"<< Objectives >>With the ""Beacon of Values” project, we wish to create and develop a tangible, transferable tool that will be used mainly by educators and youth workers in schools, educational institutions and NGOs, to create courses aiming to promote, communicate and enhance active citizenship and common values in every day life, in order to formulate attitudes and skills to combat xenophobia, racism and discrimination, using creative, innovative and non formal education methods and activities.<< Implementation >>The project activities we plan to implement are the Project Meetings(Kick-off, Midterm, Final), the Training of Multipliers and the Local Workshops, that will directly involve approx. ?? people in the education and youth work sector.The project will focus on non-formal learning methodology, placing the participants in the center of the learning process, relying on their interest and motivation for a profound and multi-level learning approach and emphasising their own responsibility for learning.<< Results >>The end results will be the Curriculum for the Training of Multipliers in 4 languages, the Tool Box and 15 youth workers and educators trained as multipliers. We expect that the project will have the effect of a continuous stimulation of learning and evolving. Moreover, we plan to create a chain of exchange in terms of expertise, skills, ideas and perspectives in the field of youth education, as the participants will act as multipliers of the project in their home countries and local communities"

"The strategic partnership in the frame of the project ""Strengthening the role of youth work in contesting dynamics of shrinking cities"" addressed the challenges related to shrinking phenomena and practices of youth work in shrinking cities of Europe. Accordingly, the project was focusing shrinking cities not only through the question of causes and consequences of shrinking but also through the mapping of good practices of youth work in the selected shrinking cities which contribute to the sustainable perspectives of the local youth. The project was initiated by youth organizations and organizations working for youth. The project team was comprised of eight partner organizations, having different yet complementary competence and experience to offer in the project. The consortium provided a broad knowledge and coverage of various subjects across different sectors related to the challenges of youth work in the shrinking cities. The overall objective of the project was to contribute to building of new strategies of social inclusion and civic engagement for youth residing in Europe’s “shrinking cities”. The more specific objectives of the project were: 1. To expand knowledge on the „shrinking cities” phenomena in the European context, with emphasis on successful youth work practices contesting their unfavorable social, economic and political dynamics; 2. To create and disseminate quality toolbox for youth workers working in shrinking cities based on the mapping and analysis of best practices in selected countries. To achieve the objectives mentioned above, the project implemented following activities: 1. Developing mapping methodology approach and conducting researches - a mapping methodology that comprehends the similarities and differences among EU countries and study of shrinking cities phenomenon in each of the selected countries along with best practice examples/cases of youth work contesting dynamics of shrinking cities. 2. Preparation of the toolkit „Youth-work in/for the shrinking cities” with methodological instructions for youth work based on the conducted survey. The additional aspect of the project was the dissemination of the project results through the multiplier events on the local level and through different communication channels including project results platform and Salto youth platform, mailing lists and social networks. The project created following results: 1.The project has strengthened capacities and competences of 8 partner organizations in the field of youth-work by generating innovative approaches and enhanced cooperation at transnational level. The project fostered mutual learning process among project partners and ensured exchange of expertise to maximize the impact of the work which ultimately enabled re-application and transfer of project outputs. 2. The project carried out a mapping methodology applicable in the transnational survey, disregarding national and local specific context of youth work and shrinking phenomena in different countries and regions of European Union. . 3. The project carried out mapping reports prepared in line with the commonly developed methodology containing analytical description of shrinking cities and related challenges in each of the selected countries; analytical description of best practice examples/cases of youth work contesting dynamics of shrinking cities. The delivered mapping reports have been published in the publication under title ""Strengthening the role of youth work in contesting dynamics of shrinking cities"" (ISBN 978-953-7872-19-9). Beside the English version, the publication is available also in Spanish language. 4. The project resulted in the creation of the toolkit “Youth-work in&for the shrinking cities” (ISBN 978-953-7872-12-0) which contains recommendations and methodological instructions for youth workers and educators. Beside the English version, the toolkit is made available also in Spanish, Portuguese, German and Croatian language. 5. The project provided a space for discussion about interrelation of shrinking and youth (work) in the frame of transnational project meetings and multiplier events, Thereby it can be said that the project could be considered as an important step towards a sustainable European network of youth workers working on challenges of shrinking cities at the community level6. The project contributed to the increasing of the awareness of the citizens about the challenges of shrinking in the transnational European context, but also about the existence of good practices of youth work that can contribute to the sustainable development of the shrinking cities and regions."

