"The project ""ComEdu: Comics for Education"" established a strategic partnership among three organisations Grafiskie Stāsti in Latvia, Mondo in Estonia and Rota Jovem in Portugal for 25 month from 1.10.2018 until 30.11.2020. The aim of the project was to improve and expand international youth work in the partner countries by bringing together comic artists and youth workers and educators in youth work and developing comic as a learning and communication tool in education. Objectives set and reached: 1) we built an international network of youth workers, educators and comic artists, illustrators for educational purposes; 2) we developed competences to design and implement educational programs for youth using comic as a learning tool; 3) we created comics and developed educational materials for youth on different topics relevant to youth and non-formal education using comic as an expression form (environment, critical thinking, media literacy, life in rural areas, global education, bullying, gender roles, stereotypes, intercultural learning, Youthpass and life-learning competences). We used comics as a learning and communication tool as it is a messenger bridging generations – from a traditional printed-on-paper book to the digital era of visual media nowadays. A comic is a visual narrative and its ingredients – an image and a story – that allow us to communicate complex ideas in a clear way, draw attention and increase understanding of important topics by using accessible and simple means - a story, paper and a pen. Thus, easy to create, easy to read, easy to facilitate, easy to express oneself, comics are strong in delivering the message, especially for the young generation who are growing up in a visually saturated world. Besides the fact that comics as a form of expression is easily accessible to anyone, it is also a visually compressed narrative tool that develops one’s imagination and practical abilities to express ideas in metaphors and condensed images, therefore it develops also young people’s visual literacy skills. The activities and outcomes of the project were: 1) 2 transnational team meetings in which 40 youth workers, educators, comic artists and illustrators were trained to create comics, learning materials and to deliver comics workshops on different topics for young people;In the 1st meeting ""ComEDU:Creating Comics for Education"" (28.01. to 03.02.19 in Talsu novalds, Latvia) we established an international network among partner organizations and the educators, youth workers and artists who worked together to select topics and contents for the educational comics, set up co-working teams and created comics.In the 2nd meeting ""ComEDU: Comics as a Method in Education"" (22.10.-28.10.19 in Cascais, Portugal) we shared the created comics, developed and evaluated the educational materials and developed facilitators' competences to use the methods in working with youth, and planned the dissemination activities. 2) Educational comics materials (e-book) in 4 languages (Latvian, Estonian, Portuguese, English) as the intellectual output including 11 new comics (in total we created 103 pages of comics), complemented with relevant non-formal methodology. Based on each comic we developed educational tools - 20 methods and activity plans, ice-breaking and warming up exercises and comics creating tips. All of the activity descriptions include step by step guide, notes on materials, time and tips for the facilitators. All materials are free and available to download online via partner's websites and EU project dissemination platform: http://komikss.lv/comedu/, http://home.rotajovem.com/comedu-comics-for-education.html, https://maailmakool.ee/comedu/. 3) 6 comics exhibitions, 6 workshops for young people and 3 seminars for educators and youth workers. The created comics and educational tools were disseminated in 3 partner countries in comics exhibitions showcasing the created content for the educational comics reaching more than 1000 visitors; Educational comics workshops for local youth and methodology seminars for youth workers and educators, in total 87 young people and 32 educators, youth workers took part.Despite the unexpected obstacles due to Covid-19 pandemic, the project has reached a much wider interested and audience than we expected. To begin with, we received 97 applications for 40 places at translational meetings, we were able to organize more exhibitions and workshops for youth than planned. Participants of the transnational meetings organized additional events to share the created comics, methods and skills they had learned. Several participants of educators' seminar are implementing our methods in their daily work and are planning to organize workshops for their colleagues in libraries, NGOs, schools and are developing new projects inspired and based on our materials and discovery of comics as a powerful tool in education."

