"The project addressed the lack of a common ground for youth work and of a clear picture of what constitutes quality in youth work. At the same time it intended, as an overall aim, to build a firm organisational platform where this common ground and view on what is qualitative youth work could be turned into practical quality development through peer learning and exchange of methods and best practices – InterCity Youth – the European Network of Local Departments for Youth Work. The main objectives of the project were a) to develop common indicators on participation, non-formal learning and gender equality and inclusion of marginalized groups of youth published in a booklet b) to create a web-based library of methods and best practices linked to the indicators The project also aimed at strengthening relations and cooperation between local departments for youth work and youth organizations as well as other organizations in other parts of the youth field on local, national and European level by, as a first step, inviting them to function as a reference group to the project. The activities of the project mainly consisted of a work group with representatives from the different partner organisations that together created the sets of indicators and gave examples of methods and best practices that can be used to see to what degree actual youth work meets the indicators. The approach and methodology of the group was based on the report from the European expert group on youth work quality systems, ""Quality Youth Work – a common framework for the further development of youth work"", published by the European Commission.The foreseen results of the project were sets of common indicators and ways to work with them that are used for common quality development within a strong European network of local departments for youth work, ICY.The booklet ""Inspiring Quality Youth Work"" (IQ Youth work) is the result of an Erasmus+ Strategic partnership between eight member organisations of InterCity Youth – The European Network of Local Departments for Youth Work. An additional partner - Municipio de Santa Maria da Feira- was added in the end of the project in order to make the International multiplier event in the Europe Goes Local conference in Portugal 5-7 June 2018. The project has been going on since spring 2016 and was finished entirely in the end of August 2018.The partners in the project were:KEKS, Network of municipalities, Sweden – coordinating organisationMunicipality of Cinisello Balsamo, ItalyKanuuna, Network of municipalities, FinlandMunicipality of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the NetherlandsMunicipality of Stara Zagora, BulgariaMunicipality of Thessaloniki, GreeceVVJ, Network of municipalities, BelgiumMunicipality of Munich, GermanyMunicipio de Santa Maria da Feira, PortugalThe project’s foreseen results were the following- that you can also find on the Intercity Youth website;A set of indicators on youth participation.A set of indicators on non-formal learning.A set of indicators on gender equality.A set of indicators on inclusion of marginalized groups of youth.A booklet where these sets of indicators are presented in combination with methods and best practices to be used when youth work should gather knowledge about to what degree activities meet the indicators. The booklet IQ Youth work is available in English, German, French and was also translated into Greek, Italian and Dutch by the different partner organisations.A web based library of methods and best practices linked to the indicators, including contact information that can be used for further inquiries and cooperation.The work methods used was transnational work meetings with the work group and project management group consisting of representatives from each partner organisation. In addition dissemination events were held in all partner organisations and as well in the Europe goes Local conference in Cascais Portugal, 5-7 June 2018. The project have created a concrete European model and method for working with quality development, relevant and usable in the carrying out and governing of everyday youth work in the very different youth work settings and conditions not only of the participating partners but of local departments in general. Through the combination of common indicators and ways to follow up, and a structured process for exchange of experiences and best practices the ICY-project will create a common ground that is not only based on words and documents but is firmly rooted and integrated into everyday practice. The work on creating indicators for the booklet IQ Youth work have not only made the different partners in the project familiar with how to work with indicators but have also made them ambassadors for a structured approach towards youth work. Several of the partners in the project were not familiar working with indicators and this was totally new for them. We think that the impact and the longterm effect for those memb"

"BACKGROUNDIn the intervention work with young people, although there is a wide range of practice at European level, there is still no sharing and dissemination of practices carried out in European countries in order to identify and define the best and/or most young people's problems and needs.In addition, young people adopt an attitude of criticism and resignation to their problems and feel excluded from the decision-making process. Youth workers do not yet have adequate skills and tools to include young people in processes of active participation, co-management and co-responsibility. By precisely disregarding the needs of young people and lacking tools to help them diagnose them, they have difficulty reaching their target group and ensuring an active and empowering intervention of social transformation.OBJETIVES1) Identify, collect and systematize European good practice of intervention and response to the problems in youth;2) Reinforce European networks and the ability to operate at transnational level;3) Plan, test and validate strategies and practices in the youth context;4) Systematize a methodology (quantitative and qualitative) for obtaining, data analysis and support the development of a participatory strategy and their plans in youth;5) Stimulate a critical attitude, active and entrepreneurial society for the development of new youth policies;6) Develop knowledge, tools and content of free access to target groups.PARTICIPANTSParticipants are:- Youth workers.Indirect participants/beneficiaries are:- groups of young co builders who collaborate with the managing teams, assist the development of content, critics;- Young ""targets"" for the application of the methodologies, i.e., all the young people of the regions of partners.PARTICIPANTS PROFILE1) Youth workers over the age of 25;2) Share the problem, needs and objectives;3) Motivated to contribute at all stages, from planning to completion and sustainability;4) Motivated to disseminate the results;5) Proactive in creating impacts in themselves, in the target group and the communities of which they are part of;6) Interested in