<< Background >>In our times of increased multiculturalism and multilingualism though, there is a need for a way to build empathy, teach and understand, and communicate ideas through universal languages. While the number of migrants in the EU is rising (according to Eurostat, more than 5% of the population of the EU is non-EU citizens) and mobility within the EU has been on the rise (COVID-19 crisis), tensions are rising as well. These divides can be mended to a large extent through change of attitude, understanding and increase both of quality and quantity of communication between different groups. Inclusion and integration within the EU must be based not just on common interests, but also on shared values and insight into the differences, which make cultures richer. Not in the last place, diversity has many faces, through which we can see the need for flexibility and adaptability - accommodating people with various specific needs, like dyslexia (which is observed in between 9 and 12% of the population in the EU according to the European Dyslexia Association) or autism disorders (which affects around 1 in 100, according to Autism Europe) just to give an example. According to the European Council (2013) youth work plays an important role in preventing social exclusion and enhancing social inclusion. Social inclusion in its turn encompasses various aspects of one’s life, including mental health and control over levels of anxiety, ability to participate in discourse and decision-making, as well as ability to communicate effectively, share stories and express opinions. Comic books and graphic novels on the other hand, provide a method of work, which lowers barriers to entry for young people, and invites them in not only as consumers, but as creators of content, which may be crucial to integration into their communities. Studies of using comic creation as a tool, have shown a lot of promise in this idea. When used with Native American youth in 2012 shows that comic creation can lead to improved knowledge and behaviour, as well as healthier decision-making. The small-scale Comics Youth initiative in the UK has also shown promise in supporting young people express and discover themselves. It is also important to consider that consuming and creating comics promotes media literacy education, as well as learning and growth overall. Creating a bond between youth workers and young people; getting the interest of the recipient in order to intervene and provide support - those are some of the most important aspects of youth work. As a result, any approach that can be used to increase the connection between the youth worker and the young people has the potential to increase the impact of youth work and can be included in youth work. Regarding the target group of young people, CO-MIX intends to equip them with a tool that they can express themselves safely and freely. Nevertheless, the overall experience in comic book creating calls for a mix of various soft and hard skills. For instance, the creation of a comic book that focuses on a story, requires the “author” to organize thoughts, decide on what elements to use, perhaps communicate in the case of extra collaborators and as well lead them. For young people that face learning difficulties, the vibrant motifs, the ability to freely design their own visuals, will bridge gaps and eliminate constraints in communication. There is an ever-growing need for competencies and skills that are not necessarily taught in a formal educational environment. Just to be included in the process of creating a comic book (regardless of topic, length,) the author gains the experience and skills of communicating, organizing, delegating, creative thinking, sensitivity, and content creation. These skills are transferable to many industries and can lead to employment in fields such as digital design, directing, animating, graphic design, acting.<< Objectives >>CO-MIX aims to support cooperative learning in an inclusive and flexible way - by using comic creation in youth work. Through a specific focus on inclusion work and tackling difficult subjects in an approachable way, the project is going to address its overarching objectives: - to support young people and youth workers in integration, understanding, empathy-building and promotion of common EU values; - to build capacities in the field of youth by promoting the practice of creating comics as a methodology in youth work; - to expand the impact of youth workers even in limiting situations (such as the one of Covid-19) and in more situations that require versatility and flexibility; - through broad consultation and cooperation with many local actors, to create not only useful learning materials, but a means of useful connectivity and interaction in the field of youth; - through further local activities and international cooperation within and after this project, contributing to Sustainable Development Goals #3, #4 and #16.<< Implementation >>The CO-MIX methodology for implementation will unfold in 5 distinct activity groups (A), structured in a manner to complement each other with the purpose to achieve the set by the current proposal objectives. The execution of these Activities will be coordinated by efforts, grouped under A1 Management and Coordination, which will be executed through the whole project lifetime. Each activity group will aim at a number of results to be achieved, linked to respective qualitative and quantitative indicators. A2 is concentrated towards the development of PR1 - Creating the CO-MIX online platform, which will be led by TFN. The tasks envisaged under this work stream aim to design and create the online platform, put it through rigorous tests, involving stakeholders, and adding to it useful materials (including templates) and information. Part of the activities in A2 will also contribute to the development of the methodology to be worked on in A3, but mostly the work done in this Activity group will address the objectives of:-to support young people and youth workers in integration, understanding, empathy-building and promotion of common EU values; -to expand the impact of youth workers even in limiting