"The aim of the People to People project was to exchange experience in the development of volunteering with three foreign partners - the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria. The project was based on the need for international sharing and transfer of good practice to our regional conditions. The partners have been deliberately selected to engage in volunteering, but in different areas (eg mentoring programs, community volunteering, youth work). So the organization RADKA z.s. (Kadan, Czech Republic), which has been offering the services of a volunteer center since 2006, became a partner. The activities of the volunteer center are general and focus primarily on sending volunteers to publicly beneficial organizations in the region. Another partner was the BB-BS of the Bulgarian Association (Plovdiv, BG), which is the national association of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, in the Czech Republic known as the „Pět P“ Program. It is volunteering focused on mentoring relationships of volunteers and children at risk of social exclusion. The third partner was the organization Centrum ds.Katastrof i Klesk Zywiolowych TRATWA (Wroclaw, PL), which replaced the original Polish partner before the start of the project activities (consulted and approved by the NA). TRATWA has many of experience with young volunteers (national and foreign), which addresses in their natural environment through their community events. The project held 10 partnership meetings organized by individual partners in their countries with related topics. From every meeting there was created a record (description of good practice), that other project partners tried to implement in their activities. This implementation was evaluated after about 3 months in the form of written output. All meetings resulted in a clear list of all shared topics and evaluation of subsequent practice in other organizations. The result of the project is the introduction of new procedures in the management of volunteering, which individual partners are trying to spread in their regions (one of the points was also the networking of organizations). Some areas were not implemented, but this was also the aim of the project - to identify and map possible obstacles to further development, eg missing legislation, financing methods, etc. The target group, which gain the long-term benefits from the project, are not only the participants of the partnership meetings, but also the representatives of other organizations, volunteers, recipients of volunteer help, local community, etc. Professionalization of volunteering is still a ""discovered"" theme in our countries, and so some benefits will emerge in the longer-term horizon. However, it was also beneficial to build partnerships in other joint projects and activities, including networking with new organizations in each country."

"<< Background >>As a mentoring organization with a very long experience, we know that mentoring is universal instrument to empower vulnerable young people.It is an essential tool for keeping people connected.We’ve witnessed the power of mentoring also during the COVID-19 outbreak.There have been many examples that mentoring services are more needed than ever.All people in need should know that there’s someone behind them when they feel lonely and isolated. On the other hand,culture is a key factor insustainable development and social change. Culture strengthens social cohesion.It builds bridges between groups andpeoples,it creates peace and is a significant economic player. The project idea is based on linking together two powerful engines of change and integration for young people(mentoring and culture),aiming to fight The project idea is based on linking together two powerful engines of change and integration for young people (mentoring and culture),aiming to fight social exclusion. The partnership built in the project will develop,apply and analyze different methods for mentoring disadvantagedgroups in order to bring them closer to culture and arts and to improve their social skills and integration.The main target groups in the project are: - young volunteers (mentors); - disadvantaged young people (mentees).The needs of young people who are willing to volunteer/mentor could be described as following: -need for proper orientation and training; -need for ongoing support andsupervision; -need for acknowledgment and recognition;<< Objectives >>The main goal of the project “Match with Arts and Culture” is to promote cultural mentoring as a tool for social inclusion of young people.Project's objectives are:-To empower marginalized youth groups in the local communities through meaningful mentoring relationships and easier access to culture;-To encourage civil participation of young people through taking part in volunteering/mentoring programs and thus making an impact on local environment; -To boost the process of social inclusion trough promoting new cultural mentoring program for disadvantaged youth. -To help disadvantaged youth groups discover their full potential, develop new skills and interests in the fields of culture and use them to respond to social challenges and build on their soft skills; -To shape culturally aware communities and to empower them to be more confident, including in times of crisis.