This project is applied by a consortium of three organizations that are committed to applying arts in addressing social issues and strengthening social inclusion in their communities. The three organizations are local leaders in this field and over the years they have developed effective methodology to tackle the most pressing social issues. However, as the organizations are facing more challenges, both external and intrinsic, the need for exchange of approaches and good practices becomes imminent. The last time the partners worked together was in the period 2015-2016, when they implemented a multi-measure KA1 project together. Since then the local realities have changed a lot politically, socially and economically, and the local young people we are working with are now posed with new challenges and opportunities. These changes in the society include: increased influx of immigrants, rise of extreme right wing and populist movements, increased violent radicalization among young people, rise of Euro-skepticism and other phenomena. Every day we witness the growing need for youth work to intervene and to provide support to young people, particularly to those that are the most marginalized. At the same time, we can see that the traditional methods or youth work are not as effective any more, and that there is a growing need for innovation.This Strategic Partnership is aimed at supporting the exchange of good practices and innovative methods in the field of applying arts for social change between the three partner organizations. By doing so, the partners will strengthen their human capacities and will increase their ability to address different social issues with new target groups. Direct benefit from the project will have the youth workers, youth leaders and artists from each of the organizations, while indirectly the project will benefit the target group of each partner, as well as the wider local communities. Furthermore, the project has a potential to reach organizations beyond the partnership and to promote the application of arts as innovative approach in addressing social issues. To achieve that, the organizations will establish a web portal where the project results will be shared. Short videos presenting the artistic approaches of each partner will also be prepared and widely distributed.To achieve all of that, the partners will focus on the following objectives:-To provide an opportunity for the three partners to demonstrate their working approaches, good practices, innovative methods and newly developed tools for applying arts for social change;-To provide an opportunity for youth workers, youth leaders and artists from each of the involved communities to explore new and innovative approaches in using arts for social change;-To enable the partners to adapt the newly learned artistic approach to the needs of their target groups and the social issues they are targeting;-To develop a platform for sharing the artistic approaches of the three partners with other organizations and youth workers from throughout Europe;-To promote the use of art as an innovative methodology for addressing social issues and pursuing social change;-To explore the potential for developing new international cooperation projects using arts in tackling social issues;-To explore the potential for establishing more sustainable, cross-sectoral partnerships and frameworks for using arts in supporting young people’s development and participationCentral activities of this project will be three short-term staff training events, in the form of Study Visits, which will be organized in the period from May until November 2020. Each partner will host one study visit, thus presenting their innovative approach, good practices, methodology and newly developed tools for using arts in addressing social issues and pursuing social change. Participants in the study visits will be 5 youth workers and artists from each of the other organizations, who will have the skillset and motivation necessary to work on incorporating the newly learned approaches in organization's work. Each study visit will be followed-up by local activities that will pilot the new tools and methods.The results of this strategic partnership project will be shared on a web portal that will be developed especially for this project. The portal will be the central location where information about the project will be shared, along with updates about the activities, both local and international. The portal will also be the place where the partners will publish information about their innovative artistic approaches, tools and methods. We will work to turn this portal into a platform that will be used by organizations throughout Europe to share their own good practices, innovative approaches and new artistic tools that can be used for addressing social issues with young people and fostering positive social change.

