The project Yeuthpact! started with the consideration that Youth work and projects involving young people, including the ones working in European funding framework (international camps, European volunteering projects, etc.), have a tremendous value to foster better societies. On the one hand, throughout events, exchanges, camps, community work and transnational volunteering, youth work increases young people’s educational and training opportunities. On the other hand, it can improve life conditions of people from local communities where projects take place. Both dimensions encompass the impact, which can be defined as “the changes resulting from organisation’s activities” (Charities Evaluation Service’s quote, mentioned at “How do we know it’s working?”-Conference organised by National Youth Council of Ireland, 2011)Whilst European Commission (2017) has recently considered European Voluntary Service a highly valuable programme with a significant impact on volunteers and organisations involved, such impact is mitigated on local communities where projects take place due to different reasons. One of the reasons is the “lack of tools to measure impact on local community”. As a result, plenty of studies and papers show the difficulties to find data or evidence about youth work’s social impact: Pwell and Bratović (2007), Lough, Moore McBride and Sherraden (2009), European Youth Forum-YFJ (2016), European Commission (2016; 2017), among others.A gap thus exists when assessing the social impact of youth work so youth practitioners, in terms of local community-wise, struggle to answer the question “What difference does my work make?” (Dr. Bamber, Centre for Effective Services, “How do we know it’s working?”-Conference, National Youth Council of Ireland, 2011). There is current a need to promote evidence-based practice when assessing the impact of youth work on local communities (“Study on the impact of transnational volunteering through the European Voluntary Service” -EC, 2014). Thus, youth workers needed:-To develop tailor-made methods and tools to assess the impact of their work on local communities, thereby providing evidences of their influences-To build their capacity of evaluate how their actions work at local communities so they can design and implement more effective projectsY-EUTH-PACT! had the aim to contribute to increase the quality of youth work by improving the capacity of youth practitioners to assess the impact of youth work on local communities, through the creation of new tools and the improvement of youth practitioners’ competences. The specific objectives were: -To standardise good practices for assessing impact on local communities of youth work and volunteering projects;-To create a methodology, guidelines and tools for youth workers to assess the impact of youth work on local communities-To develop a framework of competences for youth practitioners to become impact assessors;-To develop a training programme with e-modules to train youth practitioners on impact assessment practices; and-To equip organisations’ staff with tailor-made methodologies to improve the way they assess the impact on local communitiesMain project target group: youth workers.Indirect target groups were (among others): young people, teachers, high school educators, HEI staff, adults, local organisations/institutions involved in youth sector, NGOs and other third sector entities.Y-EUTH-PACT! was aligned with Erasmus+ objective of fostering quality improvements in youth work, in particular through enhanced cooperation between organisations in the youth field and/or other stakeholders. Moreover the project results can become very useful when assessing the impact of new ESC projects on local communities, thereby increasing the transferability of project’s outputs. Even beyond Erasmus+, the project addressed the recommendation adopted by European countries, represented in this project as well (NL, ES, IT, UK, and BG), of “supporting the development of appropriate forms of review and evaluation of the impact and outcomes of youth work” (Recommendation CM/Rec(2017)4, Council of Europe, 2017).Finally, given the difficulties and restriction brought in by the Covid-19 Pandemic, it is worth mentioning that Partners during the 2nd half of project implementation, have constantly adapted ongoing to the situation, by intensifying and improving the general online communication, dissemination and also online training activities, in order to overcome such situation. This resulted in an additional (and unforeseeable) capacity building for the partners and staff involved, when it comes to work and communicate effective online and general upgrade of digital skills.