<< Implementation >>The main activities of the project are:Project management activities (A):A1. Establishing an online management spaceA2. Contracts with partnersA3. Setting up a Steering Committee A4. Setting up national working groupsA5. Setting up online project management spaceA6. Online coordination meetingsA7. Progress reportA8. Interim reportA9. Final reportQuality assurance activities (QA1)A10. Developing a Quality Assurance planA11. Yearly evaluations by partnersA12. Meetings evaluationsA13. Multiplier events' evaluationsA14. Impact analysisDissemination activitiesA15. Develop Dissemination planA16. Target groups & stakeholders' database per countryA17. Development of a leafletA18. Presentations in workshops/conferencesA19. Develop information package for cultural institutions and NGOsA20. Set up social media communicationsA21. Facilitation of social media channelsProject Results (R)R1 Service Delivery Manual for cultural mentoringR2 Guidelines for mentors in the cultural areaR3 Cultural Mentoring Program DeliveryR4 ""MentorCult"" web platform Transnational Project Meetings (M)M1 Kick-off in Plovdiv, BGM2 Meeting in Rome, ITM3 Meeting in Barcelona, ESM4 Meeting in Leeuwarden, NLM5 Final conference in Plovdiv, BGMultiplier events (E)E1 Local dissemination event in Plovdiv, BGE2 Local dissemination event in Barcelona, ESE3 Local dissemination event in Leeuwarden, NLE4 Local dissemination event in Ascoli Piceno, ITLearning, Teaching, Training ActivitiesC1 International exchange week for menteesC2 International training week for mentors<< Results >>To reach the desired impact, “Match with Arts and Culture” develops innovative tools and activities to create a commonEuropean methodology on how to implement cultural mentoring for social inclusion. The expected outcomes are: 1. Better promotion of volunteering/mentoring as a tool for social inclusion; 2. Increased number of young people willing to volunteer for their local communities; 3. Capacity building of cultural institutions and other organizations interested in mentoring and their socially-oriented involvement; 4. Promotion of new model of mentoring, focused on arts and culture; 5. Empowerment of disadvantaged young people through mentoring support and cultural inclusion. The concrete project results will be: R1- Service Delivery Manual for cultural mentoring - a manual with all necessary information about setting up a cultural mentoring program and supervising its progress and outcome; R2 - Guidelines for mentors in the cultural area - guidelines for training of cultural mentors (to be used as part of the cultural mentoringprogram delivery); R3 –Cultural Mentoring Program Delivery - a mentoring service including trainings for cultural institutions and NGOs which would like to develop a cultural mentoring program, trainings for volunteers who would like to become cultural mentors and cultural mentoring activities between mentors and mentees. R4 - ""MentorCult"" web platform - open educational resources giving access to huge amount of information related to cultural mentoring;"

Project MYFuture will create a common European methodology to implement student mentoring in HEI, because there is a great added value in introducing studentmentoring activities to strengthen social inclusion in educational pathways. Experience of six organizations in Europe (HEI’s, NGO’s and social enterprises) shows this added value; they join forces to connect their expertise and to develop innovative tools. The goal is for university students to recognize the responsibilities they have and the way they can contributing to social inclusion by becoming a role-model.The project will inspire university students to become role models for young people with less opportunities and to support them in their development; therefore they will take their responsibility for a more inclusive society. The project will also support the development of transversal skills in HE students through mentoring activities, allowing them to increase their leadership and to be effective in HE and in the labor market. Student mentors will also take part in international networking moments and in transnational learning activities on mentoring. The project will make HE staff and teachers realize the value of mentoring for students and young people's development, for inclusive educational pathways and for equality in society. HE staff will develop competences and knowledge on how to make student mentoring part of the HE curricula and how to implement more mentoring schemes within HEI. There will be impact events for policy makers to learn about the impact of mentoring on young people's lives and ultimately on social inclusion. The project is highly innovative, because it focuses on the development of a common European methodology and tools for mentoring in Higher Education to pursuit social inclusion. The impact of mentoring will make students aware of the responsibility they have in society and it will provide tools to universities to make student mentoring part of the educational offer. In Europe there is need for a broad use of mentoring for social inclusion within and beyond educational organizations and MYFuture is a fundamental step for this process. The elaborate preparation of the consortium partners showed that there has been a growing number of universities in Europe introducing mentoring activities for and by students. However, this knowledge is isolated within universities and it is mainly executed on a relatively small scale. Educational institutes seek the opportunity to take the next step in their mentoring methodology and to connect to other experts. In a mentoring relationship, students of different educational backgrounds coach and support an individual learner (elementary school children, students of secondary or vocational education ) in a one-on-one relationship. This mentoring relationship is powerful, it is based on tailor-made learning between two people. As a result, students develop their personal leadership and learn to make informed decisions for their education, career and life. This result is not just for the learners – also called mentees – but also for the studentmentors. Connecting students of different educational backgrounds and levels, contributes to a better educational path from elementary school to university. Also, increasing the international exchange and including mentoring activities in the HEI curricula provides quality in the educational offer. Furthermore, seeing that student mentoring programmes mainly focus on matching young people of different ethnic backgrounds, the project gives answers to a need for a more inclusive society and education.