"This project was a youth led partnership between Ireland, Macedonia and Finland. 21 Young people from Ireland, Macedonia and Finland of similar backgrounds and age profile, came together to research education systems and challenges students are faced with when it comes to state exams or assessments across their countries. These young people participated in 3 mobility's in Finland, Ireland, Macedonia to discuss their findings and to develop concrete evidence of how young people's learning needs could be better met in education. The first meeting gave the young people the opportunity to meet to discuss and design a comprehensive consultation process to collect the experiences and voices of young people across the three countries.In advance of the second meeting the young people carried out a consultation in each of their countries and then came together in the second meeting in Macedonia to share the results of their research. In addition to the consultations the young people also participated in a number of study visits in educational institutions. They discovered that young people regardless of country had very similar experiences of the formal education system. The young people also worked with senator Lyne Ruane to become more aware of how to lobby, who to target when lobbying and how to engage with policy makers to have their message heard. As young learners challenged by these systems, young people agreed that now is the time to explore alternative solutions to current learning assessment structures, and search of innovative and inclusive ways to assess learning of all learners. At this point the young people agreed that it would be important to collect the results of their research in the form of a summary report which was later disseminated to a wide audience. This summary report was disseminated in the third meeting in Ireland ""a structured dialogue event"" which brought together young people, educators, policy makers and other important stakeholders to discuss this important research and recommendations for modernizing the formal exam system. The planned and achieved objectives are; 1.This project empowered young people to engage in dialogue about issues that affect them 2. Young people engaged in cultural learning experiences 3. Young people worked collaboratively with international partners 4. Young people researched and learned about different education system and structures 5. Young people's experiences of school and exams were voiced through a consultative process, facilitated by young people. 6. The findings from exploration and consultations, were compiled to influence a structured dialogue with relevant policy/decision makers in Ireland.7. Enhance the personal and social development of young people 8. Young people experienced positive cultural learning and exchange 9. Young people had their opinions voiced and heard 10. Young people are more informed about education systems and exam structures 11. Young people gained new skills and confidently articulate their opinions to decision makers 12. Young people participated and showed leadership in a process of policy engagement 13. Young people will lobby for systemic change in the Irish Education System, influenced by international research14. Young people are valued more by the professionals they engaged with Unexpected outcomes1. The NCCA invited this group to submit the findings of their research to inform their own review of the current leaving cert structure in Ireland with a view to modernizing the leaving cert 2. Social Innovation Fund Ireland invited the young people to submit their findings which were later referenced an their game changer event in the Burren Arts Center"

"“Making Movies Matter -Competence Based Approach to Applying Filmmaking in Youth Work"" is a project that is aimed at supporting youth work in Europe in incorporating film as a methodology through establishing a comprehensive competence framework that can be used in educating both youth workers and filmmakers, and through creating a set of tools and resources in the area of filmmaking that can be applied in supporting young people's development and participation in a non-formal setting. Furthermore, the project aims to support the cross-sectorial cooperation in the youth field and the quality of youth activities implemented by professionals from other fields, through the development of a simplified youth work competence framework. By engaging professionals experienced in working with marginalized young people and young people with disabilities, this project will also ensure that the tools and activities are adapted to the specific needs of those young people, thus making the youth organizations more capable to reach and engage the most marginalized groups of young people.For more than five years now, organizations from this partnership are experimenting with using filmmaking and film as a method in youth work, with the aim of appealing to and supporting the personal development and participation of young people who are left out at the margins of the society. Over the last few years we saw the value of involving youth workers who have at least basic understanding of filmmaking processes, and filmmakers who are aware of the principles of non-formal education and group learning processes. In three editions of the international training course Making Movies Matter we worked on educating youth workers on how to facilitate filmmaking learning processes with young people. In the last edition, held in July/August 2019, we tried to bring together a mixed group of participants with youth work and filmmaking background and to educate them in the basic competences in both fields. There were two major learning outcomes of this effort. Firstly, we saw that we are missing a competence model for applying film in working with young people. Secondly, we identified a lack of tools and resources that are ready to use in this kind of processes. Finally, reflecting upon this experience, we also realized there is a lack of simplified youth work competency framework that can be used with other professionals. Our four organizations also involve visual artists, teachers, technicians (such as carpenters) and others in implementing activities with young people. Having just the complex ETS competence model, it is difficult to train them to be ready for working with young people. Partnering with professionals from other fields becomes increasingly important as organizations are trying to diversify youth work, and many are facing a similar problem of lacking a simple framework.Hence this project, which will produce three main results, published as intellectual outputs: a competence framework for using filmmaking as a method in youth work, a handbook with tools and educational resources in the area of filmmaking that can be applied in supporting young people's development and participation in a non-formal setting, and a general simplified youth work competency framework.To test the filmmaking competency framework, the organizations involved in this project will also develop a training course for youth workers and filmmakers, based on the identified competences. As a follow-up to the training, the participants will implement filmmaking activities in their local communities. At least 70 young people, 30 of them with fewer opportunities, will take part in this piloting phase. During this period, the organizations will have a chance to evaluate the first and second intellectual outputs with the staff and the young participants. The results of that reflection will be shared by a mixed group of participants during the second training event - the Evaluation Seminar, and the outcomes will serve as a basis for creating a general youth work framework that will be used for professionals from other fields.The last months of the project will be devoted to finalizing the outputs according to the received feedback and disseminating them to a wide group of stakeholders on a national and European level. Four multiplier meetings will be held, while the results will be also presented in public screening events in each of the communities, and though a number of offline and online dissemination activities with different stakeholders. We expect that by adopting this approach, organizations and youth workers will increase by far their capacities to reach and support young people with fewer opportunities. More importantly, the project will pioneer a model for establishing cross-sectoral cooperation in theyouth field, by introducing a set of minimum competences in youth work and designing a training approach for training them with different professionals."

