"A pandemic is not just a medical phenomenon; it affects individuals and society and causes disruption, anxiety, stress, stigma, and xenophobia. The behaviour of an individual as a unit of society or a community has changed as had its effect on the dynamics of every individual in Europe and beyond. As more and more people are forced to stay home in self-isolation to prevent further flow of the COVID-19 governments must take the necessary measures to provide mental health support as prescribed by experts.In light of these exceptional circumstances, the project takes up the challenge to support society by putting creative balcony gardening as its focal point, to support innovation in education and provide opportunities for the personal, socio-educational, and professional development of people in Europe.Partners of this project agreed that young adults, in general, play an essential role in Europe’s civil society, and they are the most affected by the harmful effects of this pandemic. Balcony gardening has the potential to increase the target groups’ health and wellbeing effectively. It is suitable for boosting self-esteem, good for the hearth, reduces stress, can make people happy precisely what human needs during the restrictions as our daily routines have changed.Gardening in the Age of Coronavirus - The Balcony GardensWith as much as one-quarter of the world’s population currently in coronavirus lockdown now is the time to use your time and make a balcony garden to keep safe and healthy too. Scientific evidence shows how gardening and being in a garden will help to keep you well.1.Gardens provide a place for experiencing nature which is proven to benefit mental health, cognitive functioning, and emotional wellbeing.2.Gardening reduces depression, anxiety, obesity and heart disease as well as increasing life satisfaction, quality of life, and sense of community.3.Gardens are essential to supporting recovery from illness, and merely looking at gardens can reduce stress, blood pressure, and muscle tension.Using plants to brighten up the terraces are not their only function, plants can be used in an innovative and creative way and can have useful purposes (ex. to use amber as a curtain to darken the rooms or to use cactus fields against pigeons). The creative usage of greens is not well known or used in urban environments. As a prove, it is enough to walk the cities and look for balconies- max. 1 out of 10 terraces have flowers, but it is very rare to see plants as useful decorative items. The coronavirus lockdown provides the time and opportunity to create the garden that we always wanted, or we didn’t know we want, producing a sense of price and of course, pleasure for adults and their households. Our objective is to promote balcony gardening among adults in order to obtain the following benefits for them on a personal level and for the local communities:- to reduce elevated levels of adverse mental health conditions, substance use, and suicidal ideation reported by adults- to raise awareness of balcony gardening, environmental challenges and climate/change- to develop competencies needed for a sustainable approach to life- to develop methodologies for acquiring balcony gardening skills- to test innovative practices from the project's countries by implementing them in the base of the projects ""green platform""Project’s elements:1. Three management meetings: a kick-off meeting – on-line, a mid-term meeting in Hungary, an evaluation meeting in Slovakia.2. Development of two intellectual outputs:1) Balcony Gardening Creative Tutorial Videos2) Balcony Gardening E-learning Platform3. Eight multiplier events (in Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania, Poland).CABBAGE the Balcony gardening project, which has gardening as its axis of activation for young adults who are living in an urban environment, where the lack of green areas is a well-known issue.Our project is a community-building movement based on mutual communication and commonly defined aims by European partnering organizations. The priority of our project is to catalyze development skills and help young adults to achieve new competencies and skills which will boost creativity and support development through urban balcony gardening."

<< Objectives >>With this project, partners identified two specific objectives: the results of the analysis of partners and local young people needs. These objectives are the following:1. to increase partners organisations' capacities, knowledge and reach2. to promote youth civic participation to make young people promoters of changes for the benefit of the society<< Implementation >>The project foresees these activities:- 2 capacity building meetings to develop capacities, monitor and control partners' activities- 1 meeting with the young people at the local level to plan the local strategy- 3 international mobilities to connect youth peers, internationalise the project processes and outcomes, and promote youth participation in more effective ways- 1 online campaign targeting the three topics- 1 local action in each country connected to the local organisations' topic<< Results >>We expect that:- organisations and staff members increase their knowledge and recognition of their work at national and international levels;- they will be able to involve more young people;- participants will be empowered more connected with their national and international peers and communities;- the overall mental and physical well-being will increase;The project outputs are three thematic campaigns and one local event carried out by the young people and partner organisations.

The Start Me Up project aims to support youth workers, organisations and young people in Eastern Partnership countries (Ukraine and Armenia) through concrete tools in entrepreneurship education and start-up development at local and international level, in co-operation with experienced EU-based youth organisations in Hungary and the Netherlands. START ME UP project objectives are: - To develop youngsters’ autonomy, individual and collective responsibility through entrepreneurship and start-up mind-set-To foster entrepreneurial skills for youngsters in order to make them ready to enter in the labour market with new innovative and creative new initiatives, notably start-ups - To increase the competences of youth workers in four partner countries to work with entrepreneurship and start-ups - To integrate the concept of social inclusion into youth entrepreneurship- To create long term bridges of contacts and cooperation in civil society in EaP Project activities and outputs include: - Kick off meeting - Interactive Start Me Up Portal - A study visit to Hungary – start-up and entrepreneurship education for young people - Seminar on entrepreneurship education best practice in UKRAINE - Start Me Up – Eastern Partnership Regional Start-up Info Points in UKRAINE (for Eastern Europe) and ARMENIA (for South Caucasus) - Visibility meetings in local level to disseminate the results of the seminar, promote the Portal as well as the Info Points - Training Course on Entrepreneurship Education in ARMENIA- Visibility Meetings in local level to disseminate the results of the ARMENIA TC, promote the Portal as well as the Info Points- Training Course on Entrepreneurship Education in UKRAINE- Visibility meetings at local level to disseminate the results of the UKRAINE TC- Start Me up! A Toolbox for Entrepreneurship Education and Start-Ups- A social media campaign #StartMeUp- Final evaluation meeting The added value of the project is the local action to be taken in local level through visibility events in each partner country, where youngsters with fewer opportunities will get involved and empowered. The project intends to make youngsters active contributors in social and economic environment in their local community using a novel concepts of start-ups as low cost entry point for young entrepreneurs. It empower youth workers and through them young people in local communities to think for possibilities of new initiatives, creative ideas, to become self-employed and engage in a productive livelihood. Opening a successful start-up or any enterprise requires an awareness of one’s knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes, values and preferences.