<< Background >>Context and needs:-Based on the report of the Global Framework for Youth Mental Health, mental ill-health represents a major threat to the health, survival, and future potential of young people around the world. -This threat has been magnified through the lens of the COVID-19 disaster.-The European Youth Strategy and the 5th European Youth Goal aims to improve the mental wellbeing of young people.-The Lancet Commission on Global Mental Health and Sustainable Development highlights the neglect of mental health in all countries, while in 2019, the World Economic Forum prioritized the need for action on mental health and identified youth mental health and early intervention as key areas for impactful change.-The post-COVID world offers us all another chance to seize the opportunity to end this neglect.-Many young people across the EU are feeling emotional imbalance, general insecurity, low self-esteem, and a lack of confidence, creating anxiety and mild to excessive unhappiness. The modern and complex world has created the fertile ground upon which emotional and psychological pressures are felt much earlier on. Trying to keep up, gain acceptance, fulfill expectations, or fit in, both online and offline can lead to a decline in wellbeing, life-skills, and social interaction.-Mental illness is the leading cause of disability and poor life outcomes for young people, contributing 45% of the overall burden of disease in those aged 10–24 years. The onset of mental illness peaks in adolescence and early adulthood, with 50% of all mental disorders developing before the age of 15 years and 75% by the age of 25. This has substantial consequences for individuals, their families, and communities, as well as local, national and global economies. -Mental illness not only affects daily functioning but can affect mortality. Suicide is the second most common cause of death globally for young people aged 15–29 and of the estimated 800,000 people who die by suicide annually, the majority are young. Why do we apply?-The project idea was discussed and developed in contribution with all partners, and its topic relevance and necessity were strongly agreed upon and supported within the partnership.-Throughout the project period, the consortium will work closely together and will develop innovative tools, practices, and resources, to respond to a worldwide social need, and to trigger innovation and development in education and training.-Targeting preventive measures and effective early intervention at young people presents the best opportunity to reduce the social and economic costs of mental illness, including un/underemployment, health and welfare spending, and premature death, over the lifespan.-By focusing on the neglected mental-hygienic developmental, preventive, and recovery sector, the project meets and addresses common individual, organisational and sectoral needs and priorities in the fields of wellbeing, education, training, and youth, and it aims to trigger impactful changes and lead to improvements both on personal, professional, individual, organisational and sectoral levels.-Because this project is focusing on youth mental health and on the development of tools, resources, and methods to use and implement within youth work, education and training, it has a great potential to meet significant unmet needs and provide resources that are currently not provided in many settings around and beyond Europe.-The principles and practices that will be developed in this framework could be integrated and could pave the way for healthier lives and more secure livelihoods for young people in the long term.<< Objectives >>-By implementing the project we want to foster innovation in youth work, education and training, and we want to catalyse a positive long-lasting impact in the lives of young people.-The developed curriculum, methods, and tools will be spread within the Ka1, VET, youth and adult education sector all across Europe at local, regional, national and transnational levels, and will be adaptable, up-scalable,re-usable, and widely freely available online. By spreading the developed resources, we aim to foster innovation far beyond the partnership, to increase education and training quality within youth work, the VET sector, and adult education. By providing these tools, we aim not just for development, innovation, and increased quality, but also for increased opportunities and flexibility to use and to build future initiatives on the developed materials.-OneUP aims to develop and reinforce the network of partners, to increase their capacity to operate jointly at a transnational level while it provides a ground upon which partners can exchange and develop practices and methods as well as they can share confronting ideas. The objectives and expected impact on the different target groups:The expected impact on the participants and primary target group (youth workers, Ka1 actors, VET teachers/trainers):-improved skills competencies and work quality -Increased opportunities-Gained knowledge and awareness-more efficient and up to date approaches and methods-raised confidence and professional competences-The outcomes of the project will be re-usable and widely freely available online. The developed training materials and tools will be up-scalable and will be adaptable to usage in the VET sector to design further preventive and recovery-related activities. This can result in development in work quality and can help and have an impact on more people from the secondary target group. Expected impact on the Participating organisations:-Professional innovation, and gain in work quality within the partnership-by developing relevant resources and educational materials that can be used and implemented in the work of the partner organisations(and beyond), we expect that it will increase the quality of their work and the relevance and effectiveness of their activities.