<< Background >>Through Curae we would like to develop employability skills by contributing on the maintenance of national vintage crafts. Our idea is to create a European network with partners who are active in their community and activating this network with national crafts organisations by organising events which would motivate youngsters coming from fewer opportunities background to support their countries’ traditional preservation, more specifically, their communities. Youngsters will collaborate with the participating organisations in the development of an employability method by using vintage crafts as a mean for increasing and improving the employability in a way that crafts can be proven to have a place in the modern world and they can contribute to personal and professional development of a group or an organisation. By being exposed to each other's crafting cultures and by learning to include them as European heritages and not only national heritages, the value of active citizenship and of common values can only be one of the core elements being present in every process and stages of the project.<< Objectives >>Curae wants to achieve its objectives by developing and improving crafting skills in youngsters facing employability issues who are mainly situated in the countryside. Curae wants to build a bridge between youngsters and the world of craftsmanship in Europe and to present them the benefits of it, and how it could help their communities develop, also economically. This project would bring different European organisations and communities together of different cultures and showing how it is possible to include crafts with technology while developing they entrepreneurial skills such as presenting themselves, promoting themselves and their heritage.With the learned skills, we expect youngsters to adopt a proactive posture towards employability and also consider investing in their community to support its economy. Action wise, this can happen with youngsters assisting local businesses on performing more effectively (therefore the youngsters could pass their skills onwards) but also with youngsters finding themselves employed in their region so that they can also see that where they live also has opportunities to offer work and cultural wise.<< Implementation >>In order to achieve the needs we plan to address and the project objectives, we are going to implement 4 preparation meetings, 2 trainings, 3 study visits, 12 multiplier events and 1 exchange. All activities are spread equally amongst our partners and were discussed and agreed together while writing the project. Being the applicant organisation of Curae, Cherry International Foundation will remain responsible for the management of the project and will also take care that communication keeps its flow which we believe is crucial when sharing tasks and responsibilities. for each activity, each partner will select the participants that they believe to fit the activity best, respecting the project criteria. The activities are planned in a near way throughout the 36 months duration of the project in order to maintain a flow and establish an active posture from each party involved. Dates of each activity are agreed with the partners and so is the length.<< Results >>Besides the different events which will be organised with crafting organisations, a documentary will be made introducing each craft from each country. Not only, but the documentary will also show how crafts can be applied in team building activities, in this way, viewers can also understand how crafting anddevelopment can be brought together. Beyond the documentary, we are planning to develop a professional photography book, so the story of the crafts and the project can be pictured in a visual way that is not visual.A website will also be created, where the documentary will be displayed and the book can be read. The website will be a platform for small tutorials, but also offering workshops in each partner country. In this way, tourists can experience the typical crafts of that country or area during their trip. The idea is also to link the website to already existing websites regarding the same theme to enhance visibility and strengthen the network amongst countries.In summary, the results are the following:- documentary- photography book- DIY blogBesides the project results, we also expect the youngsters involved in Curae and its activities to find job opportunities in their communities learning to give value to their cultural heritage. But what they can also do, which is expect happening during our project activities, is that they also support local businesses on improving their performance and being able to match with doer society and requirements in order to increase their visibility and raise more interest from people to their crafts.

