"<< Objectives >>The main goal of the project is to build a strong and long-term partnership of organizations dealing with the social inclusion of young people from smaller cities (and thus strengthen the potential of our organizations) and encourage young people to invest themselves in their local communities and to participate in non-formal education and spread knowledge about European Union and common values.<< Implementation >>The main project activities will be 4 international events in Italy, Poland, Bulgaria and Greece. Each event will include:- Youth Civic Festival ""FIRST STEP TO EU""- Intercultural workshops with young people ""Europe is HERE""- Study visits to organizations working with youth and local governmentsAdditionally, there will be online workshops with young people who will take part in workshops on intercultural education and generating ideas for a joint exchange project.<< Results >>The main results of the project will be the increase in the potential of partner organizations regarding the implementation of international projects, mutual learning from each other, by solving problems, exchanging experiences, inspiring each other, contact exchange, awareness of cooperation, in the context of cultural differences, a sense of a common goal, solidarity. Also raising knowledge and skills of the target group to which the project is directed on: non-formal education, gamification,"

<< Background >>Nowadays, the European youth face a variety of problems, and youth work in all of its forms could help them overcome these obstacles. With the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for cross-cultural relationships and assistance for the arts industry has never been greater.The global health crisis and the uncertainty resulting from it profoundly affected organisations' operations as well as individuals—both employed and independent—across the field.Most cultural institutions throughout the world have been shuttered indefinitely (or at least had their services drastically reduced) over the last year, and in-person exhibitions, concerts, and performances have been canceled or postponed. As a result, extensive efforts were made to provide alternative or extra services via digital platforms, to sustain important operations with limited resources, and to chronicle the events themselves through new acquisitions, including new creative works inspired by the pandemic. Such digital creative modifications must be prioritized in this environment.Thus, NGOs, civil society organisations and arts schools need to develop strategies to support youth workers and front-line practitioners to take a comprehensive look at the role of creative and digital arts in the promotion of intercultural dialogue, exchange of good practices in order to stimulate the innovative and creative capacities of young people.This will allow the youth work sector to support young people with a complement of skills that will help them to become active citizens.The E-Album will act as a gateway towards acquiring knowledge about best practices in youth work as well as raising awareness about the numerous social struggles young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, particularly refugees and migrants in Europe, face. Digital photo albums can provide an alternative for when we find ourselves living within circumstances such as those delivered by the outbreak of COVID-19. In addition, oftentimes images go beyond raising awareness to creating the public and political will for social change. The current project will aim at fostering youth workers to be effective in using their photographs and voices to create tangible policy change. In some respects still photography is particularly suited to social advocacy and youth empowerment, given it requires little more from the audience than a glance. As a result, its impact is visceral and immediate—often for both the viewer and the photographer. The closing charity exhibition will be directly complementary to the album, further disseminating the results of the project, and raising awareness about its objectives among the general audience, attracting passers-by, providing a great opportunity to educate young people about both the cause and the organisations involved, therefore, widening the supporter base and generating advocacy for the issues being explored in the exhibition. The exhibition would bring the issue to life, where the professionally captured images would instigate a feeling of intimacy between the viewer and the subjects, catalysing an emotional response that will help the viewer feel a little of what the beneficiaries are experiencing. The exhibition would also provide a forum that would bring together people from the local community who wouldn’t normally meet. This in itself will act as a hive of networking and creativity, as people will form new ideas and relationships.<< Objectives >>This Erasmus+ cooperation project aims at advancing both the professional and personal development of youth workers and building the capacity of partner organisations through the exchange of best practices via photographic and digital methods. Partners plan to develop the creative skills of youth workers/educators and young people via using ICT, digital and media opportunities. The project's goal is to empower and support a core group of young people from migrant, minority, and underprivileged backgrounds. Partners will invest in the social capital of youth through developing creative skills and encouraging their positive growth. The work on youth will allow them to: capitalize on their creativity, knowledge, innovation and potential to drive change; address challenges affecting their development, both at governance and societal levels; and reach the unreached and those who have lost a sense of community and hope in the future.On the one hand, participating in multinational meetings will help employees enhance their management abilities. The two training mobilities, on the other hand, will develop youth workers' abilities to employ media and digital skills to boost young people's creativity and innovation.Participants will gain a better understanding of diverse European social environments by participating in a professional experience abroad. The training will assist partners in reviewing, refreshing, and updating their existing knowledge and abilities and applying them to their youth work practice. This project is an opportunity for youth workers and their organisations to build specific skills through photography, such as attention to detail, patience and concentration, technical knowledge in software and hardware and teamwork. Partners will accomplish the first project goal, which is to improve the professional skills of youth workers in the sector, by doing so.In accordance with the