-The project will further develop and reinforce the network of partners and will increase their capacity to operate jointly at a transnational level by providing a ground upon which partners can exchange and develop practices and methods as well as they can share confronting ideas which will result in organisational and operational development.-Partners will be equipped with the competencies, methods, and skills to implement effective trainings, courses, workshops in the future, they will gain the relevant knowledge and awareness and they will become confident in using the developed Project Results.Expected impact on young people -We expect that by creating new, innovative curricula along with engaging and effective new learning and teaching methods and approaches, we will be able to raise mental health awareness and trigger positive changes in well-being, physical and mental health within youth. - The principles and practices that will be developed in this framework can be integrated even individually into one's life and can pave the way for healthier lives and more secure livelihoods for young people in the long term.-A gain in skills, knowledge, and competencies that builds resilience and helps to deal with stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental challenges and fosters a healthy mental outlook in general-Raised awareness on mental health, healthy recovery, and re-integration after the pandemic. -Decreased number of mental health related issues within young people<< Implementation >>Main activities that we will implement throughout the project life cycle:Project Results:Throughout the ONEUP project, partners will develop a comprehensive toolkit in which elements are complementary to each other. The whole curriculum and the background context will be included in the informative booklet(R1). Then the Activity Booklet (R2) will involve activities based on the content and topics of the informative booklet. The Educational videos(R3) will be build also on the content of the Informative booklet and will serve as a tool to easily engage and raise awareness among young people. The Boardgame(R4) will be built on the content of the informative booklet and the Activity booklet R1-Informative Booklet-A1 Research and development of the curriculum-A2 Finalising the curriculum into one booklet -A3 Booklet design -A4 Translation and printing R2-Activity Booklet-A1 Collection/development/division of activities -A2 Adjustments+Finalising the activity descriptions-A3 +A4 Finalising the collected activities into one book, Proofreading, Booklet design-A5 Translation+print(all partners)R3-Educational videos-A1 Developing the scripts+translation +proofreading-A2 Development of the animation design -A3 Development of the video timelines and -A4 Recording the voiceover-A5 AminationR4-Board Game-A1 Concept development -A2 Prototyping/testing phase for playability+ -A3 Graphic -A4 Proofreading+Transation +print-A5 Publication of the final version C1-Training Activity:-It will be structured on the project content and will include all developed Resources.It will give a comprehensive learning experience to youth workers on how the tools can be used and implemented, and how they can plan their own workshops.The Multiplier events 6x-It will showcase and introduce the results of the project and will serve as an event to ensure that the project result will reach the target groups.Transnational Project Meetings and Online Meetings:-There are five planned TPMs and monthly online meetings to ensure effective communication and cooperation throughout the project period. -These events will be used to maintain open cooperation and communication and a flow of information between partners. There will be further supportive activities carried out all through the project to ensure proper implementation, quality management, time management, dissemination, exploitation, monitoring and evaluation.<< Results >>There will be four Project Result, six Multiplier Event, and a Training Activity-All results will have a different approach to reach the objectives but they will all focus on the main idea of OneUP project. They will be complementary to each other to create a comprehensive and versatile resource toolkit, although each will be designed to stand the ground as a standalone resource for individual use. -The project results will aim to bring innovation and a transdisciplinary dimension to the sector. (online, and offline resources, informative and activity booklet, animated educational videos, and an educational board game, as well as multiplier events and a training for trainers activity). 1. Informative booklet-A comprehensive booklet about youth mental health, methods, practices, and resources.-This handbook will introduce the most common mental health issues within youth in detail and will explain how they develop, what are the symptoms, and what changes/damage they do to the human mind and perception of reality-It will include a detailed description of preventive methods and the way they work and how they benefit the mind and one-self (self-reflection, mindfulness, meditation, exercise, body movement, self-expression, art therapy, social interaction, etc.)2.Activity booklet -It will be a collection of both preventive and recovery activities that can be conducted to groups to raise awareness, gain competencies, skills, and knowledge; to trigger mental hygienic development; to improve mental health.