<< Background >>HEY project addresses the challenges young people,especially those with fewer opportunities face today,especially with the COVID-19 crisis, which may lead to social exclusion in the fields of education,labour market,living,health and participation in the society.The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted more the inexistent or limited social capacity in EU countries to confront the socio-economic consequences of a globalized epidemic phenomenon that is affecting a substantial number of people, especially young people: lack of social policy infrastructures in all above fields, uneffective private or governmental social inclusion and integration programmes, as well as legislations allowing provision of practical support to people in need. Thousands of young people,and not only, all around Europe and beyond have been suffering from the negative consequences caused, not only by the pandemic on health, but also by the negative socio-economical traumas,caused due to the prolonged enforcement of national measures adopted by countries to control the spreading of the epidemy. The youth work sector, in general, has been challenged to replace their in person services with delivering their work almost entirely online, using diverse digital tools, content and activities. This has been done rapidly and in a short period of time. In general, the life-stage in which young people move from adolescence to adulthood is a time of competing priorities. Young people make increasingly important decisions about their social and economic futures in moving toward adulthood, especially as they navigate formative choices about their education, work, relationships, and worldviews. According to different surveys, increasing unemployment rates among youth, precarious jobs and job insecurity, and difficult transitions from school to work contribute to young people’s disillusionment (Youth&Democracy CoE2018). Rising youth unemployment rates are regularly connected to migration to other European countries, particularly from Southern towards North-Western Europe. EU Youth Strategy proposed by the European Commission as the framework EU Youth Policy Cooperation 2019-2027 to foster youth participation in democratic life, supports social and civic engagement and aims to ensure that all young people have the necessary resources to take part in society.The HEY project, through the collaboration of 7 partner Organizations from 6 European Countries (CY, ITA, IE, FR, SP, PT) proposes a positive youth development approach focused on making young individuals stronger and more resourceful, as reflected in their behaviour and mind-set. HEY aims to inspire Youth in implementing social impact actions through a diverse set of activities, producing effective results and outcomes, which will contribute towards covering holistically the target groups’ needs.HEY will also highlight the importance of the youth work field and role in the current context, it aims to empower youth workers to feel themself ready to offer training, mentoring and coaching services and facilitate learning online for youth, setting up a transnational strategy for smart and digital youth work.Proposed actions will generate good practices exchange, local services and socio-economic opportunities mapping, youth work valuable skills and competences development, established networks with transnational youth organisations to strengthen collaboration for responding to COVID-19 more effectively,young people’s stories and experiences dissemination which will improve cross-disciplinary experiences, young people’s self-esteem, social connection, political participation and re-integration opportunities enhancing the role of young people themselves as catalysts of inclusive and resilient societies in crisis response, recovery, and in preparation of future shocks.<< Objectives >>The project aims at contributing towards the empowerment of young people, mainly those with fewer opportunities, those returning back to their country of origin from abroad, and regionally attached youth by a)supporting their positive engagement in building more equal and inclusive communities through innovative and transnational youth initiatives,b)improve the existing local youth work practice of the youth leaders and operators, through quality and sustainability of digital youth work and online and blended training and the recognition of the vital role the youth sector plays in helping young people recover from detrimental effects, overcoming poverty of hope, and to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and c)improving successful school-to-work transitions,as a potentially powerful way of weakening the intergenerational transmission of poverty and reducing inequality.In particular the project through its activities and production of results, envisions to achieve the following objectives: 1)To present data and information as well as presenting stories on how the pandemic is amplifying existing vulnerabilities among youth, and how youth work responds to the needs, providing suggestions at the same time on their role in the current context,through a comparative cross-border research including good practices mapping and exchange.2)To foster the inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities,returnees and others creating a safe space to become active citizens.Inclusion will be fostered by increasing competences and self-esteem through storytelling,co-production methods.3)To empower youth workers through capacity-building to build synergies and equip them with effective innovative and digital tools to address youth challenges.4)To enhance skills and competences,through the provision of an open-access source of e-learning training tools for fostering smooth integration of youth in the society.5)To support young people through mentoring and peer-to-peer consultation.HEY is focused on the following main target groups to achieve these objectives: 1) Young people who are in the process of integrating into the society as active citizens, socially and financially independent. Targeting mainly a) Returnees to their country of origin, including students, financial migrants and those who are regionally attached, namely (students, EU financial economic financial migrants returning to their country of origin), and those who are regionally attached, who are in the process of re-integrating into society and becoming active citizens. both at a social and financial level.. b) NEETs (16,5% of the pop.Eurostat 2018), including unemployed, and others facing social/cultural or/and financial obstacles, including -youth suffering from substance abuse,youth from minority ethnic,racial,religious backgrounds, youth with disabilities. 