains of organic and environmental with DIY (do it yourself)/permacultural design.
Projects proposed by leaders and participants create program of Ecocentric Youth Exchange and can range from making open hardware tools for gardening and sustainable technology, to mobile phone apps for helping permacultural novice, to solar and wind powered digital and electrical appliances, to creating plant guilds and soil enrichment, to any other permaculture related activity or mixture of them.
Ideas, sketches, developments, 3d presentations, conceptual designs, creative performances depicting certain ideas, theatre, dance, sound performances thematically connected to YE are very welcomed. No need for final product.
Center for Creative Solutions in Lovinac, Croatia. C4CS is based in the woods, some 2 kilometres form the village Lovinac. Participants stay in the camp – bringing their own camping gear – tents, sleeping gear, batteries, solar gear, smaller tools etc. There is no WIFI. Everything is run on renewable energy, so participants have to take care of their daily needs and consumption of water and electricity. Center for Creative Solutions is a non-profit organization based in Northwest Indiana that offers management training for both businesses and individuals.
Utilizing our broad pool of talented professional speakers, management training courses, team building tools and more, centre can provide you with solutions to common organizational challenges. Whether you want to better your organizations communication, leadership strength, conflict resolution or strategic planning .
Photos of the area Tiny House Eco-Centric 2019
Communal kitchen provides 4 meals a day on the basis of rotating kitchen teams made out of participants. Project is situated at off grid farm on 3300 square meters. Farm has a tinny house style accommodating a family living there, open kitchen possible to accommodate up to 20 people, and permaculture garden, solar shower and outside toilets for visitors.
Life style at premises is designed to create space to understand our daily habits of consumption, our 220 v dependencies, our waste quantities and how to live productive while taking care of foot print or what we live behind. Recycling and reusing is one of the finer point of stay at the premises. Lovinac is located 30 kilometre form the sea, 1 hour from Plitvice lakes.
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH MEETING”EXPLORATION ROUTE” ROMANIA !CLOSED!
Aiming at giving the quintessential tools to young nationals from Romania, Georgia, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Latvia,and Azerbaijan interested in escaping this fast phased, Internet centred world to a more bucolic and slower dimension. 
The Exploration Route international training course promoted by the Erasmus + program gives the opportunity to be involved in a outward adventure .in Romania, where participants will receive adventure education, an essential set of skills,learning tools, and facilitation techniques suitable in any work environment that deals with the outdoors and healthy lifestyle.
By the end of the project participants will have learned how to employ useful working methods to target groups in order to structure and implement a qualitative learning experience in outdoor education,they will not only broaden their understanding of the importance of preserving, enjoying, and promoting ecological sensitive matters, but will also expand their intercultural awareness,achieve experiential education, strengthen personal development,team work, leadership, communication and problem solving abilities, and will set up the ground for future Erasmus + initiatives.
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH MEETING “#FIRSTAIDBASICS” CISNĂDIOARA, SIBIU – ROMANIA SEPTEMBER 01 – 10 !CLOSED!
The purpose of this initiative is to improve the competencies of youngsters to intervene with first aid measures in emergency situations and the aims of this youth exchange are:
Optimize the abilities of 30 youngsters and 6 group leaders from 6 countries to identify emergency situations,during a 8 days youth exchange Building a set of basic competences for volunteer interventions in emergency situations like:traffic accidents,drowning, burns, electrocuting, falls , drug overdoses, physical aggression traumas, common medical conditions Building a set of basic competences to offer psychological first aid To offer support for 30 youngsters and 6 group leaders from 6 countries to identify first aid volunteering opportunities.
We decided to put together the knowledge, resources and motivation of 36 youngsters from 6 countries (Turkey,Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, Italy) to create a youth exchange aimed to emphasize the need of volunteering in first aid field in these countries and raise the motivation of youngsters to intervene in emergency situation.
The youngsters are between 18 -30 as age, and 6 group leaders will join them. They are motivated to make a change in their lives and in their communities by contributing to reduce the number of fatalities and traumas by intervening with firs aid measures.
One of the participants, preferably the group leader has minimum knowledge about first aid interventions and programs, and medium level of spoken English.
Will be selected with priority participants who did not participate in international projects before. After the youth exchange youngsters will get information and will feel empowered , raised self efficacy and self esteem, will feel encouraged and supported to get tools to act.