continuing to participate and develop projects that focus on the priorities of Erasmus+;7) Motivated to develop and stimulate the civic, participatory and entrepreneur spirit.ACTIVITIES1) Transnational meetings – initial meeting/preparation, to be held in August 2019; intermediate meeting/monitoring, to be held in January 2020; interim meeting/monitoring, to be held in May 2020 and final meeting/evaluation, to be held in September 2020;2) Preparatory and follow-up meetings (online) – July 2019 to October 2020;3) Training courses/ Seminars – December 2019 and July 2020;4) Identify, collect and systematize – September to December 2019;5) Implementation and planning – January to September 2020;6) Job shadowing – January to July 2020;7) Seminar – September 2020.METHODOLOGYNon-formal education.RESULTS AND IMPACTSAs a key result, we highlight the development of methodologies for guiding and obtaining the diagnosis of needs for the elaboration of strategic youth plans.The expected impacts on this project are:1) Training of youth and youth workers;2) Development of competences and learning based on NFE;3) Improvement of the quality of youth intervention;4) Openness to multicultural individual and collective learning;5) Increase of social, civic and democratic participation;6) Increase in the spirit of initiative and entrepreneurship;7) Increase in inclusive and participatory behaviors;8) Increase in territorial synergies;9) Development of new initiatives for civic participation, entrepreneurship and innovation;10) Promotion of values such as democracy, innovation, respect, change, tolerance, trust and dignity.BENEFTIS1) The adequacy of youth interventions will be reflected at the real needs of young people; to value youth action and the active participation of young people; the development of the sense of identity and belonging, social inclusion, intercultural dialogue and multiculturalism; the consideration of non-formal education methodology as a training methodology for youth action.2) Systematization of a methodology for guidance based on European practices of youth intervention, uniform, comparable, validated data collection and processing in terms of diagnosis and strategic planning."

The vision of the “STEPs Youth Centers” project lays on the promotion of equality in chances across Europe in terms of education against every cultural, economic, social and geographical obstacle for the young people. Thus, the project aimed to contribute to issues of social inclusion, entrepreneurship, citizenship and employability by pursuing two key objectives. On the one hand, the “STEPs” aimed at creating the appropriate pedagogical methods, based on e-learning modules in order to make the idea of on-line education more attractive to young people in Europe. The key objective of the project was to offer young people with fewer opportunities as well as the rest of the target groups an attractive space which will host them, aiming to utilize and foster knowledge, empower their skills and develop their capabilities to reach the demands of a globalized world, offering equal opportunities and open access to a range of activities. Within the Project, the Consortium formed by youth organizations and Municipalities from 4 EU Member States shared knowledge and expertise and cooperated on forming tools of ICT that offered equal and inclusive opportunities to young people who wish to improve their competences and reach the demands of the labor market.The activities that have been undertaken during the 24-months “STEPs” project included informative meetings at the first phase of the implementation in each partner country which aimed at contributing to the dissemination of the project itself while promoting the project activities to our specific target groups. With the expertise and cooperation of the project partners, intellectual outputs were developed, transnational meetings were carried out among partners for monitoring reasons and multiplier events were also took place for the exploitation of the project outputs. Moreover, a study visit to the Radam 72 Youth Center in Sweden took place aiming to provide the partnering Municipalities with inspiration and motivation for creating their own local Youth Centers. Through the project, specific target groups benefited and developed their skills and the needed network to expand the possibilities of the work future.1. Pupils of High Schools, who learned about the EU, acquire communication skills in a foreign language, develop an intercultural attitude through interactive, innovative and experiential learning methods.2. Teachers trained on new methods of non-formal learning, funding opportunities in the EU for their schools and enhance their personal and professional development3. Unemployed or Employed young people (18-30 years old) trained on social entrepreneurship and employability in the EU and funding opportunities.4. Municipal Employees in the field of youth, trained in order to sustain the Youth Center in the future.The intellectual outputs that were developed within the project included the Educational Guide for the Youth Centers' Interactive Trainings and Workshops, the Educational Material and Methodology of the Online Academy MOOC Courses and the Practical Guide on How to Create Youth Centers. The first IO included the methodological Approach on the subjects of the project. The theoretical methodology and the educational approaches that are analyzed within the Intellectual Output are based on the non-formal education and lifelong learning. The Educational Material and Methodology of the Online Academy MOOC Courses that was developed as the IO2 included the content of the MOOC Courses on the subjects of European Citizens’ Rights and EU opportunities, Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, European programs for the youth, education and entrepreneurship, Creative employability for an intercultural attitude, European educational materials for teachers, Smart Cities and the field of 3D-printing.The third IO of the STEPs project concerned the development of the Practical Guide for the creation of Youth Centers across country including information on the practical and bureaucratic issues as well as sources of funding, available programs and trainings that can be incorporated within a Youth Center and pedagogical approach of all the abovementioned. The aim of the development of the abovementioned Intellectual Outputs was to bring together all the above target groups and address critical challenges, such as digital literacy for young people and stimulate the usage of ICT and change attitudes. With the use of the rapid development of technology, our project aimed to create an “Online Academy” through the e-learning platform, CEREBRUM, which has been developed by IRTEA seeking at providing high-quality education across the narrow borders of a typical classroom. We believe as of crucial importance the application of highly innovative and technologically advanced tools in order to make user friendly and more specifically – youth friendly – instruments of policies.