2) Youth workers and professionals working with youth,including job advisors, coaches, and their NGOs, including Educational hubs, youth NGOs,social services providers and other institutions.Indirect Target Group: private and public multi stakeholders related with social service, socio economic inclusion, youth policies and youth national programs.<< Implementation >>Throughout the project a variety of activities will be organized and implemented under the following categories:A1-Project ManagementActivities with the aim to ensure the implementation of the project activities in high quality and within the allocated time and budget. This activity comprises by the overall management, coordination and administration of the project, risk management, communication with partners, and monitoring of the project progress towards its objectives.All partners will provide required information and documentation in order to ensure smooth and transparent implementation of the project.Project management structures,methods and tools will be set up in the Project Management Plan.A2-Project Quality Management Activities with the aim to ensure quality of the project results and implementation process through quality assurance, monitoring and control procedures. All partners will provide inputs for quality evaluation through internal perception surveys and during peer review sessions.A3-Project Dissemination, Exploitation and Sustainability Activities with the aim to raise awareness of the project and involve target groups and stakeholders in the project activities, thus ensuring further exploitation and sustainability of the project results. Activities will be implemented based on a Dissemination and Exploitation Strategy implemented by all partners simultaneously.In addition to the above activities during the project life span the following will be carried out,with the involvement of all project partners simultaneously in all partner countries:Activities related specifically to the production of the following project results and outcomes:PR1-Guide “HEY! What is Happening?”PR2-Short Video Documentaries “HEY! Tell Me Your Story!”PR3- Training Programme “HEY! Capacity building of the Youth work”PR4-HEY! E-Learning and Training PlatformPR5- HEY! Online Mentoring and Peer-To-Peer Support and ConsultationPR6-HEY! Now What? Policy RecommendationsLTTA: Learning and teaching Training activities: “H.E.Y! Heightening the Engagement of Youth”, organized in Italy with duration 5 days with 28 youth workers. The aim is to pilot test the training modules developed by partners during the project and enhance the skills and competences on the use of the training tools and non-formal methodologies.6 National pilot trainings will involved 60 youth workers and 35 young people in vulnerable states in total, they will be held in the 6 Country for 3 days.The aims -testing the training tools and approaches in the national context with youth operators and young people encouraging a co-production method and an opportunity for young people to act as both a service user and provider of services;- to foster a sense of shared responsibility for services, to incorporate a sense of mutuality, empathy and respect, to grow social networks,by creating opportunities to connect with other groups in the wider community.Multiplier Events: 6 HEY Dissemination Conferences in each partner country with the main goal to spread a word about the project results and share the knowledge acquired during the project implementation with private and public key stakeholders.<< Results >>Tangible results and outcomes:A1- 1)Partnership Agreements.2)Project Management Plan 3) Financial Plan 4)Interim and final reports.5)4 Partner Financial and Progress Reports.A2-1)Quality Assurance Plan,2)Impact Plan,3)Interim and final internal evaluation reports.6) 3 TPMs and four virtual partner meetings.A3-1)Dissemination and Exploitation Strategy (D&E),2)Interim and final D&E report,3)HEY website and Social Media,4)Project visual identity (logo and templates),5)promotional materials & exploitation pack,6)Reports on 6 multiplier events with > 224 participants in total,7) HEY Sustainability Plan. Outcomes under the PRs: PR1-1) HEY Research Action Plan.2)1 Methodology for desk and field research including guidelines for focus group interviews,templates for questionnaires.3) 6 National Field research reports about the 3 Focus Groups held per Country: 1st FG: 10 young people, 2nd FG:10 youth professionals, 3rd FG: 5 stakeholders, 10 interviews with Returnees or regionally attached young people per country (60 in total). 4) Guide “HEY! What is Happening?”-translated in all project languages. PR2-1)Call for youths’ participation,1 storytelling Spanish pilot action scheme.2) 1 Storytelling Compendium.3) Video resources from the national workshops activities and formal recording.5) 6 storyboards.6) 6 Short Video Documentaries with ENG subtitles. PR3-1 Training Scheme (Syllabus). 2) 5 Training Modules. PR4 -An interactive E-Learning and Training Platform. PR5-1)Call for Mentors and Call for Mentees,Call for Supporters.2)3 virtual Training Workshops for 60 Mentors.3)1 virtual Training Workshop for 60 Mentees.4) 1 virtual Training Workshop for 21 Peer-to-Peer Supporters.5) 6-month mentoring process. 6) 6 National Mentoring and Support Evaluation Reports. PR6 Outcome: HEY! NOW WHAT Policy RecommendationsTraining Course in Italy Outcomes: 1) Memorandum of Understanding and 2) IndividualLearning Agreements3) Info Pack.4)LTTA Agenda.5) Action Plans for NationalPilot courses and reports. 6) Report of the LTTA in Italy. Intangible results include:-Highlighted the role of young people as catalysts of inclusive and resilient societies incrisis response, recovery, and in preparation of future shocks. Mapping and exploring the successful stories during the Pandemic crises and the measures and solutions pursued to react to it.