<< Background >>Young people and especially those with fewer opportunities have been strongly affected by different economic crises and recessions, the last one being due to COVID pandemic that considerably impacted their perspectives of future and created a general distrust toward policy makers. Indeed, it is undeniable that, since the Covid-19 pandemic, a big portion of citizens have a negative perception of the EU. This negative feeling is further triggered by the loss of jobs and lack of welfare measures to sustain our citizens during these hard times. This situation is negatively affecting our youth (our future) which is constantly undermined by fake news and negative messages from any sort of media. Different Eurobarometers published since 2016 show that youth feel, more than others, marginalised from their economic and social lives, they don’t think that their voice is being heard. While working with youth, partners face the limited understanding of youth about how the Union and its institutions work. They observe that too many of them do not know their EU capitals or ignore the difference between the European Council or the Council of Europe. Meanwhile, 90% of youth respondents to Eurobarometer (1) say that it is important for young Europeans to learn about the EU and how its institutions work. They consider that social networks represent progress for democracy. This generation is rather interested in practical and directly applicable knowledge than theoretical speeches, and is used to dealing with the latest available ICT as entertaining. Young people lack easy access to tools (such as games, mobile applications) or initiatives, which help them to better know and understand the EU and its institutions.As a consequence, many youths, especially those belonging to groups at risk of exclusion, are unaware of the opportunities that EU programs can offer them. To answer this need, workers and volunteers supporting youth lack innovative teaching material, which they can use to cover this lack of knowledge. As youth support organisations, we need to improve the way we explain and publicize the opportunities that the EU offers, thus helping to better understand the EU and its values. As an answer to this situation, the EU Values project was born out of the need to encourage young people to become active citizens, agents of solidarity and elements of positive change for communities across Europe, inspired by EU values and European identity.Knowledge of the EU, its origins and how it works, as well as its member states, will lead to greater respect, understanding and cooperation among European citizens. In addition, this greater knowledge will encourage young people to form their own opinions and have the necessary knowledge to participate in their communities or the Union's political and social life. To summarize, EU values aims at following the main recommendations of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027. Europe cannot afford wasted talent, social exclusion or disengagement among its youth. Young people should be architects of their own lives and contribute to positive change in society. (1) https://www.europarl.europa.eu/at-your-service/es/be-heard/eurobarometer/european-youth-in-2016<< Objectives >>The main objective of EU VALUES Project is to enhance the youth understanding of the EU and foster a sense of belonging to it, besides preparing them to participate in their communities or the Union's political and social life. Through our results and activities we want to achieve the next objectives:- Better knowledge about EU and its values, by providing training content for youth, and organizations and stakeholders that work with or for youth.- Promote the civic participation of young people, giving them the necessary tools to be agents of change capable of actively influencing their environment, being the ones who participate in the improvement of society.- Facilitate the inclusion of young people belonging to groups at risk of social exclusion, by participating in training workshops on the European Union.- Promote citizen coexistence and social cohesion among young people from different origins and realities.- Promote innovative practices and social transformation, through the creation of guidelines and methodology to train young people in the values ​​of the European Union and its history.Thanks to EU Values, participants will be able to know the history and values of the EU and know how to transmit them by actively participating in their communities.<< Implementation >>This project will involve 6 partners from 5 countries (Greece, Spain, Netherlands, Italy and France), who will work together addressing young people (18-29 years old) and all people in general who work with the E+ program in the development of a youth competence profile that recognise the values and institutions of the European Union, becoming an agent of change, working on the development of associated competences, linked to citizen’s participation on the one side, but also to the acceptance and application of some of our key values of inclusion, diversity, wellfare, sustainability.These activities will be:- Development of 3 main project results: an EU Framework of Knowledge for Youth, an Online Training Course and associated Teaching Notes and an Educational Game. They will together form a coherent and complete training set focusing on EU values knowledge and the tools that enable people to become leaders of change, addressing directly our final target, the youth, as well as their trainers with associated materials that will help them in the exploitation of our products.- Piloting activities, EU Values will involve our target groups all along with the project implementation. It is planned that both the online course and the educational game will be tested by our target audience. In addition, a panel of external evaluators will review some of our activities for permanent feedback.- Sustainable events will be organized in each country at the end of the project as a way to promote the results achieved.- Use of ICT as a catalyst for the project activities impact: our main results will be produced in digital and interactive formats.- Focus on international activities, being in line with an international scenario for shared values and heritage.