They want to be positive examples and create an important change their communities need. The chosen activities will also help participants to increase competencies to intervene with specific firs aid measures and will support them to identify and create first aid volunteering opportunities. Also activities will develop their creativity and critical thinking, their public sharing abilities.
“BUILDING BRIDGES WITH EMPATHY” INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE POLAND,JAGNIĄTKÓW – SEPTEMBER 06-14 !CLOSED!
“Lack of empathy is related to aggression, delinquency, and lack of success in private and professional life.”We agreed that it is crucial to increase empathy in young people before they become adults.
All partners noticed challenges/problems young people face regarding aggression, lack of tolerance, lack of understanding, bullying, online aggression and bullying, social exclusion, lack of awareness on differences between people and their feelings, lack of humility, lack of emotion self-regulation that are caused because of lack of empathy or low level of empathy.
When speaking with youngsters, some showed higher level of empathy towards animals than towards other people -“it is hard to empathize with others” said one of the high school students in Dobre Rece association office.The idea came up to us after long-term discussion on – “why is it hard to empathize with others?”
This aim and objectives of the project link to objectives of Erasmus+ Programme, especially with the overall objectives of the renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field (2010-2018), especially by empowering NGOs, creating network of organisations able to implement activities on European level, and by fostering professionalization of youth work in general.
As such it also directly meets objectives of the Key Action 1, in particular by improving professional competences of youth workers, increases capacities to trigger changes in terms of updating partner organisations, promotes non-formal education, improves quality of youth work in general (to benefit of young people in partner organisations’ target groups).
INTERNATIONAL MEETING “INTEGRATION THROUGH ARTS”
COVILHÃ, PORTUGAL SEPTEMBER 06 – 13 !CLOSED!
The “Integration Through Arts” project is concerned with creating a network of partners formed by entities aware of the problems of the European young generation, who seek to stimulate the spirit of initiative and who are eager to improve the situation in Europe.
The project comes after several international experiences, by some members of the association. Thus, in order to promote a project that highlights the work that Histérico – Arts Association develops throughout the year, so and after the success that was in the “JobAct” Project community, financed by the Erasmus + Program Youth in Action “Integration Through Arts” emerges with the aim of promoting cultural means as a form of integration as well as promoting the performing arts as an important and integrating tool.
Based on these ideals, Histérico – Arts Association selected the “Integration Through Arts” partners taking into account the documents published by the European Union on the initiatives of young people, the priorities and the results to be achieved from the Erasmus + program. With the analysis of the documents, Histérico – Associação de Artes made a selection of possible partners that best fit the project’s topic and that develop a daily work with young people about the project’s theme.
Thus, the “Integration Through Arts” project foresees the participation of young people with fewer opportunities during the youth exchange, with a ratio of 4 in each team of 6 participants. Thus, it is possible to provide young people with different opportunities that, for reasons related to their social and economic condition, life events and other issues, would not be possible. Through direct contact with the sending associations, Associação Histérico provides extraordinary support to these participants in case of need.
Europe is going through a crisis that affects the young generation with unprecedented levels of disintegration affecting society in matters of integration. In this context, the main obstacles for young people are represented by a lack of initiative, lack of integration and tolerance on the part of society and low opportunities to increase personal capacities and skills.
During the development of this project, we will work directly with the participants to convey the importance of group work, as a way of finding solutions to the difficulties that Europe is currently experiencing. More specifically,the project will focus more attention on issues related to integration and how the performing arts are a tool to overcome obstacles and have greater job success among young people.
INTERNATIONAL MEETING “THROUGH STREET ART AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT” EREVAN, ARMENIA SEPTEMBER 06 – 15 !CLOSED!
It is obvious that rural areas are being excluded from economical, cultural and social development in the world because of the ongoing urbanization processes. Specifically in Armenia, Italy, Portugal, Georgia, Ukraine and also Denmark youngsters or do not want to live in rural areas and fleeing to big cities or they stay in the villages and usually are lacking opportunities for self realization, education and participation.
From the other hand the lack of information and mobility frames the possibilities of youngsters to strive and develop their creativity and motivation.
However, the problem analyzes that the consortium of this project have come is the following:
– Lacking of self realization tools for youth from rural areas
– Lacking of creative approach in community development
– Lacking of information on rural areas among the youth from different countries
– Low level of self employment in the area of youth aged 16-30.