-Gathered and elaborated insight into the complex scenario and challenges that youngpeople face,in their Social and Community context and to their experiences of resettlement or return home (Research and Analysis activities carried out at local, national and international level);- Built an intercultural dialogue by gathering a large and diverse European community. Weaim to take advantage of e-platforms in order to put the youth in touch, strengthen and widen the global network and create new connections between countries.- Raised awareness of the importance of a positive youth development framework, able toinspire social impact activities; foster interest and abilities to develop skills and competences to help them to find their place in the labour market and in society as a whole (Final International Forum-PT);-Reinforced the involvement of youth in Europe by allowing them to build their own support network and thus to become the actors of change. We expect this project to promote self confidence by fostering youth ability to take direct actions and empower them so as to develop youth entrepreneurship.- Raise awareness about vulnerable youths' situation in Europe by getting to know moreabout their needs and expectations. Moreover, contribute to improve their social and professional inclusion by reducing the gap of inequalities and giving more opportunities.- Provided recommendations, as a contribution to the dialogue on how youth civic engagement can serve as an enabling force for young women and men in the development and formulation of youth-related policies (Policy recommendations

Connectivity is a project that focuses on developing a method of sustainable inclusion for unemployed adults through educational outdoor activities. We see the need of such initiative for multiple reasons. Creating an accessible learning frame for disadvantaged groups is a common challenge throughout Europe, especially when it comes to adults. There is a growing interest in working with youth and supporting it through various activities and opportunities, but offering the same to adults seems to be more difficult. One of the main reasons for this is that these adults are less likely to participate in such events, in most cases the participants are people who already take advantage of many learning opportunities. Also, this is the target group that has difficulties in adjusting to the formal educational system, thus losing connection with education in any forms. This often results in social exclusion and borderline behavior (addiction, abuse, depression, etc.). On one hand there are many organizations that focus on this target group and create various activities for support (such as biking, city safari etc.), still, in many cases, these events have no educational value and no long-term impact. On the other hand, even if the organized activities do have an educational purpose, they serve as a one-time experience and they hardly create a difference in the long run. Through this project, we would like to offer a solution to this challenge by improving and extending the supply of high-quality learning opportunities tailored to the needs of individual fewer opportunity adults so that they enhance their key competencies and have higher chances to enter the labor market. Our idea is to bring together partners who are actively working with this target group and to support them and their staff members in creating a suitable method of inclusion which has a long-term impact not only on the affected individuals but also on the organizations and on the local community. By creating an innovative playground and engaging persons with limited formal education not only in the activities of the organizations but also in the work of these organizations, inclusion will happen on a much bigger scale and will serve as a way to tackle unemployment. The project brings together 7 partners from the Netherlands, Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Portugal and France. Each of these partners works with adults from difficult backgrounds and aims to support their active participation in society through different tools and methods coming from the field of non-formal education.The objectives of the project are the following:- extending and training the competences of our partner organizations when working with fewer opportunity adults (designing activities, creating a sustainable relationship with the target group, offering different learning opportunities within the organization, encouraging the active participation of unemployed adults within society);- improving and extending the supply of high-quality learning opportunities tailored to the needs of individual fewer opportunity adults so that they enhance their key competencies;- disseminating the project results, inside and outside of the participating countries with the support of the associated organizations during and after the project duration;- ensuring the step-by-step evaluation of the project through transnational meetings, training events, Europasses and learning questionnaires; - creating a sustainable partnership of complimentary parties (with various scopes).In order to reach its goals, the project includes 3 transnational meetings, 4 training events, 3 intellectual outputs (a workbook, a handbook and an online platform) as well as 14 multiplier events. The methodology we apply in Connectivity is process-based and it is in line with Andrew McCoshan’s EPALE Thematic Coordinator.The main results of the project are the following:Intellectual outputs: two guide-books (a workbook and a handbook) tailor-made for adult educators and an interactive online platform.The outcomes regarding the participants are:- acquiring new skills in coaching, mentoring and training (in specific relation with their target group);- developing their competencies in creating and implementing educational outdoor activities;- understanding the interconnections between formal, non-formal education and the labor market.As an outcome the partner organizations will:- equip their staff with new pedagogical materials needed to address their target groups;- improve the partners’ educational output by adding in a new way to work with their target groups;- open up to new ideas coming from other European countries and have a better understanding of collaborative working in a European context;- expand their international profile; - expand their visibility in the partner countries.