- And of course, all those activities will be supported by an efficient management system that will itself be designed with the idea of reducing the impact to the minimum, meaning fewer transnational meetings, more virtual meetings, a no-papers dissemination strategy, the optimization of online management tools, and a continuous reporting effort to spread our achievements.<< Results >>To achieve our objective, we will prepare training material for young people since it is the generation who should lead the change and begin to build a European society that is more aware and prouder of the values ​​that unite us. In addition, we will prepare guidelines that will help people working on youth support to transmit the project's training content to youth, focusing especially on groups at risk of exclusion who do not have easy access to this type of training material, and migrants, whom we want to welcome and integrate into the European Union, making them participants in our history and values.This will be achieved through the production of 3 main results:R1: EU Framework of Knowledge for Youth. The objective of this result will be to create a framework through which will be reviewed the current level of knowledge of youth about the EU values and assess for their further needs. The study made thanks to the involvement of our two main target groups in the frame of a survey and focus groups, will focus on the perceptions of youth about the EU, including awareness of its role, institutions, major policies, opportunities, as well as on their awareness about the eventual gap of knowledge and training needed to increase their competences, and what they would need to become more trustful and engaged in the EU project. At least 360 representatives of our target groups will be involved in this activity. An online interactive report will be created, including a mapping of the places that promote EU actions in each partner city. This framework will address the youth themselves, looking for information, but also those working with them, being Youth assessors, counsellors, educators, association and NGOs who will use it as a source to design future training pathways for their youth members, to integrate into their activities with youth. To make it more attractive, it will have a form of interactive resource within the project website and will reveal the most needed set of knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to know the different EU values and Institutions. R2: Online Training Course and Teaching NotesTaking R1 as a basis, partners will develop a training course, including theoretical contents supporting the increase of knowledge and general culture about the EU, and, as a second main pillar, modules that treat the importance of participating in the EU citizenship life for democracy. In parallel to this training, partners will develop Teaching Notes, using a mixture of methodologies in training aimed at young people working collaboratively, promoting citizen coexistence and social cohesion among young people from different origins and realities. R3: Educational Game APPPartners will develop an educational Game which will include:- Interactive activities that simulate the different institutions of the European Union, so that young people can learn, play, how the different organizations work.- A tool with which, through questions and answers, you can acquire and practice knowledge about the European Union, and the identified skills and competencies to boost citizen participation.The expected impact on the target group, as a result of these activities, is to change the current situation of youth. Participants will be able to become actors of their present and future, raising their sense of initiative oriented toward the social European values, applicable in any area of their daily life, besides preparing them to participate in their communities or the Union's political and social life.

<< Background >>The ageing of population is a worldwide phenomenon with critical implications for all sectors of society. Due to low birth rates, high life expectancy and migration flow dynamics, worldwide population is “turning grey”, and Europe is not an exception. An ageing population brings social, health, economic, and other issues. Overall in the EU, the total public spending of ageing is expected to increase by 1.7% to 26.7% of GDP between 2016 and 2070. In all countries, measures to help older people remain active and participative are a necessity, not a luxury. The United Nations and the European Commission agree that quality ageing is a responsibility of all (private, public and civic actors), and can only be created and sustained through the participation of multiple sectors. People are thus encouraged to take the lead to implement programmes addressing quality and active ageing. These impressive projections feed into a variety of policy debates and processes at EU level, including the overarching Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. There is uncertainty surrounding these long-term projections, which are made under a 'no-policy-change' assumption to illustrate what the future could be if current policies remain unchanged. Thus, as populations grow older, the EC encourages the design of innovative policies and public services specifically targeted to older persons. The UN and the EC agree that quality ageing is a responsibility of all (private, public and civic actors), and can only be created and created and sustained through joint efforts of multiple sectors. People are encouraged to take the lead to implement programmes addressing questions as: How do we help people remain independent and active as they age? How can we strengthen health promotion and prevention policies? How can the quality of life in old age be improved?, and attempt to collaborate in assuring that senior citizens remain a valuable resource to their families and communities, as stated in the WHO Brasilia Declaration on Ageing and Health in 1996. In all countries, measures to help older people remain active and participative are a necessity, not a luxury. The time to act is now! This framework, in addition to the environmental global crisis and the EU Green Deal prerogatives, led the partners to plan a project aiming at fomenting active ageing policies that would bring added-value to both the communities and the elderly. Preparation work of the