– Low level of international cooperation, specifically youth from rural areas
– Low motivation of youngsters to be a part of the community life and participate in community development
The idea of the project “Though colours” has been developed during informal talks of youngsters during the activity “Media Change” in Dilijan Armenia, which took place in November 2019. It has been almost 3 years, while the volunteers of ArmActive youth centre are eager to work in a rural environment using different creative tools, which would create a specific atmosphere in the village, will engage the international community as well the youngsters of the local community.
During the youth exchange partners from Armenia, Germany, Poland agreed on main elements of the project:
Street Art, Rural Development, Engagement of Youth in Economical and Social growth of the community, Cultural Exchange and Creativity.
The expected impact on Organizations and target group: the organizations main benefit will be their volunteers with full backpack of knowledge, skills and attitude on specific topics, as well as a hands on tools – visual thinking tool, which they can use in their work, as during the daily work, and also during their activities. Organizations will benefit also the results of the youth exchange – all the visual materials to be produced, which they can spread and also use openly.
The expected impact on the participants:
Besides unforgettable Intercultural experience We expect that as a result of this youth exchange participants will develop or reinforce their knowledge, skills and attitude on such important and vital topics as Intercultural sensitivity, rural development, community development, , as well as specific skills on visual thinking tools, such as poster making, creating a stop motion animation, Gifs and stencils. At the same time we expect that participants will be empowered to apply their knowledge in their daily life, personal and professional relationships, as well as to “infect” the societies they live in.
JOINT STAFF TRAINING EVENT “EFFECTIVE TOOLS FOR INCREASING THE KEY COMPETENCES OF ADULTS” BARLETTA,ITALIA – SEPTEMBER 08 – 16 !CLOSED!
With the transition of partner countries to the market economy, globalization of world markets, intensification of competition before domestic entities, problems arise in finding new ways to ensure long-term existence and success. Today, strengthening basic skills and developing key competences for adults is a requirement of time.
Often the key to success in the fight against competition is the social inclusion of disadvantaged groups.
The main goal of the Project is to educate adults on strengthening basic skills and developing key competences of socially excluded people.
Specific objectives:
– identifying the educational needs of adults from disadvantaged groups
– activation and motivation of target group representatives to undertake active educational activities
– effective tools for raising key competences of adults
– promoting the concept of lifelong learning among adults
– strengthening basic skills representatives of disadvantaged groups
– developing the key competences of excluded people as the key to a better tomorrow
– presentation of examples of successfully implemented projects on adult education and social inclusion.
Participants:
– Short-term joint staff training events – 7 employees (including volunteers) from partner organizations (during 7 days),
– Blended mobility of adult learners – 5 adults, including the socially excluded from Poland, Croatia, Serbia and Italy (during 5 days).
Education in Project will contain 7 elements:
– 4 Short-term joint staff training events:
1. Identifying the educational needs of adults from disadvantaged groups
2. Activation and motivation of target group representatives to undertake active educational activities
3. Effective tools for raising key competences of adults
4. Promotion of the concept of lifelong learning among adults
– 3 Blended mobility of adult learners:
1. My basic skills
2. Education is the key to a better tomorrow
3. Examples of successfully implemented projects on adult education and social inclusion.
Classes implemented as part of the Project will be interactive, based not only on the transfer of knowledge, but primarily exercise through role-plays, quizzes, tests, presentations, case studies and seminars. Classes will include group and individual work. The trainers will be people who not only have knowledge and experience in the subjects they will discuss, but will be practitioners who use this knowledge in everyday life. In addition to strictly educational activities, participants will learn about the culture, art and history of the host countries, thanks to which it will be possible to understand the national features of the Partners, get to know different cultures, and overthrow many stereotypes. This will definitely facilitate future transnational cooperation and strengthen European ties.
INTERNATIONAL MEETING “BUILDINGS BRIDGES WITH EMPATHY” JAGNIĄTKÓW, POLAND – SEPTEMBER 06 – 14 !CLOSED!
“Lack of empathy is related to aggression, delinquency, and lack of success in private and professional life.”We agreed that it is crucial to increase empathy in young people before they become adults.All partners noticed challenges/problems young people face regarding agression, lack of tolerance, lack of understanding, bullying,online agression and bullying, social exclusion, lack of awareness on differences between people and their feelings, lack of humility, lack of emotion self-regulation that are caused because of lack of empathy or low level of empathy.
