We live in a so-called digital era where digital media and innovative online tools have extensive influence on reaching our personal and work goals, as well as creating smart and inclusive society. Moreover, demand for digital literacy and audacious digital activism of young people and youth NGOs is constantly growing. That is the main topic of this project.AIMS1: Increase the capacity of youth organisations/workers in the field of digital literacy/activism, foster their active participation in society and intraregional and transregional cooperation between 10 youth NGOs from 4 Partner and 5 Programme countries from Western Balkans, Western Europe and North Europe2: Evolve digital youth activism and reinforce digital promotion of youth policy and democratic values on transregional and European level.MAIN OBJECTIVES1. Build up human and technical (ICT) resources of 10 youth NGOs in the field of digital literacy/activism2. Create/enhance digital media and online tools of all partner NGOs3. Develop and shape transversal skills (ICT, creative communication, collaboration, innovative thinking...) of youth workers; train them how to use and pass the skills on young people4. Create a multilingual OER on digital literacy/youth activism5. Establish strong intraregional and transregional cooperation among partner NGOsACTIVITIES1. Training course (TC) in digital literacy and digital youth activismTC will provide digital literacy/activism transversal (technical, practical and analytical) skills for 30 youth workers from 10 partner NGOs. Trainees will become digitally literate; master digital tools; create digital media plan; learn graphic design, storytelling and tools e.g. surveys, cloud collaboration, agile project management; enhance skills for teaching the youth on digital literacy/activism; raise awareness and advocate youth activism towards stakeholders…Partner NGOs will improve HR and ICT capacities; reach high proficiency in digital media; set up new digital media and online tools or improve existing ones; conduct online youth campaigns...TC will be held using different methods of non-formal learning which simulate real life cases and stimulate creativity and interaction.Host: CDERLocation: Belgrade (Serbia)Duration: 08-16/10/20162. Creating OER - an online course and a resources database on digital literacy/activism3. Creating an informative-educative website that will consist of:- Articles about trending digital tools for youth activism - An online course and knowledge database on digital literacy/activismPARTNERS: 10 NGOs from Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, United Kingdom, Estonia and Latvia.PROJECT LEADER: Centar za drustveno ekonomski razvoj - CDER (Center for social and economic development), SerbiaDURATION: 01/08/2016–30/04/2017

The project “Rur.IT.A.N.I.A.-Rural IT Alliance for Networking, Inclusion and Activism” involved 10 partners from Serbia, Greece, Albania, Bosnia&Herzegovina, Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Estonia and Belgium, all members of the Alliance of European Voluntary Service organisations and South East European Youth Network. The project was delivered in the period of 1/1/2017 and 15/3/2018. The applicant is Young Researchers of Serbia. It aimed at fostering international mobility, IT (information technology) and IC (intercultural communication) skills development in a non-formal setting of 100 young people with geographical obstacles in 10 participating countries.There are 3 groups of activities:Group 1: information campaign in rural and remote areas – outreach activities with the OBJECTIVE to reach and sustain 100 young people from rural and remote areas willing to invest in their basic IT and IC skills development (skills of using the computer and internet, social media and youth information search; expressing oneself in a foreign language, English, in an international environment) Group 2: Four Youth Exchanges in Serbia, Belgium and Germany, with the objective of fostering an international/intercultural supportive environment for practicing and improving these basic IT and IC skills/competencies and many others (solidarity to others, teamwork, independent travelling).In 4 International Youth Exchanges 100 young participants studied, practiced their skills and gained valuable life experience in a non-formal setting of different sessions and informally during volunteer work of public interest to local hosting communities, along their peers from different countries.Group 3: evaluation and follow-up meetings and dissemination activities, with the objective of facilitating pre and post skills assessment, peer reflection of gained skills of participants and their recognition and sharing of good practices on the national and international levelsGroup 4: Kick-off and Evaluation meeting of partners, with the objective of supporting and facilitating strong and clear partnership and agreements among 10 organisations involved.The motivation behind was to give an impulse, by proactively involving 100 young people from rural and remote areas, to a multiplying effect of participation of other young people close to this direct target group. The impact on a personal level of participants was in the advancement of their skills, knowledge and attitudes. We witnessed their growth in being able to communicate in basic English; mastering the basics of using the computer, internet and social media, browsing for information related to youth participation and further projects; becoming more flexible and open-minded towards people from different countries and backgrounds, open for new traveling and exploring experiences.