partners and resulting direct contact with the agents working directly with the elderly in several countries (Germany, Portugal, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Poland) revealed that the third age sector and the elderly would like to contribute to nature conservation, because of all the positive inputs that the contact with nature brings to the senior’s mental and physical health, and because it enhances autonomy. However, when inquired about what prevented those agents (or the elderly) to implement outdoor programmes, they responded the staff lacks competences to address nature-related actions and to organize safe outdoor activities. When further inquired on the preferred enrolment schemes for the elderly in such outdoor programmes, they were unanimous in responding that volunteerism would be the perfect model to adopt.The educational needs were thus identified to a depth that allowed partners to build a robust consortium and a strategy to respond to those needs. SENIORS4SUSTAINABILITY thus requires expertise on different areas and insights from countries with active ageing policies at different levels of implementation in order to make it effective and transferable to a large geographical scale, assuring transnational quality impact on a set of different target audiences (from ground to policy-makers).<< Objectives >>SENIORS4SUSTAINABILITY aims at:-Promoting active ageing through the involvement of senior citizens in nature conservation volunteering programmes, and through the capacitation of personnel working in the third age sector to develop and implement such programmes;-Valorising the elderly and all their potential as productive citizens;-Support adult (senior) learners by providing high-quality training fostering key competences and skills;-Generating environmental awareness, and promote European citizenship values;-Promoting language, literacy, ICT, intercultural, and interpersonal skills in senior citizens and in the third age personnel;-Promoting social inclusion and active ageing policy.<< Implementation >>SENIORS4SUSTAINABILITY will train at least 48 third age personnel from Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Poland, and will directly involve at least 300 senior citizens in environmental activities in Portugal and Iceland. Indirectly, over 1000 senior citizens will somehow be involved in the project’s activities.Participants will join environmental activities in the field, virtual and physical international dialogues and exchanges, and will test and validate all the results. They will also attend public events and will be consulted for policy contributions.SENIORS4SUSTAINABILITY is thus a cross-sectoral project that will achieve the abovementioned activities, but mainly long-lasting immaterial results in what concerns the social inclusion of the elderly; their willingness and awareness to enrol in outdoor conservation programmes (or other active ageing programmes) in an informed way; the competences of entities, personnel and adult (senior) educators to develop and implement active ageing programmes; the encouragement of ageing-friendly policies. It is then expected that SENIORS4SUSTAINABILITY will cause a significant impact at different levels (local, national and international) on the different target-groups and stakeholders.Thanks to the diversity of the participating organizations and the high-level quality of their respective networks, the project’s results will be disseminated to relevant stakeholders, assuring the project’s uptake and continuity. Partners are committed to achieving institutional buy-in to the proposed methodology, and SENIORS4SUSTAINABILITY will certainly support social inclusion and valorization of the elderly, the establishment of green active ageing programmes, and the development of high-quality skills and competences in both the elderly and the staff supporting them. Environmental action and improvements in local governance policy will also be important benefits.<< Results >>SENIORS4SUSTAINABILITY will produce a set of tangible results and outcomes that hopefully will facilitate the construction of intangible outcomes, such an improvement in third-age and environmental policies.Results are described in detail in the relevant chapter of the application, but, in short are:- A report/collection of best-practice and inspirational cases to inspire and guide the project development;- An online platform that features the project information, results, news, and an observatory for best-practice in nature conservation programmes inclusive to seniors, and an enrolment directory for such projects and the elderly;- A handbook for seniors, explaining the rights and duties of volunteers, safety rules, etc;- A step-be-step handbook and an executive package for institutions willing to implement senior volunteer/active ageing programmes;- A training course for 3rd age personnel, available in 4 languages;- An audiovisual set of contents, explaining the topics addressed by the project in an inclusive way;- A policy paper explaining the importance of a change in 3rd age and environmental policies. This output will summarize a set of evidence-based recommendations, from a policy-making and local democracy perspective.- A laymen report assembling all lessons learned and crucial findings of the project, allowing for clear and swift dissemination of the tackled benefits.We will also run internal evaluation exercises after each meeting or event, ensuring the project is developing according to each target group and the consortium’s needs and goals.The expected outcomes are the following:- Development and implementation of 1 senior ‘green volunteering’ programme.- Delivery of 1 training course for 3rd age personnel, with resultant improvement of their skills and intercultural perspective.- Organization of 6 multiplier events and consequent impact in local communities.- Raise awareness about ageing and environmental issues.- Promote the benefits of international cooperation for the resolution of such issues.- Promote 3rd age and environmental friendly policies at high decision making level, with impacts on (at least) local governance and democratic systems.- Contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, and relevant EU commitments for sustainable development, such as the 2030 EU Agenda and the EU Green Deal.