When speaking with younsters, some showed higher level of empathy towards animals than towards other people -“it is hard to empathize with others” said one of the highschool students in Dobre Rece assosiation office.The idea came up to us after longterm discussion on – “why is it hard to empathize with others?”
This aim and objectives of the project link to objectives of Erasmus+ Programme, especially with the overall objectives of the renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field (2010-2018), especially by empowering NGOs, creating network of organisations able to implement activities on European level, and by fostering professionalization of youth work in general.
As such it also directly meets objectives of the Key Action 1, in particular by improving professional competences of youth workers, increases capacities to trigger changes in terms of updating partner organisations, promotes non-formal education, improves quality of youth work in general (to benefit of young people in partner organisations’ target groups).
INTERNATIONAL TRAINING “SKEPSIS LEARNING NEVER ENDS” KOLIN,CZECH REPUBLIC OCTOBER 03 – 11 !CLOSED!
“Skepsis. Learning never ends” is 7 days long training course that will take place in Czechia and will be devoted to critical thinking. Training course will involve 28 people from 8 countries.
This project will be implemented within the Skepsis movement which is devoted to critical thinking and media literacy development.
We set following aim for our project:
To increase critical thinking skills among youth leaders, youth workers and NGO activists and their stakeholders through learning about tools and methods to improve critical thinking and by creating tools and workshops which later would be used in local communities.
Objectives:
● To increase critical thinking skill among participants of TC and their stakeholders
● To improve quality of youth work in partner organisations
● To promote active citizenship and understanding of democratic processes through knowledge on critical thinking and media literacy
● To create 6 tools and workshops about critical thinking for youth workers which can later be applied at local communities
● To fight fakes, propaganda, prejudice, misinformation,etc.
● To develop new activities within the “Skepsis” movement to have better continuation and spreading of ideas about critical thinking
The training is designed to equip participants with tools that can be used in daily work with young people and the learning outcomes of this training programme are foreseen to be disseminated in the youth field through the use of methods, sharing the approach and follow-up.
INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE “„ ADVENTURES IN GLOBAL EDUCATION“KILFINANE, IRELAND OCTOBER 13 – 20 !CLOSED!
Adventure in Outdoor Education is a six day training course which will open up the interactive realities of the
outdoor world and their metaphorical significance in navigating current social, political and cultural norms in relation to issues surrounding Global Education .
The Programme objectives are:
-Equip youth workers with the knowledge and skills to address key global issues through the use of experiential outdoor education approaches -Examine the meaning and functions of outdoor education as a set of tools for exploring cognitive development of critical thinking, systems thinking and problem solving -Explore the narrative provided by the SDGs through outdoor education methods
We wish to achieve these through a program that will be able to provide youth workers and trainers with innovative tools & theoretical background, plus motivation, empowerment and network possibilities to tackle these problems more effectively in their local and international work.
Activities
The training course will include a variety of non-formal education methods, experiential learning, discussions and theory based workshops. The project will focus on outdoor education based methods and specifically look at how these methods can be applied when exploring issues surrounding Global Education.
The approach, being based in outdoor education will be highly experiential and our aim is to empower participants to be fully able to use the skills approaches and tools in their work, immediately after the course.
The experience will culminate in the development process of educational outdoor activities, that the group will play and present in an event open to public.
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH EXCHANGE “SHINE YOUR LIGHT “SLAVONSKI BROD, CROATIA OCTOBER 02 – 10 !CLOSED!
The theme of the project is created to help participants to alleviate the psycho-social problems they face during the Covid-19 virus pandemic.
The expected impact on the participants is that through a designed activity hierarchy, they will strengthen their internal mental capacities, which will help them cope with the new situation, but also prevent the occurrence of further psycho-social difficulties in the event of a second wave of the virus, and in addition will strengthen them strengthen to cope with both everyday stressors and stressful situations. 
First of all, participants will learn how to be OK with themselves and how to make internal changes that will reflect on their quality of life. Also, participants will network with colleagues from other countries, become more aware of their role and be able to recognize the perspective that comes with uncertainty, and above all develop resistance to external stressors and shift focus to internal work.