The long-term objective of Global Recognition (Glo.Re) was to develop a global platform for the recognition of quality non-formal learning experiences through medium/long-term volunteering. The idea of the project has come from the need to increase volunteering opportunities outside of the EVS framework, often leaving all stakeholders in an EVS project (COs, SOs, HOs and volunteers) without any form of quality control, nor recognition (EVS has the Youthpass).The partners involved acquired the skills and know-hows in order to host volunteers, to provide them day to day support, as well as moments of reflection their learning experience. Every partner taked part into the kick-off meeting and initial training, sent staff members to the Training Seminar on International Volunteering Standards and Support and hosted an EVS volunteer allowing him/her to have a hands on experience. In addition, the partners were involved in creating the content of a global platform aimed at volunteering recognition.The platform is in the form of a website. It has allowed volunteers to participate in projects designed for the creation of their own certification, similar to the Youthpass, with the support of the HO. All stakeholders involved in the project have contributed to the development of the different aspects of the website and the toolkit, as well as to the hosting of mobilities.On the other hand, the EVS volunteers, besides having had the opportunity to live an experience abroad (for some this was the first time), were also the first to test the certification tool and, thus, were able to give feedbacks to further improve the website as well as the certificate itself, allowing the organizations to raise the quality level of the system. In addition to the creation and the launch of the website, the project seeked to enhance the hosting capacities of the volunteers, through the creation of a toolkit equipped with a variety of non-formal education activities intended at supporting the volunteer throughout his/her learning process, and at the evaluation of the gained competences,too.The project included the following Key ActivitiesA1 - Partnership Building Activity (Genoa, Italy, 27 November - 06 December 2016) A2 - Training Seminar EU (Passignano sul Trasimeno, Italy, 6-16 February 2017)A3 - EVS in EU (EU, 5 months, starting 1 May - 30 September 2017)A4 – Training Seminar LA (Peru, 30 March - 9 April 2017)A5 - EVS in LA (LA, 5 months, 1 May - 30 September 2017)A8 – Output Seminar – (Belgium, 22- 29 October 2017)A9 – Evaluation Seminar (Mexico, 9 - 19 May 2018)This whole process, starting from the kick off meeting and eventually completed with the final evaluation in Mexico, enhanced the cooperation among the various partners and ensured that every meeting would lead to the creation of solid foundations for the planned outcomes. Moreover, the EVS volunteers have represented an added value for the project: on the one hand, in fact, they learned to live in a foreign country, with a different language and culture; on the other, they also provided to the partners associations the chance to experiment with the certification system and to benefit from their feedbacks, thus further improving the system. Finally, the dissemination events embodied the pivotal moment for the involved organizations to show to a young audience and to other stakeholders the achieved results other than the soft skills that can be acquired through a volunteering experience and that are valuable to the labour market: again, the EVS volunteers played a crucial role as they gave first hand evidence of their experience and the certificate. This project symbolized the beginning of a long path towards the actual recognition of international volunteering and to the creation of a network of organizations willing to highlight the skills that can be developed in virtue of a volunteering period.