Context:“Generation Europe: The Ambassadors” takes place in the context of the 5 year-long programme Generation Europe 2 (GenE2). 45 European youth work organisations based in 13 European countries are going to work together in trilateral partnerships with the aim, to excite youths with fewer opportunities, to become active on local and European level. The main topic of Gen2E is Critical Youth Citizenship (CYC) and European values.Participants:The project will directly involve two types of participants. We will have GenE Ambassadors (Young professionals) and experienced professionals in the field of youth work. Also, young participants from the local group will indirectly be involved via the Ambassadors. Finally, youth work organisations and stakeholders (see above) as well as policy makers will be reached by the project. The ambassadors are young people between 18 and 30 who already have experience in international exchange and non-formal education as participants. They are the representatives of their local peers and thus also the mouthpiece of the wishes and demands of the young generation. The long-term-professionals are professionals, experienced in the field of professional youth work and/or group leaders with a pedagogical background. They are project managers and / or group leaders of local youth groups and the mentors for the ambassadors and are accompanying them in their individual process.Objectives“Generation Europe: The Ambassadors” aims to strengthen diversity and inclusion in international youth work. The future professionals are going to come from more diverse backgrounds in contrast to the current image of youth work professionals, being often white, female and with an academic education. In order to reach diverse youths and heterogeneous groups, the next professionals should have a more diverse background themselves. The Ambassadors will be mentors and role models and inspire new young people to take part in activities of European youth work. This will make international youth work more accessible for disadvantaged youths on the participation as well as on the professional level with the help of the developed p2p concept and handbook. Another objective is to create with young professionals and the youths a concept to empower young Europeans to become Critical Youth Citizens on local and European level. Ambassadors are creating a sustainable process of involving and exciting more than 800 youths from diverse target groups and marginalized groups for civic engagement. ActivitiesThe Ambassadors will attend three training and teaching activities, in which they will acquire and develop basic skills and key competences of non-formal political education for diverse target groups. They will be introduced to methods and activities to excite young people for CYC. adapt existing methods and later create new ones where necessary for their purpose (Handbook on activism) based on their experience as former participants and their experience from working with the local groups. further thematic priorities of these activities involve human rights, democracy, education, employment, sustainability, and climate change. Another key point are the frequent transnational meetings, in which they meet to organise the steps necessary for the creation of the intellectual outputs. Beyond that various multiplier events will be implemented where all partners and associated partners in the involved countries come together, invite stakeholders and youth organisations and the Ambassadors present the Activism handbook and the p2p conceptResultsAs tools to inspire youths the Ambassador Network creates a peer education strategy and a product, the “Activism Handbook”. During this project but also end especially during the two years after this project, the Ambassadors will work with the p2p concept and the handbook with the young participants from European communities. Those young participants will develop in the process skills and competences connected with Critical Citizenship on local and European level. The project will have an impact on multiple levels. It aims to strengthen diversity and inclusion in international youth work. In addition to structural changes, the reality in youth organisations must also change. Addressing them is therefore essential for success. Dissemination towards youth organisations inspires them to follow the positive example of the SP and to integrate people from different backgrounds at participant and staff level. Stakeholders in this project are politicians, foundations, universities, and think tanks. The SP is aiming for change and starts an innovative new approach involving diverse target groups. Politicians on local, national and European level are addressed, to inform them about the needs of European youth work and provide them ideas on how to support the process of diversification.

"Context: The project NAEC was designed as part of a 3 years lasting program called Generation Europe (GenE). It was based on the following observation from the GenE Network: The youth with fewer opportunities tend to describe themselves as non-political and were comparatively hard to motivate to get involved in projects handling political content. However it was also noticed that they could identify and engage more easily in political topics when the projects were handling an issue affecting them personally or their direct environment. objectives: Taking in consideration the above mentioned statements NAEC followed 3 main objectives: 1. Connecting the youth work organisation with youth work policy makers (on a national and European level) in order to implement and support strategies to make political democratic education more accessible for young people with fewer opportunities. 2. Supporting organisations who want to implement AEC in their project by developing new methods as well as adapting existing methods to make it more approachable and accessible for young people with fewer opportunities. 3. Disseminate the created methods in making them available to organisations outside of the project and therefore create a wider network of youth work organisations that want to address the topic of AEC and make it accessible to diverse target groups. participants: NAEC addresses professionals in youth work as well as representatives from youth politics at a national level as well as at a European level.Activities:Guidance Papers: The (associated) partners formed advocacy groups in their regions (North, East, South and Germany) and conducted research in order to assess the situation and the conditions for projects for AC with diverse target groups in their countries and regions. Based on this research discussions with local youth groups in order to identify their concrete needs and expectations in the matter of youth work were conducted. The results of this discussion were transported to and discussed with representatives of youth politics and (local) decision-makers. Based on the research and the insights from the dialogue with policy makers, the partners constituted the base of the Guidance Papers including recommendations for a course of action to address the problems in the field. In a second step, the partners met during regional transnational meetings and had the opportunity to exchange about their experience and common problems where insights about successful and unsuccessful strategies from other regions / countries were gathered. The result of the evaluation, exchange with youth work policy makers and lobby experience were gathered and formed the final version of the Guidance papers. ToolboxNAEC mobilised the GenE-Network To collect existing methods and develop new methods on the topic of AEC, civic and democratic education. Next, the existing methods were adjusted to fit the needs of non-formal education with diverse target groups in a European context. The (adapted) methods were then tested during the youth activities of GenE and subsequently evaluated and further developed. The final version of the methods were then gathered in the form of a document named “Method box”.Digital.DThe digital platform was implemented in cooperation with politik-digital e.V.. The platform was developed and improved throughout the entire project period. Due to the Corona crisis, the pedagogical goal of the tool had to be adapted. In fact, the necessity to give young people the opportunity to communicate and make decisions across the partnerships digitally became a necessity. At the same time, it became increasingly important to embed the tool in a new overall digital pedagogical concept. This concept was successfully implemented in 2020 under the name ""Let's take Action"". Additionally to the intellectual outcome transnational Meetings and Multiplier Events were organised. results/ impact: The project succeeded in reaching all objectives despite challenges along the way. Results thus are: strategies on the level of youth politics that support the implementation of international youth work projects on AEC; connection of practical yw and politicians; provide tools to make international AEC projects more accessible to diverse target groups and to connect the local and European level; improvement of the accessibility of international AEC projects for young people with fewer opportunities.Longer-term benefits: In order to implement the local strategies developed during the project in a sustainable way schools and vocational schools have been included in the process. The SP created a strong and sustainable partnership that is motivated and enabled to work on the topic of AEC in the future. Furthermore it established connections with policy makers on different levels to continue to improve the conditions for the youth work."