In addition, participants will learn self-help and self-development techniques, will be introduced to online tools that will later serve them for quality interaction, communication and content creation, and will be able to further transfer the acquired knowledge in their local environments among their peers and families.
Working methods of this project are based on:
– active participation in workshops, presentations, study visits
– personal and group discussions
– brainstorming, and sessions for enhancing creativity
– personal development activities and reflection sessions
– team-building activities, energizers, games (music, dance)
– intercultural dialogue and presentation
– role play
This project is not only based on a “one-way information-flow” but requires a pro-active participation from you. So, we would encourage you to search about the issue in your country, local community, university, NGO.
TRAINING COURSE “3C: CONNECTION – COMPASSION – CONTACT ” KRYNICA ZDRÓJ, POLAND OCTOBER 20 – 28 !CLOSED!
The project was created as a response to the needs of partner organisations and their employees, and these needs include building a dialogue with and among young people. Together with partners, we diagnosed that young people have difficulty in expressing themselves, in establishing authentic contact between themselves and with adults. This phenomenon exists in real life and on the Internet. We also diagnosed the need to improve communication within the organization’s teams on the level of conflict resolution.
To ensure sustainability and dissemination of results, we checked whether similar problems exist outside our organisations and countries (focusing on the situation of young people). Among many new studies, we found consistency with the problems and needs of our organizations. Here we cite the latest UNICEF report, which states that “half of all students worldwide aged 13-15 years – nearly 150 million young people – declare that they have experienced violence from their peers in or around an educational institution.
In response to these problems and needs, together with partners and participants, we want to deepen our competences in the area of Non-Violent Communication (NVC), which, contrary to what the name says, is not only a communication technique but a set of beliefs and attitudes, where the intention and reaching out to, naming and expressing one’s needs are important.
What is the relationship between expressing needs and violent behaviour? Violence, which manifests itself in bullying, peer aggression, conflict is born when suffering people do not know how to express their pain when they cannot reach what they are hiding inside (Andrew Schmookler). You can learn about NVC from the books and, as the author of the Rosenberg concept himself says, it is a simple and not easy method – simple to assume, but not easy to practice and practise is the keyword here. NVC needs to be practised and experienced in order for it to bring results, i.e. a dialogue with people, in which we contribute to the improvement of our own and others’ quality of life.
Without the guidance of an experienced trainer, it is easy to fall into NVC traps that distort the idea of building an empathic connection to take care of each other’s needs.
INTERNATIONAL MEETING KA2 IN CZECHIA “ATTRACTING TOMORROW’S ADULTS TODAY ”OCTOBER 10 – 16 !CLOSED!
Through the sharing of good practices and exchange of experience we presented the councillors how to work with young people in the towns and villages, and what tools to use to render the locations more youth-friendly.
Through this method of education we intend to increase the offer of informal education and leisure time alternatives, to engage more youth in the dialogue with the decision makers in the planning and offering such services in the short-term and to make the home town more attractive to young people in the long-term.
The principal goal of the project is to apply the efficient method of education for the target group 40+ in order to instigate communication between the decision makers and young people; to share experience and identify tools for a town which is open and friendly to young people. 
The secondary goal is the awareness of how important it is to integrate youth of all age and social groups as well as to integrate youth with special learning needs and/or limited opportunities. A long-term goal is the improvement of quality of public domain by availability of informal education and alternative leisure time activities for youth, their engagement in the civil and community life. By meeting those goals, a negative phenomenon – migration of young people from the country to the city and loss of connectedness to the place where they live – will be eliminated in the long term.
The project is a continuation to the outcomes from our previous KA2 project, Education of decision-makers and social services providers – quality in care. Its realisation did prove the importance of the target group in community development education, as it includes the corner stone of a civil society, education and integration of youth, socially challenged and handicapped persons. The course of the project has also revealed the pitfalls of providing education to the target group due to their age, lack of foreign language skills, low time availability, and introspection skill.
ERASMUS + TRAINING COURSE “EMBRACING THE HARMONY NATIONALITIES IN COLOURS ” VALLETTA,MALTA OCTOBER 14 – 29 !CLOSED!
NGOs have an important role in both, approaching and help the refugees and immigrants to better integrate into the local communities – through creative inclusive projects and raising awareness upon the refugees and immigrants situation in the local communities, fighting the hate speech and building dialogue and understanding between the locals and the newcomers – through different methods and awareness campaigns.