<< Background >>Adolescence and young adulthood (age 16-25y) are crucial periods for laying the foundations for healthy development and well-being. There is compelling evidence that promotion of mental well-being and prevention interventions, when implemented effectively, can reduce risk factors for mental disorders, enhance protective factors for good mental and physical health and lead to lasting positive effects on a range of educational, social and economic outcomes for young people (16-25y)[1]. After the Covid-19 pandemic the prevalence of mental health disorders of young people has unfortunately sky-rocketed. This is partly due to the fact that the support structures of young people (a.o. youth work) remained largely inaccessible. This project will enable youth work even in times of future lock-downs, through a training and preparation of digitalisation of youth work oreitned around positive mental health promotion. The amount of young people that are in need of support in their mental wellbeing is incredibly high. For example in the Netherlands, the 'jeugd GGZ' is not able to help all the young people in need due to the high demand. In sum, now more than ever before, young people are in need of a support in their wellbeing and through this project a high number of young people can be reached - even higher than usual physical youth work. Besides these needs identified above, the need has already been identified by the European Youth Forum (EYF) who held a series of structured dialogues with EU youth to develop the EU youth goals, with mental health and wellbeing as an essential part of them (YG#5). The proposed new youth strategy 2019-2027 contributes to reaching the youth goals, including mental health and well-being above.[1] Clarke, A.M.,et al. (2015). What works in enhancing social and emotional skills development during childhood and adolescence? A review of the evidence on the effectiveness of school-based and out-of-school programmes in the UK. A report produced by the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Health Promotion Research, National University of Ireland<< Objectives >>The aim of the current project is to improve the positive mental health* (PMH) and wellbeing of young people. This will happen through the development of an online app that will support young people in the development of their social and emotional competencies (e.g. optimism, social skills, conflict resolving, emotional intelligence, self-esteem) as these have shown to be crucial for a young persons' psychological resilience and optimal functioning in society. As well the project will support youth workers in their transition from physical to digital (or blended) youth work through the development of specific digital PMH promotion competencies of youth work. The project will address young people aged 16-25 years of age (see below needs). More concretely, the project has the following objectives: •To develop and pilot test an online application that will support young people in the development of their social and emotional competencies. •150 young people from 5 countries will be involved in the piloting of the beta version of the application, of which 75 will be young people with fewer opportunities•To develop a training curriculum for youth workers that will enable them to be able to perform online mentoring/support for the young people who use the application. •25 youth workers will be trained in the use of the application and its online mentor function. * Positive mental health is a state of wellbeing in which the “individual realises his or her own abilities, can manage the normal stresses of life, can work effectively, and is able to play a role in his or her community” (WHO, 2001). PMH is therefore more than the absence of ill-health!<< Implementation >>The project consists of two main Project Results, 5 TPM’s an 1 LTTA.The TPM’s are spread out over the 30-month period in which the PR’s will be developed. They are planned in those moment when key decisions will need to be made or when key activities will have to be evaluated and integrated into the next stages of the PR development. The two PR’s are (1) the development of a wellbeing app (mobile) that will support young people to acquire and develop their social and emotional competencies as relevant for their positive mental health (PMH). The app will simultaneously give opportunity to youth workers to engage and interact with young people who use the app. (2) the second PR is a training course curriculum for youth workers that aids them in their transition to digitalisation of youth work, specifically regarding PMH promotion.<< Results >>The project will lead to an increased level of Positive Mental Health of young people, and especially those with fewer opportunities. PR1 will enable the young people who have difficult access to youth work (e.g. due to geographical obstacles) or are otherwise limited in their engagement in youth work (e.g. due to health or speech disabilities) will gain easier access to youth work support. This will lead to more social inclusion of young people, especially those usually difficult to reach, in youth work. Youth workers and youth organisations will be prepared for the future of youth work, mainly in regards to digitalisation of their practices. They will be better prepared for future lockdowns and better enables to connect and engage with young people who are in need of PMH support. The whole project will have an impact on the young people (increasing their levels of positive mental health and wellbeing), the society (more well functioning young people) and youth sector (ore digital preparedness). The are more results and outcomes expected beyond the time limit of this project.