The 27-months project “Developing cross-sectoral cooperation for youth employability in the Western Balkans” aims to develop sustainable capacities of local stakeholders to foster youth entrepreneurship and employability in the Western Balkans, specifically in Albania, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Kosovo and Montenegro.The project pursues the following objectives:-To strengthen multi-stakeholder cross-sectoral cooperation among public authorities, CSOs and the private sector for youth employability and entrepreneurship education-To promote entrepreneurial take-up and entrepreneurship education among young peopleFour work packages are designed to reach the objectives, those are:- WP1 Project management, monitoring, evaluation and learning- WP2 Piloting a blended entrepreneurship education programme- WP3 Multi-stakeholder cross-sectoral cooperation for youth employability- WP 4 Awareness raising, project visibility and disseminationWith these activities the projects intent to achieve the following results.-Community of Practice on Youth Employability in the Western Balkans is formed by stakeholders from the private and public sector-Private and public stakeholders commit to and engage into local and international partnerships for youth employability-Private business and start-up ecosystem partners are actively supporting youth entrepreneurship education in partnership with civil society-Young people have developed their entrepreneurial competences and increased their employability-First Young Entrepreneurship Learner Award is awarded to young people-A wide range of young people has been informed about the educational potential of Youth Entrepreneurship EducationThe project was jointly developed by eight entities (youth) CSOs, a regional umbrella youth organisation, a public municipal body and an umbrella organisation of young entrepreneurs – from Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo.

<< Background >>The project idea originated by a group of experts and youth organisations with a deep knowledge, respect and love for the Carpathian mountains. They work with local and national youth to promote youth-led activities and organise social events, among which is hiking. During the hikes, young people strengthen their connections with the territory, discover and support its safeguard. During one of their excursions, after different research and confrontation with other passionate connoisseurs of the region, the group noticed that there is not enough knowledge and information about certain areas of the Carpathian mountains. Some routes are wild and completely unmapped. The identified area is rich in historical and geographical treasures. The Carpathian regions in the four countries are the poorest regions and youth are leaving it for better opportunities. The need is to connect the Carpathian youth and give them space to understand their common routes and the beauty of the region. Additionally, we want to connect the regions physically as there does not exist a hiking trail throughout the Carpathian mountains, including a Volcanic way fully joining the four countries. Via Carpatica Vulcanica will be the first-ever created vulcanic hiking trail, signed and painted in the Carpathian mountains<< Objectives >>Seen the context and the knowledge of the participating organisation, the project foresee the following objectives: - connect the Carpathian young people through understanding their common history, roots and values- strengthen the regional cultural identity, and create a physical connection between the countries- involve local young people in the tracking, preserving, promoting the natural and historical routes of the region - connect the Carpathians through a easily reachable mapped route- promote green mobility - return to the local communities a renovate knowledge of their historical and natural heritage- engage the local community in the project - enhance sustainable economic development - enhance cross-border relations and cooperation<< Implementation >>The following activities will be realised: transnational project meetings that aim to organise the details of the mobilitIes and monitor the overall progress of the project. C1-4 Mobilities of young people: young people from the local communities where the trail will be meet to learn and create the informative schedules of the regional natural and historical beauties in the trail; One platform (PR1): it will report the details of the trail, pictures, description of the natural and cultural heritage, community actions and space for sharing the experience among the hikers’ community; Mapping the 1100km Carpathian volcanic route to find a way of connecting the 4 countries with an easily accessible hiking route (PR2); Painting the route to make it usable (PR2): after the route plan is complete, they will need to paint the signs; Two Platform & Route Community Testing events (E1,2) to present the route and test the platform's functionality.<< Results >>The results will be:- young people will feel more joined to each other in the Carpathian region by learning about the region's history, shared values and common traditions- young people will learn about the cultural heritage of the Carpathian volcanic area- young people will learn about environmental protection and its priority in the region- young people will learn about the Carpathian volcanic grounds, nature and wildlife- the project is widely known at local, regional, national and international levels- the Via Carpatica Vulcanica platform is developed and promoted- the easily reachable hiking route through the Carpathians volcanic area to learn about the region and appreciate its beauty is created- the connection between the Carpathian communities is established, and they are aware of the importance of the trail and see it as a multi-layered opportunity- new cultural and natural sites are discovered and mapped- cooperation between the countries and especially among the cross border areas are established - organisations staff members implement new activities that support better the community