As all partner organizations are actively involved in inclusive projects and activities in their local communities (most of them working with the young people with fewer opportunities), the entire project comes in their aid, being built on their needs to develop their organizational capacity by developing experts in the field of refugees and immigrants issues – updating and adapting the competences of the youth workers to the new target group.
Objectives:
To develop and update the capacity of 36 youth workers from 12 countries to approach and help the young refugees and immigrants to better integrate into the local communities – through creative inclusive projects;
To involve 36 youth workers in raising awareness upon the refugees and immigrants situation in the local communities, fighting the hate speech and building dialogue and understanding between the locals and the newcomers – through different non formal education methods, 12 awareness campaigns and different visual tools.
To facilitate the best practices exchange at international level between 12 NGOs and 36 youth workers in the field of non-formal education and promote the effectiveness of non-formal methods in addressing the current challenges to the crisis of refugees and immigrants.
To enhance the international collaboration among 12 NGOs involved in the project and to facilitate the development of 5 future non-formal education projects whose main target group will be young refugees or immigrants.
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH EXCHANGE „ EXPRESS U! ”AVEIRO, PORTUGAL OCTOBER 26 – 02 NOVEMBER !CLOSED!
According to Eurostat, in 2018, 21.7% of the European population was at risk of poverty or social exclusion. In this group, young people (16-29 years) represent 26.7% of the entire population in this situation. Often these problems are accompanied by situations of exclusion related to ethnic, religious, gender, economic, geographical,social.
For the consortium, it is extremely relevant to create a range of actions, initiatives and dynamics that foster social inclusion, tolerance and diversity, through participatory and integrative methodologies that bring young people from different contexts into interaction, enabling them to (self-)acquire competences and values that are fundamental to their full development by providing opportunities for expression, mobility and learning which are urgently needed.
Therefore, the social problem that this project intends to solve is the social exclusion of young people with fewer opportunities that, due to the absence of effective methods to promote social inclusion and tolerance, end up being apart from society.
This is an important and neglected problem, so it is urgent to create dynamics, actions and policies that eradicate it and this exchange aims to contribute to this through cultural dynamics. All organisations involved in this project are committed to their work in the context of youth, social inclusion, diversity and culture and have experience in developing Erasmus + projects. This is a solid and motivated partnership to improve and transform the social reality of disadvantaged young people through culture.
The consortium understands that the first exchange was a success and was able to respond to the problem and needs outlined.
This second edition aims to broaden the results and positive impacts of youth exchange and thus create a new opportunity for other disadvantaged young people to experience the experience of participating in an international exchange and enjoying all the advantages it offers.
With this project, participants with fewer opportunities will feel valued and belonging, which will foster self-acceptance and awareness of opportunities regardless of their obstacles and social contexts. The achievement of the proposed objectives, outcomes and impacts will enable the construction of a future generation
more aware to tolerance, equality, respect, inclusion and diversity.
INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ” IMPROVING THE EUROPEAN DEMOCRACY” SOFIA,BULGARIA NOVEMBER 01 – 07 !CLOSED!
The high turnout in the EP elections showed the increased interest of citizens in European democracy and the hopes of millions of Europeans for a new impetus in the development of the European project. Renewed EU institutions are expected to offer solutions to the most pressing challenges facing the EU and to renew the
commitment to the EU delivering on issues of relevance to people. But the improvement of European democracy requires not only effective, transparent and accountable institutions but also active citizens. 
The right to political participation is one of the most cherished fundamental freedoms of the European Union and one of the main building blocks of EU citizenship.The current version of representative democracy with regular elections must also encourage citizens’ participation in policy making both in and between elections. The European project must not be perceived as an elite project but as an important part of life for everyone.President von der Leyen’s wish to
give a new push of the European democracy can only become a reality if opportunities to participate and be represented are open to all, and especially to young people.It is crucial that the European institutions include a youth perspective and involve them in the process in order to gain a better understanding of the challenges facing young people and to identify new and effective policy decisions.
The international seminar “Improving the European Democracy” which will be held in Sofia from 26 April to 3 May 2020 will examine what the renewed European institutions can do to connect and engage productively with the young citizens. Building on postelection momentum, the project will bring together decision-makers, youth NGO leaders and civic campaigners to explore potential solutions to major challenges facing EU citizens and to make recommendations to the new EP and EC with regard to the envisaged conference on the Future of Europe.
