<< Background >>The project responds to the needs of LGBTI+ young people, youth workers, youth services and policy makers who have set objecives for improving inclusion in youth and formal educational settings for LGBTI+ young people. These needs have been establised within national and internatioal research, local and European policy, and consulations undertaken by the lead partner. These needs include a concern for the degree of variation in policies and recognition of LGBTI+ rights and inclusion within European jurisdictions.The project is designed to develop project results that address the needs of LGBTI+ young people in these varying circumstances, through learning from and developing awareness of the varying circumstances of LGBTI+ young people and those who support them within Europe. Specifically, the project will address the need for more inclusive servicies and policies that support these. Underpinning the development of inclusive services and policies will be research elements that will understand, promote and evidence effecitive LGBTI+ youth work and provide practice frameworks and outcomes measures to support effective youth work.<< Objectives >>Ultimately, LGBTI+ youth work aims to increase inclusion, through equality of outcomes for LGBTI+ young people, through providing effective informal education in safe spaces. The overarching aim of this project is to achieve this inclusion.Obj. 1.Improve the QUALITY practice to ensure outcomes for young peopleObj.2.Increase INNOVATION by introducing new tools developed through collaborating of European organisations and researchObj.3.Increase the RECOFGNITON Evidence practice to influence service Obj.4.Increase the recognition of partners as commissioners and Obj.5.Reinforce links between – by connecting research shared European valuesObj.6.The voices of young people, youth workers and communities in policy and practice toolsObj.7.Increase the awareness of policy makers of the RIGHS, the impact of EXCLUSION, the role of non-formal education in supporting these<< Implementation >>The concrete project results wil include:OI1 Evidence Review of Effective LGBTI+ Youth Work PracticeOI2 LGBTI+ Youth Work Practice framework and Outcomes toolOI3 LGBTI+ Policy InititativeOI4 LGBTI+ Inclusive Spaces InitiativeFour Multiplier Events to promote each of the IOsFour Transnational Meetings to plan and monitor and evaluate project results and impactsDisemination and communication activities to ensure that all stakeholders are impacted by the project results<< Results >>OI 1 Evidence Review Will Result in:Obj. 1.Practitioners and services will be able to state the outcomes of their LGBTI+ practice and the mechanisms responsible for these outcomesOI 4 LGBTI+ Inclusive Spaces Initiative Will result inObj 2. More inclusive LGBTI+ spaces as rated by young peopleOI2 Will Result in Obj 3.Awareness on the part of policy makers and service commisioners of the outcomes of effective LGBTI+ youth workDissemination Activities/Multplier Events and 0I 3 will result in Obj 4.Increased the visibility and recognition of project partners in relation to LGBTI+ services on the part of policy makersObj 5.Policy document(s) that cites LGBTI+ youth work practice research and links this to European value of inclusion and diversityObj 6.Young people and practitioners who feel heard in the development of policy and the articulation of the shared European value of inclusion asnd diversityObj 7.Policy makers who are more aware of the fundemental RIGHTs of LGBTI+ young people, the impact of the EXCLUSION they experience and the role of non-formal education in addressing exclusion.

“The “Voluntary Youth Work Recognition for Employability” was a long-term Erasmus+ Capacity Building Project in the Field of Youth. It was developed by Social and Youth Workers and its European partners. Due to several meetings, the consortium set the most important goals of the project. The main objectives were to increase recognition of voluntary youth work in society and among youth field employers, to acknowledge and validate youth volunteering at local, regional, and national levels, develop volunteers' competencies and link them to the labour market through validation of the skills and knowledge gained as a part of non-formal learning.The main driving force to start this project was the high need to gain the acceptance of voluntary youth work in society and among youth field employers because the appreciation of volunteering varies from country to country. While in Western and Scandinavian countries there are plenty of recognition tools created for volunteers, Eastern Partnership countries have some problems with structured recognition methods of voluntary youth work. That’s why all the partners decided to improve the quality and validation of youth work, non-formal learning, and volunteering locally, and undertake this project to enhance particularly voluntary work, their synergies, and complementarities with the labour market and government. The project brought in a united platform and dimension variety of stakeholders of voluntary youth work, including governmental agencies, public educational bodies, and civil society organisations.This project involved a wide range of countries, bringing experience and cooperation from Spain to Armenia and from Norway to Cyprus. It included 5 activities, 4 international, and 1 local awareness-raising campaign. The project included both Capacity Building (Conference, Meeting) and Mobility (Study Visit, Training Course) activities. Youth workers and youth leaders from different European youth organisations joined for the development of recognition tools and used their existing experience to develop their own. The project played a crucial role in increasing the capacities of the involved organisations to work on the recognition of non-formal education and voluntary youth work: It increased the capacity of youth organisations and gave a possibility to develop national recognition tools specified to local needs.Due to this project young people understood that volunteering is an incredible way to learn new things, develop, grow their skills and career pathways, and discover what you’re passionate about. Participants also understood that volunteering can help people to build strong networks and transferable skills, such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving, which can benefit their future careers. Another very important outcome of this project was the recognition tools created by the participants and partners involved in the project. Tools like L - EARN, Video refleCtiVe, Skills presenter, YouTHRec, and Open Online Badges were created, which had a great contribution in the realisation of the project aims. Unquestionably, this project gave us significant results, developing the capacities of all involved parties.

** The project was premised as a response to European Policy, consultations with young people, research and current social movements in Western Society which indicaed that SRE (Sexual & Reproductive Education) for young people in youth work settings needed to come into line with the EU Youth Strategy and to better involve the youth work sector in Europe in policy initiatives related to SRE. Speciically, our understanding was taht SRE materials needed to be rights based and address the multiple identities of young people.Our basic assumptions, based on initial research were that some countries in Europe were far advanced in supporting effectie SRE. While, a second cohort of countries, including Ireland were not. The project specifically targetted and engaged with this latter cohort through partnering with ECYC. ECYC unites 20 member organisations in 18 Council of Europe member states. Together, they reach 2 million young people in Europe every year.Further research that took place in the lifetime of the project (Sexulalty education in Europe and Central Asia, IPPF, 2019) evidenced our assumptions. According to the IPPF, 14 of 25 countries have comprehensive Sex Education with an increasing prevalence of rights - based approach. In 11 countries sex education is either simple biological information or non- existent. Further, analysis of the European memmbers of our partner ECYC found a strong overlap between these 14 countries and the 18 member states of ECYC. Further, taking a rights-based view, ECYC is remarkable for containing a high proportion of the lowest ranking member states in Europe in relation to protections and rights for LGBT+ young people including the lowest two ranked states overall.Focused engagement with ECYC provided an opportunity to:1. Engage in participatory development to understand waht SRE materials wuld be fit for purpose in youth work settings in states were rights-based SRE was non-existent2. Develop fit for purpose education pack and traning of trainers3. Develop and deploy an online learning platform for SRE4. Develop policy initatitives to bind ECYC members to implementing SRE educationThe report that follows details the steps taken to achive these outcomes, the indicators of success and the overall learning from developing and implementing these products.