"“Youth voices up-graded"" is a strategic partnership project in the field of Youth partly funded by the Erasmus + program. The project was implemented from 1st of September 2018 till 31st of August, 2019. Project duration was 12 months. Project was implemented by Vestfold fylkeskommune (NORWAY) as the lead partner in cooperation with Izmir Governorship (Turkey), Institute for policy research and analysis (Lithuania), DYPPAL NETWORK (Portugal), Youth Policy institute (SLOVENIA).Project aimed to strengthen the youth voice into social development and civic planning at local and regional level with a particular focus on connecting and training vulnerable groups, for example: youth with fewer opportunities, disabled, unemployed, immigrants, dropouts, young criminals etc. With this project partners aimed to connect young people closer to civic planning and research on youth. In order to reduce social inequalities we aimed to connect and engage. Partners used Co-creation to achieve the set aims. Co-create transnationally, cross-sectorial and cross-age were the approached partners used to tackle the different global challenges. Partners acknowledge that all global challenges have to be solved by people, and people live in local communities. Partners were learning how to shape things together and build sustainable structures for real participation that is reflected in democratic processes, civic planning and community development. Objectives of the Ka2 project were: •Share practices from the project countries on involvement of youth groups in to decision making and assuring quality in youth policy. •Develop methodology on how young peoples voices could be heard and acknowleged in policy making processes. •Train youth workers, youth policy specialists and youth leaders on how to consult young people, initiate peer to peer processes in policy making; •Promote real participation in policy making in project countries; •Strengthen local network in project countries who are working with participatory policy making. Activities of the ka2 project: •2 transnational partner meetings (in Portugal October, 2018 and in Slovenia August, 2019); •Conference on youth participation in Norway (November, 2018); •Training course how to involve young people in to policy making in Lithuania (April, 2019); •Developing methodology on “Involving youth in to policy making” (September, 2018 - August, 2019); •Local events in each country to disseminate project results (1 event in each project country, March - July, 2019); •International campaign on promotion of youth participation and produced campaign guide (September, 2018 – August, 2019)."

"The starting point for this project were the difficult living circumstances of migrant women, characterized by a high risk of poverty and a weak financial position. This frequently comes together with a lack of self-confidence and a negative wellbeing. Accordingly the main goal of the project was to improve the quality of life of migrant women. The starting point was an empowerment process for migrant women themselves, so that they could become more aware of their potential and gain more self-confidence. This should be the basis for more emotional well-being as well as for a better approach to the labor market.The five project partners from Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey combined their expertise in the three main points of reference - interculturality, women's empowerment and the body-oriented approach - in order to develop and implement a suitable offer in the adult education. The field of action of the partners varied from local migrant organization (Stichting Tour Rotterdam) to a network of people supporting migration-process (Intercultural Forum Fulda e.V.), adult education provider (A.RE.S. Campobasso), to public authority (Izmir governorship) and international association (Eubikus eeig). The diversity of the partners should provide insights into how to gain better access to the target group of migrant women, and what collaborations and networks are particularly useful here. To realize these goals, first the concept of a body-oriented training for women with a migrant background was developed. This was named ""mind4body"" and consists of an active program of seven steps towards more empowerment and independency. At the same time, a training course for trainers was developed, with which the teaching staff of the participating partners should be equipped with all necessary skills to be able to realize the mind4body training. So planned, done so:Each project partner sent four participants to the international training for Mind4body trainers under the direction of Eubikus (mostly with a migration background themselves).Following this, the partners tested and evaluated the mind4body training on site. Where necessary, the concept was adapted. More trainings were carried out and implemented in the offers of the partners. Cooperation with local migrant self-help organizations was an important factor in reaching the target group. Based on this, the project partners have developed various activities to disseminate the body-oriented approach (publications, newsletters, multiplier events, presentations). In addition, the project team has produced several outputs to document and reproduce the results: a manual about the mind4body trainings, a brochure about the training of trainers, and videos for demonstrating mind4body.The evaluation of the mind4body training showed the great impact of this innovative body-oriented approach: the communicative and social competencies of the participants have expanded significantly. They feel more emotional balance, energy and motivation and have a better social network. They have developed more self-confidence and got to know better their own strengths and potentials. On this base the participants have been able to improve their position in the labor market and taken steps to take live in hand themselves.In addition, the following has been achieved:- The partner organizations are able to address a socially relevant topic (migration) with their work, have set up corresponding networks and established contacts with relevant stakeholders.- Adult education trainers have acquired gender and intercultural skills. They have learned to apply the body-oriented approach and are able to give successful mind4body trainings.- The involved organizations and trainers have built up an international network.- The results were disseminated in the areas of migration, education, employment, health, women's empowerment, youth work and social work. The materials and offers (mind4body training and training of trainers) will also be available in the future.The response to the results is very positive, the approach is already picked up and used by other organizations and trainers. Overall, our project has contributed to a greater sensitivity towards the situation and the needs of migrant women."