The common denominator to project partners is International Voluntary Service (IVS), particularly workcamps as tools for youth active participation and local sustainable development. The consortium organises more than 200 international short-term voluntary projects –workcamps, which host 3000+ international volunteers and involve 400+ youth leaders.11 partners are members of Alliance of European Voluntary Service organisations and one (Croma, Italy) brings an added value to the project with its specific profile of members – documentary film makers / youth workers. The involvement of the Alliance as a formal promoter assured wider visibility but also certified trainers in non-formal education with expertise in trainings of youth leaders in IVS projects.This consortium explored a new trend in IVS movement: exchange of youth leaders, as a response to a common challenge of decrease in number of youth leaders in the movement.Target group: Youth leaders of international volunteer groups gathered in workcampsGENERAL AIM: Innovate, support and give recognition to youth leadership in the field of international voluntary service within the network of 13 involved project partners from 9 countries and 100+ local stakeholders from Serbia, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, France, Spain, Turkey, Estonia, Finland.OBJECTIVE 1: improve the level of key competences and skills of 23 youth leaders (10 from Serbia and 13 from Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, France, Spain, Turkey, Estonia, Finland)OBJECTIVE 2: Foster an international/intercultural supportive environment and mentorship system for practicing youth leadership in IVS movementOBJECTIVE 3: Raise awareness of the importance of specialised youth workers in the IVS field – workcamp leadersThere are three groups of residential activities:• Act 1: International training of youth leaders (05/2017)• Act 2 - 12: Practice Phase: Exchange of youth leaders in International Voluntary Service projects among the applicant and the partners – coordination of 20 workcamps in Serbia, Spain, Turkey, Finland, France, Estonia, Germany, Czech Republic and Italy (summer 2017)• Act 13: Evaluation meeting (10/2017)The project also includes non-residential activities:• Production and promotion of a web documentary for raising awareness on the International Voluntary Service movement and the impact it has on young people, local and international communities, www.youthleaders.online • Mentoring system of youth leaders during their practice phase• Assessment of gained competencies of youth leadership and formal recognition with YouthPass and I’VE tool

Recent statistics of IVS (International Voluntary Service) networks such as Alliance and CCIVS illustrates that international projects for teenagers, such as exchanges, meetings and workcamps, are succesful and show a high rate of participation. However, the number of international activities for teenagers is still limited compared to international projects for young adults.One reason for this trend is related to the specificities associated with teenagers, regarding group dynamic, responsabilities and legislation. These specificities are sometimes considered as constraints which prevent the development of projects for teens. Still, there is a huge demand for this kind of project which are getting popular every year as teenagers want to be actively engaged and spend their vacations with purpose.Through numerous years, Solidarités Jeunesse has organized many youth exchanges for teenagers (15 to 17 years) with a high interest in sharing its experience with other organizations. We are certainly convinced that these experiences could create a trigger for the youth to feel more included in the process of emancipation and be a source of liberation and raising awareness. Therefore, in cooperation with our international partners we propose this project that will first of all train youth leaders to be able to work with teenagers in non-formal context and as a result, will contribute to the development of numerous teenager projects. In addition, we would like to create with our partners a common work ethic with the teenagers to move towards the same goal of strengthening the responsibility, empowerment and the intercultural spirit of the youth.Objectives of the seminar:- to reinforce the capacity of partner organisations to organise international projects for teenagers;- to provide youth workers with quality online and offline tools to lead international activities for teenagers;- to increase the number of international projects for teenagers and make them sustainable;- to valorise the impact of international projects for teenagers;- to create a network of youth organisations organising teenager projects.In order to reach the objectives of the project, it was decided to organise a Steering Committee meeting and a seminar on quality youth work and inclusion models for teenagers, a training on organising and leading international activities for teenagers followed by experimentations with teenagers in participating countries. These experimentations will be facilitated by two international youth workers in terms of job shadowing supported by the hosting organisation and a local youth worker. The results of the project and a toolkit on international teen activities produced by partners will be presented during the Final Evaluation.In order to reach the objectives in a more effective way, it was decided to invite 3 experts on teen intercultural pedagogy and impact measurement, intercultural learning and pedagogy of teenagers and impact assessment

Our project's goal is to establish a space for dialogue between the youth, private and government sectors with specific attention to Europe and Mexico/Central America so to work towards:Acknowledgement of NFL as a vital element in the formative professional path of young peopleRecognition of NFL by formal learning institutions, market actors and government institutionsEnhancement of the capacities of young people through engagement with NFL activities so to create multipliers and increase awareness of the value of NFLEstablishment of a dialogue between representatives of the youth, government, educational and market actors to better coordinate NFL training activities and integrate them into the formative path of young peopleFormalisation of the above mentioned training approach into a tool that can be used and integrated into formal and nonformal trainingThis will be achieved through implementation of:Youth trainingsJob shadowingYouth conferences (involving representatives of government, universities and private sectors)and preparation of Handbook and a Report on formal/non-formal interactionsOur methodology will make use of non-formal learning across all activities with use of creative methods, coaching participants through reflective exercises, contact sessions, energizers, cultural exchanges and games with the goal to help integrate them into the group, boost their emotional intelligence and learning, dwell on participants’ skills and experiences to increase their understanding of different realities, cultures, and approaches to an issue. At the end of each working day participants will be asked to reflect and evaluate the outcome of the sessions together with the trainers and steering group. By doing this, we will be looking to involve young people through (individual and group) mobility activities, while prompting a reflection on the way to use newly acquired skills on the job market. This will be made possible through involvement of other sector's (private, public) actors and identification of mechanisms to make this multi-sectorial interaction regular while identifying good practices that can be classified and serve to next projects. While doing this, we expect to involve nearly 200 young people in various aspects of mobility, 800 with local conferences and 64.000 indirectlyIn terms of impact we expect to: Foster a two-way dialogue with private sector partners, to better understand what elements and aspects of NFL can benefit the training of young people and their preparation to compete on the job market (or their capacity to become market forces themselves by creating a company).Use this experience as a good practice and call for a dialogue with government structures for a better integration non traditional learning path. This can be done by either the creation of mechanisms embedding NFL into formal learning or fostering interaction between formal and non formal learning.