situations (such as the one of Covid-19) and in more situations that require versatility and flexibility; -through broad consultation and cooperation with many local actors, to create not only useful learning materials, but a means of useful connectivity and interaction in the field of youth. A3, the development of PR2 - Methodology on inclusive work through comics, will be led by HIGGS. As will be presented in further detail below, the methodology is aimed at youth workers,and will contribute to the same objectives as A2 but will build up on that by specifying approaches, examples and guidelines on implementation of comic creation in youth work, thus working to the objective of “to build capacities in the field of youth by promoting the practice of creating comics as a methodology in youth work”. It is extremely important for the project consortium that the created outputs are immediately useful and that value can be found in them throughout multiple uses.A4, which will work for the creation of PR3: Comic books for inclusive youth work, is led by MCC. This PR is aimed both at youth workers, and at young people, inviting them to explore the subject of comic creation through the lenses of the finished comics. This activity will lean on the practical expertise of MCC and will build on it with good practices, theory and engagement with interested stakeholders and of course, the cooperation of all partners. Through engagement of youth and youth workers and attention to connectivity, relationship-building, effective engagement and tools for capacity building, all activities of CO-MIX will contribute to the objective of the project to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals #3, #4 and #16.Simultaneously with the implementation of the aforementioned activities, a wide dissemination campaign will be undertaken to ensure on time update of the project progress and promotion of project results. Led by OFCI, Activity 5 will involve face-to-face meetings, online and offline dissemination of information related to the project, as well as maintenance of social media. The MEs play essential role for the achievement of the project results and objectives, as they will be attracting and engaging target groups in the project outputs; raising awareness on the issues targeted by the project and give the floor for discussion; and extending the potential to reach out to national and EU policy- and decision-makers and focus their attention and understanding of the needs in the youth sector. The dissemination efforts will contribute to the achievement of all objectives of the CO-MIX project and partnership.<< Results >>The CO-MIX project aims to enhance the experience of youth workers and the service they provide to young people by equipping them with a methodology, an online platform, and a series of pre-made comics on sensitive issues. During the creation of all these results we will be engaging youth workers in informal meetings and involving them at every step, gaining feedback and adjusting the outcomes in order to tailor to the needs of both the youth workers and young people.In depth, the project aims to create an online platform (available in 5 languages: the 4 partner languages and English) that will host a proprietary comic book creating application. The aforementioned application will be designed in such a way that the target group demographic will feel comfortable to use. In addition, the application will be equipped with text, character models, environments and a large volume of customizability. The platform will be available and free to use by anyone. Furthemore, on the platform, the methodology on “Inclusive youth work through comics” will be uploaded and available for anyone who wishes to use it. It will be created by organizations that host youth workers and will be including them on all relevant steps of the project such as brainstorming, testing, and use with young people. The purpose is to complement youth workers with a methodology that is aimed to be more inclusive. Given that youth workers have already a large repertoire of activities to use, the methodology will keep that in consideration and strive to provide the final reader with all possible explanations, templates and guidance in order to make it easier for them to start the comic book activity and make the learning curve less steep. Moreover, continuing from the second project result , the methodology, the CO-MIX project will produce a series of comics (created using the abovementioned platform) that will cover a series of sensitive topics with the ultimate purpose of being used for inclusive youth work. It is generally expected that taboo topics as well as topics of sensitive nature are not always easy to portray or begin exploring with a group of youngsters, therefore these comics will be already curated by experts of the relative fields and available on the main website-platform.Additionally, the project during its course will include Joint Staff Trainings where in total 8 youth workers from the partner countries will join. In 4 multiplier events it is expected that around 150 participants will be acquainted with the finalized products of the project. Also, at least 6,000 partners, target audiences, national and European stakeholders will be updated about the results of the project via the dissemination channels and events.Upon choosing the proper graphical art for the project CO-MIX, social media accounts (Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram for the general public) will be created providing to the public, updated regarding the project as well as opportunities for them to add their inputs if requested. For the group of professionals, LinkedIn will be used. This mix of social networks will ensure that a wide group of individuals can be addressed.Lastly, just as comic books have influenced the imagination of many young people, the ability for those same young people to create comic books, expanding their imagination, feeling included regardless of the demographic they belong in, and creating art that can be shared to their social circle, will influence their perception on inclusive and social matters.