<< Objectives >>GreenTour:“Green Entrepreneurship through sustainable Eco-Tourism” aims at becoming a new European educational reference within the youth and non-formal education sector,by creating solid links between the opportunities that eco-tourism provides in the context of fight against climate change and for sustainability purposes,therefore enhancing the potential for socio-economic gains that green entrepreneurship through eco-tourism can offers in rural and semi-rural areas to youth and youth workers.<< Implementation >>GreenTourwill implement the following activities,detailed within 5 Work Packages including a thorough project management & fololow-up (WP1):Development of a Customized Eco-Tourism Framework for Youth,Youth Workers and “Eco-Tourers”(WP2),as well as an innovative online Course(WP3),supported by the development of a Project Handbook & Capacity Building-Toolkit for a Youth Exchange in Guadeloupe(WP4) and, consistent Dissemination Activities,including a Final International Conference in Spain (WP5).<< Results >>Throughout 2 years of implementation, GreenTour aims at developing the following results & outcomes available in EN/FR/ES/IT/EL/NL:-Project Website,social media pages and Online Course with over 150 people benefitting from it).-Comparative Research Report including a Customized Eco-tourism based Competency Framework for Youth, Youth Workers and “Eco-tourers”.-Handbook & Capacity Building Toolkit for a Youth Exchange in Guadeloupe.-Final International Conference in Spain: 50 attendees.

"European strategy for the period 2014-2020 provides two basic directions for the development of Europe:-to identify methods to promote entrepreneurship through mobility programs for young professionals (Initiative ""Youth in motion"");-to develop and implement programmes aiming at promoting social innovation among the most vulnerable groups, particularly by making available to communities deprived of some forms of education and training and innovative opportunities for employment, to combat discrimination (for example, persons with disabilities) and develop a new agenda for the integration of emigrants, which would help them to maximum use their potential (the initiative ""a European platform against poverty""). The specific objectives of the project are: 1. developing knowledge, skills and competences in the field of social entrepreneurship, an open attitude towards the experential learning to 120 young people and youth workers. Starting from these two directions in the partner communities, it was indentified a percentage of 27% of young people who want to actively integrate in the community life, a large proportion of 68% young people who have a job, and most local governments that have a strategy for exploiting the potential of the young and innovative creador. For these reasons, the development of knowledge and skills in the field of social entrepreneurship in youth becomes an equal opportunity: the finding of solutions to the social problems of local comunities and selfyouth development for a better integration on the labour market through the development of social enterprises. The aim of the project is: give youth and youth workers the opportunity to develop and implement projects of social entrepreneurship through experiential learning.The project objectives achieved by carrying out the following activities:1.achievement of a logo and motto for the project 2. promoting social responsibility and initiative of the 120 young people through non-formal methods at the level of communities and decision makers;3. involvement of 14 local entities to work with those 120 young people, in the identification and resolution of social problems within the communities; 4. development and implementation of one social entrepreneurship projects among the various categories of young people and the local community, 5. increasing with 10% of youth involvement in the life of the community through examples of good practice in the european space. The target group of the project consistsed of 120 young people aged between 17-24, in 6 partner organizations from Romania, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, Greece, 120 young people, 21 of them are young with limited opportunities in terms of economic opportunities. The project objectives was achieved by carrying out the following activities:-development of a logo of the project-execution and management of a project platform - collaborative meetings on-line and directly between youth from different corners of Europe-local workshops to identify social problems of the community, for the identification of entrepreneurial solutions to problems of high priority for the community, -to develop a business plan for the social enterprise, a social enterprise-to identify sources of funding-a good practice guide for a successful social entrepreneurial -carrying out an analysis/study of impact of the project implementation -2 editing spots to promote the socio-economic effects of the promotional campaigns of the platform project and hatchery of social enterprises, -to promote the International Conference of Social Entrepreneurship,- fundraising for the project of social entrepreneurship,- campaigns for the dissemination of good practice to community members through caravans, Cafe, asset guide platform on social entrepreneur organisation -carrying out International Conferences of Social Entrepreneurship-organization and maintenance of a consultancy service, of social entrepreneurship themes in the social incubator-accomplishment of 5 blended exchanges youth and one training course in Netherlands.For the above mentioned activities there had been integrated non-formal methods such as discussion, brainstorming, street theatre, workshops in different work environments (in schools, in social enterprises) in informal learning contexts as well as documentation on the Internet, specialized book study. It will emphasize the experiential learning and virtual simulation.The most important results of the project were:- open access to project website translated in English and some materials was transalted into Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch,Greek. The website contain all the materials carried out during project implementation and it will be maintained after its completion.-the Social Entrepreneur's Guide and 6 social entreprises business plans, 6 marketing plans , study of project impact, the suport of the training course in social entrepreneurship."