The ENRYP II project builds on the findings and outcomes of the Erasmus+ ENRYP project led by Umbria Youth Forum in Italy and developed between 2017 and 2019. A key finding was the need for establishing a different kind of network, more flexible and including several stakeholders. The concept of the network should overcome the existing traditional ones, such as umbrella organisations composed only of youth organisations or youth representative structures; instead, it should have a multi-stakeholder approach by including, besides youth organisations, also municipalities, CSO, youth workers, youth academics and informal groups of young people. On youth participation, current debates and developments include the growing importance of self-expression, diversity and social inclusion, how young people learn about participation, understanding the concept of new and innovative forms of participation (Crowley, Moxon 2017). The last SWD (169, 2018) “Situation of young people in the European Union” states that while young people are described as being more disenchanted with politics, especially regarding traditional modes of participation (i.e. those related to the representative democracy), increasing numbers of young Europeans are exploring new routes to political engagement and expression, in particular, those made available by the Internet and the social media. The document also shows how youth participation has become more individualised, ad-hoc and issue-specific. Young people have come to favour more flexible and issue-based forms of participation, being more active in non-governmental organisations rather than in political parties.The main goal of the ENRYP II is to increase youth social and political participation in Portugal, Italy, UK, Hungary and Romania in order to achieve positive changes in young people’s lives and to build better societies.The specific objectives of the project are:- to establish a European network as a common space where young people but also relevant stakeholders exchange practices and explore together topics such as youth participation, active citizenship and EU awareness and identity- to broaden and deepen political and social participation and understanding of at least 175 young people at the local and regional level in the 5 countries of the partner organisation- to enable at least 175 young people to connect with, express their opinions to and influence elected policy-makers, public administrators, interest groups and CSOs within any of the political or social processes affecting their lives TARGET GROUPSThe activities will target young people from 20 to 30 years of age, both organised and unorganisedIn addition to it, the following will be involved:- youth (representative) organisations- informal groups of young people- youth workers and experts (researchers, academics)- decision-makers at the local and regional level- public authorities and educational institutions- interest groups on issue-specific topicsThe main activities will include the realisation of 3 Intellectual Outputs namelyIO1 – European Network of Regional and local Youth Platforms – to offer young people a concrete space where they can express themselves and engage in meaningful dialogue with elected policy-makers, public administrators, interest groups, CSOs or individual citizens within any of the political or social processes affecting their livesIO2 – Good practices Compendium - a collection of practices that were developed at the local and regional level with a two-fold aim: to increase an active participatory culture among young people and to explore new forms of political and social participation at the local and regional level.IO3 – Youth Activist Kit – to support young people in acquiring knowledge and understanding of their position in a certain community, develop social and civic competences, active listening, learning to learn, a more positive attitude towards active participation, as well as skills to motivate and empower other young people to take meaningful part in the life of their communities1 short-term staff training, 3 blended mobility activities and 6 multiplier events.The overall impact and expected results during and especially after the project lifetime are:- increased understanding of youngsters of the importance of participation in its various forms and of the diversity of contexts in Europe- more connected young people with their peers at local and transnational level and with policy-makers, public administrators, interest groups within any of the political or social processes affecting their lives- increased capacity of stakeholders to engage in meaningful dialogue with young people- more responsible and autonomous youngsters that are able to take the lead in a process and empower their peers.

At local and regional level, the 7 partners of the ENRYP project have identified the need to increase direct communication among young people, especially the ones active in youth platforms (be they councils, forums or parliaments), in order to share ideas and exchange good practices related to topics such as youth participation, active citizenship, EU awareness and identity. ENRYP project started from a situation where young people were described in the EU Youth Report 2015 as having low interest in participatory processes. However, the last SWD “Situation of young people in the European Union” (2018) states that while young people are described as being more disenchanted with politics, “this might be true for traditional modes of participation (i.e. those related to the representative democracy), increasing numbers of young Europeans are exploring new routes to political engagement and expression, in particular those made available by the Internet and the social media. Remarkably, young people seem to have found renewed interest in political issues and identify themselves as European citizens to a greater extent than older generations.” It highlights the shift towards new models of political engagement and communication such as using the internet to interact with public authorities and the use of websites and social media to post opinions on civic and political issues.In this context, the ENRYP project has worked to develop a space for young people to share ideas and exchange practices, so to increase youth participation at local level and to strengthen capacities and skills. This has also led to an increased international dimension of the partner organisations involved and the request from young people for organising more mobility activities. Through the implemented activities, young people involved as well as partner staff members were able to:- exchange good practices on youth participation, active citizenship, EU awareness and identity, and social inclusion, including country-based strategies on how to approach them- discuss about values and principles that should lie at the foundations of regional and local youth platforms- establish the ENRYP as a multi-stakeholder network and virtual space for young people, public authorities, youth workers and academics- register an increased participation of young people at local level, in their communities, and interest in strengthening the international dimension of organisations.ENRYP was carried out by 8 partners with different profiles: two youth forums operating at regional level from Italy and Romania (Forum Regionale dei Giovani dell’Umbria and Fundatia pentru Tineret Timis), 2 municipalities from UK and Portugal (Manchester City Council and Camara Municipal de Cascais), a CSO – Europa Jovove Egyesule in Hungary, FORMA.Azione srl VET and AL training centre from Italy and a youth research centre from Finland – Finnish Youth Research Network.The main activities involved:- collecting good practices related to the topics of the project, of which 21 on paper and more than 40 learned, shared and discussed by young people at local level, during the blended mobility activities and online- 5 transnational project meetings held in Perugia (IT), Manchester (UK), Helsinki (FI) and in Timisoara (RO);- 12 staff members during the short term training held in Kecskemet (HU), that was preparatory for the two blended mobility activities with young people- 33 participants during the blended mobility in Cascais (PT) and 32 during the one in Timisoara (RO), including young people, group leaders and trainers/facilitators- a validation process related to the key concepts of the ENRYP project (youth participation, active citizenship, social inclusion and European awareness) applied by countries involved in the project and support for the realisation of the European network in the long run- communication and dissemination towards over 5.000 people.Results:- country-based strategies on how to raise awareness of young people about the functioning of youth platforms in other countries, to inform on good practices and the need to build a functional European wide network as a space for sharing ideas on issues that are concrete and meaningful for young people- elaboration of a long-term strategy related to the European network with a vision and goals to be pursued in the following 5 years together with the identification of its members and stakeholders- raised awareness about the importance to approach the network from an online and offline perspective, identified by participants as crucial aspect in order to maintain connections and continuity- a collection of good practices that allowed young people to reflect about the diversity of the contexts;- a validation document that guarantees the quality of the results- commitment of partners in order to further support the network in strategic actions to guarantee its sustainability.- application for a new project.