-It will focus on innovative approaches, non-formal methods, gamification, and active participation-based interactive activities, to motivate and encourage young people to participate in their own will, -The booklet will detail all the necessary information that is needed for the replication and delivery of the included activities. - It will include activities that will make use of technology, applications, and digital tools. 3Educational animated videos-There will be an animated educational video made to support each main topic covered in the Informative booklet.-It will focus on raising awareness on mental health issues and preventive methods, in an attractive, consumable way to be appealing to young people.4.Boardgame-The game will be an educational game designed in a humorous way to be catchy and entertaining to young people. -It will raise awareness on the most common mental health issues along with symptoms and prevention to educate young people within a game context. Multiplier events:- will involve 30-40 participants each.Each event will last one day and will have the following objectives: to disseminate and communicate and to provide a detailed overview and a practical introduction of the project results and their use. Training Activity:-A 5+2 days long training course for 30 professionals, based on the curriculum, activities and Project Results developed. -The course will be built on non-formal methods and will aim to introduce some of the activities from the activity book and provide a determinative experience to the participants. It will help the trainees to learn the activities and experience them, which will help them to deliver their own workshops Target Groups of OneUP:Primary:-Youth workers -KA1 actors- VET sector, VET teacher/trainers who are working with young people. Secondary:-Young people and their families -Service providers-Other organisations-People of any age interested in mental health, and mental hygienic development.-Youth centres, VET centers, and education institutes-EmployersAll Results will be developed in English and will be then translated to 6 languages. Impact:The Results will foster the above mentioned impacts and objectives.

The importance of youth volunteering for social inclusion and active citizenship is evidenced in the EU (Volunteering in the European Union, GHK 2010). Furthermore, by participating in voluntary activities, young people acquire new knowledge, skills and competences, that support their personal development and employability. Thus conclude studies such as ‘Voluntary Action in 2018’ (PVE) and ‘Intergenerational volunteering and solidarity’ (Eurobarometer 2011), among others.The EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 encourages Member States to promote the participation of young people in voluntary activities and highlights the importance of promoting good practices. Most European, national and regional programmes to support youth volunteering include, as an objective, the promotion of good practices but they do not define what is a ‘good practice’ or establish objective criteria for their identification. This is the conclusion from the study carried out by the partners of this project, after reviewing youth volunteering support programmes in 15 countries.Youth volunteering remains one of the few sectors without European Quality Standards. The definition of such Standards would facilitate the identification, promotion and development of good practices in all relevant areas of young volunteering and would therefore significantly contribute to the objectives of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027.In this context, in order to respond to this European need, this project aims to define and disseminate across the EU the first European Quality Standards in Youth Volunteering.The first project activity will be to carry out a consultation in all EU countries in order to identify the most commonly used quality standards in the youth volunteering sector in each country. Based on the consultation results, the first version of the European Quality Standards in Youth Volunteering will be defined. Subsequently, in order to assess how the recently defined European Quality Standards in Youth Volunteering are understood and accepted within the European youth voluntary sector, the project partners will carry out a transnational testing. In order to motivate the participation of a large number of voluntary organisations across the EU, the testing will be organised as an award or contest: European Youth Volunteering Award. The jury will apply, for the first time, the European Quality Standards in Youth Volunteering to assess the submitted projects and select the winner. Once finished the transnational testing, and based on the feedback from the testers, the project partners will define the necessary improvements to be implemented on the European Quality Standards in Youth Volunteering.The definition and dissemination across the EU of the first European Quality Standards in Youth Volunteering will have a huge impact because:- it will contribute to improving the quality of the youth volunteering activities and therefore, the participation of young people in voluntary activities, promoting the EU civic life and youth initiative;- it will improve the capacities of people working in the youth field to develop quality activities;- it will quantitative and qualitative increase the offer of innovative resources for youth workers in the EU;- it will facilitate the selection, promotion and development of good practices in all relevant areas of youth volunteering;- it will contribute to the objectives of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027, particularly to the objective of promoting the participation of young people in voluntary activities and promoting good practices.This project will be developed and implemented by a transnational and transectorial partnership composed by voluntary organisation and quality experts from seven countries of the EU.