The participants will gain practical knowledge on how to promote European values and communicate the benefits of Europe to young citizens and build capacity for full participation in the democratic life of the EU. The political, social, economic and cultural aspects that the seminar addresses will contribute to shape a vision how to strengthen European participatory democracy and reaffirm the concept of active European citizenship.
The ideas and knowledge generated during the seminar can be used by every participant and be implemented at local level.
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH EXCHANGE”THE EARTH’S GATE” ADAMOV,CZECH REPUBLIC NOVEMBER 01 – 14 !CLOSED!
The project will focus on the role of independence and self-sufficiency of individual systems and states in solving global problems on the one hand and on the importance of cooperation and solidarity between countries on the other. The project will address how to create a world together, solve problems and be self-sufficient.
The project wants to present two models of solutions: What it looks like when cooperation is necessary, when we are self-sufficient and dependent on another country. Or what a model looks like when we are self-sufficient and independent and work together to solve problems with a sense of solidarity. It highlights the role of young people and their proactive approach to problem solving.
Within the project, young people will meet other young people from different cultural backgrounds. They will also meet with representatives of non-profit organizations dedicated to the topic in the region. Furthermore, the participants will meet scientists, academics from universities, young scientists, who deal with the global problems of the Earth from a scientific perspective.
Main goal: of this project is to show a possible systemic approach to solving global projects of the Earth. Thanks to the activities of the program and in the discussion between young people, non-profit organizations and the academic community, the participants will be able to come with new functional possibilities and approaches. To build abilities for problem solving, solidarity, tolerance, self-sufficiency, to build abilities for critical thinking and responsible action, young people’s active approach to the world and problem solving as well as friendship. The aim is to present the role of self-sufficiency and cooperation as two important aspects of the effort to solve global problems of society and the planet Earth.
Objectives :
– It will be crucial to realize that all global environmental problems can very quickly project into social problems,social crises and severely paralyze their functioning (e.g. climate change-drought-lack of food and resources-poverty, hunger-conflicts, armed conflict, intolerance, the division of society into rich and poor, powerful
and powerless, suppression of rights).
-The project wants to take advantage of the fact that the partners are on the same page. At the same time,however, we perceive the diversity of participants as very enriching and necessary for growth. Diversity of experiences, opinions and approach to the world, society, planet Earth.
– To connect young people with each other and their meetings with representatives of non-profit organizations and with scientists from the two largest universities in the Czech Republic from the field of ecology and environmental studies. The project wants to draw attention to the importance of cooperation between these three groups.
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH EXCHANGE „ GREEN CONNECTION ” SIROGOJNO MOUNTAIN, SERBIA NOVEMBER 23 – 01 !OPEN CALL!
Our youth exchange by the name “Greener Connections” – GC promotes young people’s social inclusion and well-being by involving young people with fewer opportunities (unemployed young people, young people belonging to disadvantaged social strata or coming from rural isolated areas) and by introducing them to the universe of active citizenship and democratic participation. At the same time GC tackles the issue of youth unemployment by helping the participants to develop basic and transversal skills, such as entrepreneurship,digital skills and multilingualism, through innovative learner-centered pedalogical approaches and certification methods based on learning outcomes.
Our aim is to underline the best practices existing in the areas represented within the project.
During the exchange, the participants will be encouraged to explore, highlight and compare the best practices and alternative models existing within their realities, looking beyond the purely economic value corresponding to the explored realities.
The main objectives of the project are:
• contribute to improve the employment rate within the participants’ communities
• improve the level of the key competences of the young participants, in particular the ones with fewer
opportunities
• transfer practices related to active citizenship
• promote Erasmus + program around Europe
• encourage new forms of experiential and intercultural learning
• promote alternative and eco-sustainable economic models.
Activities
“Greener Connections” is welcome to participants with strong motivation, who wants to play active role in society and local communities,also young people with fewer opportunities (unemployed young people, young people belonging to disadvantaged social strata or coming from rural isolated areas)who want to explore alternative environmental and economic models, related to happy de-growth theories.Also who want to develop basic and transversal skills, such as entrepreneurship, digital skills and multilingualism.Participants are involved in this project since we started planing and writing project.