Digital Education Action Plan, the project allows CSO representatives to learn from the COVID-19 crisis, during which technology is being used at an unprecedented scale in education and training. Through the production of a digital photo album, this project is enhancing youth workers’ basic digital skills and competences for the digital transformation. That will take place by supporting digital pedagogy in photography and expertise in the use of the relevant digital tools. By this, the project will achieve its specific objective of increasing the motivation of direct and indirect beneficiaries of lifelong learning to develop ICT and media skills as a way to communicate and to use them as a purposeful everyday tool. The project's goal of enabling the exchange of good practices, knowledge and expertise in photography and digital tools in youth work will be attained during the transnational training courses which will allow for the transferability of skills between participants. Partners will also promote Erasmus+ and the opportunities it provides for young people.This will make the Program more accessible to young people who want to learn about collaboration, culture, and civic activity in a European environment.This would enable them to build and enhance personal, social, and civic skills, as well as critical thinking, creativity, and empowerment. This relationship will be developed with regional and local interconnections in mind.To assist youth work at the grass-roots level, activities as training, dissemination, and local workshops will be done. It will strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration by fostering synergies, complementarity, and variety among organizations, as well as increased young participation. In addition to that, the follow-up activities implemented by partner organisations will secure the replicability and sustainability of the project’s objectives in the future. Combined with the intention of applying for future Erasmus+ projects will safeguard the cause’s long-term viability.<< Implementation >>Planning, preparation, implementation, and follow-up are the four steps of this cooperation partnership project.The following items will be included in the implementation stage:1. Management responsibilitiesManagement plan development; monitoring and quality evaluation plan development; communication plan development; risk assessment plan development; promotion and dissemination plan development; and sustainability plan developmentFour transnational project meetings will be held, as well as frequent online sessions.We will be able to make face-to-face personal contacts at the kick-off meeting.Partners will review all project milestones and activities, as well as anticipated project results for the target groups. They will also develop a solid plan for regular interaction and how to fit stakeholder needs.The mid-term evaluation meeting will allow us to fine-tune the E-designed Album's program and photography techniques, as well as discuss local accomplishments.Partners will assess how well all activities are being implemented and how far the project is progressing.The selection and editing of photo materials for the E-Album will be aided by the evaluation meeting. Participants in local activities that the partners have organized will provide feedback.The photo elements that will be included in the final version of the E-Album will be decided by the partners.The last meeting will feature a charity exhibition and conclude with a project summary in order to produce a final report. This discussion will focus on the accomplishments made in regard to the project's initial goals. Through a display of the selected photographs, the event will focus on presenting the project's impact to various target groups, lessons learned, follow-up activities, and a sustainability strategy.2. There will be two training courses implemented. The first training course will be held in Bulgarina. The second training course will be held in Italy.3. Throughout the project all partners will work on creation of E-Album - the main deliverable of this cooperation partnership.4. All partners will implement local learning and training activities.5. Throughout the project, frequent monitoring and evaluation will be carried out.All mobilities, local and diffusion efforts, as well as the project's mid-term and final evaluations, will be evaluated.6. Promotion and dissemination will begin before the project proposal is funded and will last until the project is completed.In six nations, there will be offline and online activities as well as multiplier events.All of the project's activities are designed to be accessible and inclusive, and are open to persons with fewer opportunities. To complement their physical activities and increase cooperation amongst partner organizations, the initiative integrates the use of digital tools and learning approaches.<< Results >>The tangible outcomes of the project will primarily consist of the development of E-Albums for the purposes of fostering photographic and digital skills throughout the promotion of best practices of youth work, alongside with the complementary charity photography exhibition, which will act as a catalyst for the diffusion of project results as well as collecting funds for the securitization of free art classes for youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. The improvement of capacities of organisations active in the fields of youth work, and notably in the areas of creativity, in addition to the enhancement of professional development of youth workers and educators by exchange of good practices and experiences will constitute part of the intangible results. Throughout this project, participants will develop their emotional intelligence and effective communicative, collaborative and creative skills via learning how to utilise various digital and media tools particularly relevant to the sphere of photography. That will further have a positive impact on their networking and team working abilities, as well as will encourage the inclusion of local civil society organisations and actors. Ultimately, youth workers will improve their soft skills, such as leadership skills, presentation skills and analytical thinking as well as be given new creative tools to use in their everyday work with young people as a result of this initiative. The project will further inspire the participants to promote those skills development among their colleagues, youth target groups and other youth NGOs. The project’s transnational dimension will contribute to a more comprehensive outlook on European values, trust building and mutual understanding. The joint creative endeavours in an intercultural context is another important benefit providing for the intercultural exchange and dialogue.