"The realization of the project ""Be without prejudices"" accomplishes a number of goals; in the first place, participants in the training program acquire basic knowledge and skills for recognizing and responding to discrimination; they are acquainted with their own rights, but also commitments; they are able to implement in practice the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination; and Law on the Protection of Equality in Institutions for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions. By fulfilling the objectives of the project indirectly, it contributes to the social inclusion of vulnerable and marginalized categories of persons deprived of liberty, through qualitatively improved communication and creation of an atmosphere that achieves the reintegration and re-socialization of convicted persons. Particularly important in the realization of the project are partnerships for institutions from the Republic of Romania, the prison in Timisoara (Penitenciarul Timisoara) and the Center for Promoting Lifelong Learning, as well as other partners, where the exchange of experiences, good EU practices in protection against discrimination and applied innovative learning programs in line with the concept of lifelong education. It is the project that seeks to provide institutional national and supranational support to the acquisition of knowledge and skills to upgrade the basic knowledge of officials in prisons in the Republic of Serbia, who are not trained enough for such a sensitive area of ​​treatment, such as discrimination. The aim of the project is to, through theoretical and practical aspects of the project realization trainees (prison staff) in the biennial adult education cycle are mastered by mechanisms: 1) recognizing and responding to discrimination in their workplaces and social environments from which they come; 2) acquire knowledge to identify and respond to discrimination in prisons, and 3) master the mechanisms and techniques for overcoming discriminatory and conflict situations.The project is expected to:Maintaining the first international scientific-professional conference on ""Recognition and Response to Discrimination in Prison Institutions;Publication of the collection of papers on discrimination in prisons with the working title: ""Second Chance - recognize and react to discrimination"".Publication of a manual for the sensible treatment of prison staff with the working title: ""Sensitive Oriented Operational Work"" for prison officers and other members of the security system, both in the Republic of Serbia and in the countries of the European Union.Creation of an English-language film on recognizing and responding to discrimination with the working title: ""Second Chance"".Implementation of the system of how to report CALL discrimination through and the introduction of an institute of advocates for protection against discrimination in prison institutions.Certification and introduction of training programs for identifying and responding to discrimination in the Center for training prison employees as a teaching subject with the working title: ""Human Rights and Discrimination"" for all newly employed in prison institutions.The global importance is in the availability of the film ""Second Chance"" in English, which will be featured on the Internet, as well as a krog international scientific-expert conference whose English language collection will be available in pdf form on the Internet google scholar and platforms.The general social and regional significance lies in the expansion of European culture, the system of values, tolerance, multiculturalism, the spread of awareness of discrimination and inequalities.The national importance is that the knowledge base in the field of protection against discrimination is being eradicated, that the institutions for the implementation of criminal sanctions will be provided with a manual of innovative content and the first handbook of this type in the Western Balkans, as well as with the introduction of the Human Rights and Protection from Discrimination Center training and improvement of personnel of the Administration for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions of the Republic of Serbia provides ongoing education in this field.The local importance is that every trainee from almost 30 different cities of the Republic of Serbia will share the knowledge and perception that will be achieved with the completion of the training program in their micro environments, which will be able to paint pictures of other shoes, understand other problems and understand that Different are the wealth of one society. Finally, they will receive applicable knowledge that will enable them to respond better and deal with the vulnerable and marginalized categories of convicted and convicted persons from the ranks of persons with disabilities."