The core values for which the motto of the European Union-United in Diversity - stands are fundamental for ensuring lasting peace, social cohesion and societal welfare. With this project we aim to engage young people in exploring the concept of Unity in Diversity in specific application areas, thus demonstrating the concept meaning, validity and practical application through the political and societal structures and mechanisms European society is built upon. In the wake of the recent crises (Economic crisis, Refugee crisis, Brexit), the challenges the Union is confronted to, have resulted in the rise of Eurosceptism, Extreme Right Movements, raise in hate speech, intolerance, discrimination and racism. With this proposal, we aim to introduce a combination of informal training approaches, tools and instruments in order to assist young people to understand, orientate themselves and find fulfillment in an increasingly diverse and pluralistic society. With this project we aim to engage young people in exploring the concept of Unity in Diversity in specific application areas, thus demonstrating the concept meaning, validity and practical application through the political and societal structures and mechanisms European society is built upon. The main target groups of the project are both young people at risk of exclusion (ethnic minorities and immigrants) and young people, representatives of the majority population (with the main focus on the ones tending to support Eurosceptic and extreme right movements).The most important results to be expected during the project and on its completion are the following: 1. The We Belong Training Course with modules,organized following major societal challenges, which affect our society.2. A multilingual educational web platform will be created, which will host the interactive e-learning modules according to the training program and an intuitive digital storytelling tool, which will allow to participants to create powerful digital stories and social campaigns and share them with the world. 3. A training kit containing two training resources that will be produced in both printed and electronic form, in order to allow large use of the training methodology, and equip other teachers, trainers and young people with the necessary tools and approaches to implement it. 4. A six months long pilot training course will be organized in each country as part of the project, with the participation of 10 young people per country, which will allow us to involve representatives of the target groups directly in the development of project and thus make sure the results are achieved. 5. Two international training events, one for youth workers and one for young people, will be also implemented in order to directly train target group representatives from one side and to allow us to test, evaluate and improve the methodology with regards to the results achieved during the trainings, and the participant's feedback.The activities of the Project are expected to lead young people to:- discover the meaning , importance and significance of the concept of “Unity in Diversity”, as well as it’s practical application through the societal and political structures of our society. - acquire positive, life affirming values European citizenship encompasses, such as respect for human rights, tolerance, active non-violence, cooperation and social responsibility- acquire specific social, civic and intercultural competences which will allow them to be the drivers of positive social change, to actively participate in society and gain a sense of political efficacy'- strengthen their sense of initiative, notably in the social field- express their opinions to and influence elected policy-makers, public administrations, interest groups, civil society organisations, or individual citizens within any of the political or social processes affecting their lives- empower them to gain a better understanding of society and why it is the way it is, how ideals, social and political institutions have emerged and gain better understanding of complex multi-level governance- encourage empathy with people with different cultural and ethnic background thus increasing their inter-cultural awareness and cultural competences- improve their creative problem solving skills through the different perspectives applied to the same problem to reach solutions.

Europe has been witnessing a rapid increase of scientific developments, innovation and creation in the 21st century and transforming into one of the largest and leading scientific hubs of the world in terms of the scientific production and activities. However, the pace of science and technology production is not equally distributed all over the Europe and there are still serious gaps among countries concerning to the rate of scientific research and development activities. Moreover, all outcomes of this excellence and developments in science still cannot be instrumentalised enough to totally eliminate some serious social problems in the European societies. While this proposal pursues the general philosophy and goal of the European Researchers’ Night scheme as to provide a platform for bringing researchers and public together and motivate young people for a scientific career pathways, it also aims to emphasize on how scientific activities and developments can contribute for uniting European society at national and international level by raising awareness on the power of the science for social cohesion, dialogue and also individual development. Stemming from this general rationale, all activities of the “Science Unites All” (SCI-ALL) Researchers’ Night are constructed on the four main themes. These are: (i) Science unites generations, (elderly people, young people and all adult groups); (ii) science unites cultures; (iii) science unites genders; (iv) science unites stakeholders (research institutions and academia, research and development units of the companies, non-governmental organizations working on scientific development and social media settings that disseminate the scientific knowledge).

The project addresses one of the main challenges European Society faces today – the rapidly ageing population, and the growing need of finding solutions to the challenges the demographic changes bring about to our society – namely promoting healthy and active ageing. At the same time, the boom of information and communication technology has brought profound transformations to the structure and functioning of our society, affecting occupation and professional activity, quality of life, health, social interactions and environment.Older people remain vulnerable to digital exclusion, which, in its turn can seriously undermine their capacity to maintain their independence, benefit from opportunities and services and exercise fully their rights. In this context, the European Union faces a double challenge: Promote active ageing and inclusion of seniors into society and economy, as well as Addressing the digital divide between generations, which presents itself as an important obstacle to the former. In this background, the current project addresses the need to find efficient and cost-effective strategies to tackle age–related discrimination, isolation and marginalisation, thus promoting social inclusion and the establishment of best practices for participation of senior citizens in the economic and social life of the community. It’s main objective is to improve the quality of life of senior citizens, create opportunities for volunteering and employment, and facilitate their access to health, social and community services.The most important results to be achieved by the project are the following: - The Valorizing Senior Citizens support e- platform and mobile app - The Valorizing Senior Citizens training course for seniors - The Valorizing Senior Citizens toolkit for Families - The Valorizing Senior Citizens Active Ageing Toolkit- Two training events, one for seniors and one for organisations staff members will be organised during the project, as well as a six-months long pilot training for the main target groups, in order to fully engage them in the planned activities. The main target groups of the project are senior citizens and their family members and relatives, and the project will involve around 500 direct participants and 2000 indirect participants through the project activities and the dissemination and exploitation activities. The project is expected to improve the quality of life of senior citizens, create opportunities for them to participate actively in social life and economy, and facilitate their access to health, social and community services.