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH EXCHANGE „ COUNTRYSIDE FOR NEW YOUTH GENERATION”RAVNE KOROŠKEM, SLOVENIA DECEMBER 03 – 13 !OPEN CALL!
Reconnecting youth to nature can be a lever of a profound change towards mitigating the environmental crisis by creating value and work; building a new ecological, fair and shared market; re-launching citizen participation; even promoting new paths and new spaces for democracy.
The consortium want to create a strong project on environmental awareness and help young Europeans reconnect to nature, promote the sustainable use of natural resources, through very simple activities, such as gathering products from the forest and cooking/processing them.
The objectives for participants are:
To learn about Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFP) and their benefits, and their traditional uses across Europe;
To develop knowledge and skills around the theme of using products from nature and traditional knowledge in Europe;
To understand the theory and practice of using products from forests; To explore different examples and approaches across Europe of traditional uses of NWFPs, for developing new skills amongst young people and to be able to use techniques of non-formal learning with young people within their own organisations;
To have a good working knowledge of the Erasmus+ Programme and to develop new projects together;
To foster European discussion about sustainable development and economy;
To increase the awareness of young people regarding the local natural heritage; and to encourage good practice sharing across borders.
The exchange will bring together representatives of five partner organisations to exchange ideas and agree a viable culture-based project.
The methods employed will be visual presentations, group work, group discussions and brainstorming, presentation of the Erasmus+ programme, organising a walk in the forest and a food/cooking meeting with local students and citizens.
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH EXCHANGE IN LATVIA, LATGALE #ADVENTURENATURE !CLOSED!
Youth exchange will focus on empowering young people especially vulnerable ones, discovering new cultures mainly through peer-learning, while prioritizing inclusion and diversity issues. The project will promote non-formal education methods, experiential learning, and will improve the quality of youth work with the following target group: young people from diverse, including disadvantaged, backgrounds. The programme is designed to push young people further than they ever thought they could go and to show them that they can achieve more than they ever imagined. The project will offer a range of workshops introducing the methods of outdoor education, and provide instructions on themes such as needs analyses, risk assessment, and group dynamics.Workshops will draw on a range of non-formal learning methods, including question and answer sessions, practical demonstrations, debriefing, small-group work and active feedback. The main focus of the youth exchange though will be on equipping young people with practical skills while going through practical activities that outdoor education offers. Under the supervision of youth leaders participants will take a leading role in organizing activities. They will be provided with the knowledge and experience needed.
Activities
“SOFT SKILLS FOR YOUTH WORKERS”ZAKOPANE , POLAND !CLOSED!
The project “Soft skills for youth workers” is designed as training which is planned to help youth workers,educators, volunteers coming from partner organisations with their daily work with young people, and primarily to teach them or develop their soft skills and provide them with the methods and tools, how to transmit their
knowledge about soft skills to young people with whom they work .
Nowadays, youth workers are often the only people who care about the development of soft skills among young people with whom they work with. Youth work focuses on the holistic development of young people – it develops the knowledge, skills and attitudes of young people. At the same time, most employers consider soft skills as a very important factor when hiring new employees, but often they indicate that formal education does not ensure adequate development of soft competences among young people. 
The need for our “Soft skills for youth workers” project is that members of partner organizations themselves often need to be trained in various soft skills such as effective communication, time management, public speaking, creativity, project management, because they do not they have the right skills and are not competent enough to pass these skills on to the young people they work with. At the same time, young people for whom partner organizations conduct activities expect these activities to develop their competence in the field of soft skills.
This project is an answer to the above mentioned needs of organisations and young people with whom they work with.
The main aim of the project is to equip youth workers coming from partner organisations with the soft skills, such as effective communication, time management, public speaking, creativity, project management and to inspire them to make the usage of these skills in designing and implementing activities for youth.
In the project will take part 28 participants coming from 13 countries: Poland, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Spain,Latvia, Portugal, Macedonia, Turkey, Hungary, Romania, Italy, Greece. The training will be held in Zakopane,Poland.
The methods used in the project will be based on non-formal methodology: discussions, simulation games, open space technology, role-plays, team buildings, drama. The main result of the project will be the creation of methods and tools that allow youth workers to effectively develop the soft skills of young people with whom they work.
