<< Objectives >>The project aims is to help young organizations (of groups of youth) working in the third sector to improve their awareness and knowledge on project management developing a strategies to evaluate and increase the impact of their actions, putting and high focus on the education aspect and digital transformation of education especially happening in the last year. We aim to work on the need of improving the quality in project management standards for the third sector across Europe<< Implementation >>- 1 research phase-creation of the wheel done to develop an evidence-based theoretical tool and development model- 4 Monitoring Meetings (3 online + 1 offline) with goals : kick-off meeting (online), mid-term evaluation meeting (online), evaluation wrap-up meeting (online), Offline meeting (Italy): this meeting will be during research phase- 1 Pilot Training Course, in order to draft, test and finally develop a 6-day training curriculum - 3 dissemination events and online campaign<< Results >>The partnership with international organization will be fundamental for:The development of the tools due to the specific skills of the chosen partners,The development of the tools because it will give us the opportunity to further develop it by testing it on a while spread network as a sum of the networks of well established international organizationsThe spreading of the tool, on a wide and internationally based network, proposing it on a long term as a potential standard for impact evaluat

"The current Erasmus+ programme, running from 2014 to 2020, will provide opportunities for 3.7% ofyoung people (YP) in the EU to study, train, gain work experience and volunteer abroad. But what willhappen to these 3.3 millions of YP once they get back to their own communities and realities? Whenwe set our feet back into our daily lives after a learning mobility, we often end up asking ourselves:""Have I changed, or them?"" And sometimes the most difficult thing, then, is to stay hungry, to keepthis energy alive, this desire to say “yes” to the unknown, to diversity, to new opportunities andchallenges… and to share the knowledge we gained with our peers and communities, determiningwhat we can do with everything we have learnt. However, there is today a lack of social support andeffective and coordinated follow up strategies that could help them to give sense, a posteriori, to themobilities and that could ensure that this engagement can take place at the local level, above allwhen this concerns YP with fewer opportunities. What we witness is a lack of connection betweenmobilities and local impact and the consequent waste of human capital and potentials … like anunfinished rite of passage. This is also partially due to the many challenges and difficulties connectedto the recognition of competences acquired during mobilities. That's why ""Level UP!"" wants to ensurethat Erasmus+ mobilities have a strong impact at the local level, as this is a strong gap in theErasmus Plus program that also recently emerged from the midterm shadow report published by theEuropean Youth Forum (Feb 2018). As youth workers and youth org constantly dealing withinternational mobilities, we see the incredible potential of strengthening and ensuring the localengagement of YP involved in mobilities: their learnings, their new skills and expertise, their openedminds, innovative ideas and committed souls can have an empowering and powerful effect on thecommunities they live in, as well as on their peers and co-citizens. Thus, the aim of the project is to toprovide them with the tools and the opportunities to channel their engagement and their motivationinto the local realities, offering space and time for effective follow up and building up a continuum ofexperiences that will allow YP to give back to the communities. And we will do so by creating specificdigital tools that will help us to ""LEVEL UP!"" the follow up of learning mobilities! The specificobjectives of the project are: - To support the capacity building of youth workers and youth org toimplement effective follow up strategies and to ensure local impact of international mobilities - Tofoster engagement, volunteering and stronger participation of YP involved in international mobilitiesin their own communities and local realities - To enable YP involved in international mobilities toconnect, to get in touch among themselves and with policymakers, public administrations, youth org,civic society org, interest groups, etc. in order to increase youth engagement at the local level as aresult of international mobilities - To contribute to the recognition of competences and skills acquiredby YP through international mobilities, both in formal, non formal and informal settings - To contributeto the creation of a community of European YP who’ve been part of mobilities abroad and are eagerto “give back” to their own local communities The project will last 25 months, from Sept 2018 till Sept2020, and will target: - around 1400 YP (aged 14 to 30 - 1/3 are estimated to be disadvantaged) - upto 24 youth workers - 4 youth org (ABS/Bulgaria, YEU International/Belgium, DYPALL/Portugal andUSB/Greece) - around 120 associated partners The project includes: - TC1 ""Capacity building of youth workers and youth org"": how to ensure local impact and engagement of YP taking part inEuropean and international mobilities - TC2 ""Capacity building of youth workers and youth org"":learning how to use the “Level Up” app to engage YP who take part in international mobilities at thelocal level - 12 multiplier events (8 focus groups within the research and testing phases + 4dissemination events) - local testing activities in all countries and communities The outputs foreseenare the following: - A thorough research and analysis of existing follow up practices in the youth fieldand in the field of learning mobilities, including gaps and needs to be addressed both at the local andat the european level -A platform/app ""Linkedin-style"" matching YP competencies with possibilities toengage at the local level (“Shake your competencies” + Creating an “online community” + “Opencalls” to initiate local actions and foster civic engagement, etc) - A publication that will encompassthe results of the research phase (collection of good practices for follow up of learning mobilities) andthe step by step guide to the app/platform (including tips and tricks to use the tools, etc.)."

Rural area in Ukraine, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Croatia is characterized with low economic prospects of local youth due to lack of jobs, low entrepreneurship skills and other competencies among them, lower access to training programmes. In the same time the rural area wields a vast diverse natural, social, cultural and other potential which can be exploited to create the economic value and engage people. This has to be uncovered and utilized in first place by local youth who are starting their independent lives. Civic organizations engaged in rural development try to solve troubles of small communities, target rural youth with educational programmes. By pursuing own mission they start to develop experiential learning and other outdoor programmes often utilizing favourable natural and spacious potential of countryside. In our project we explored the field of social entrepreneurship and experiential education, engaged local people and youth in design of programmes and activities. By doing so we empowered them, improved their leadership and variety of other skills to be able to raise personal and economic prospects of own rural context. Specifically youngsters worked over the elaboration of experiential education products to stimulate incoming mobility of learners and tourists.Our project has set the following aims: 1) Empowerment of youth from rural areas where partners operate, development of their skills and competencies, especially of the sense of initiative and entrepreneurship; 2) Increase of incoming mobility in the communities where partners operate, specifically thanks to the development of educational and other creative programmes with experiential component; 3) Enhancement of cross-sectoral cooperation in communities, build-up of follow-up strategies based on the elaborated experiential programmes. Involvement of local youth in utilization and running of these programmes; 4) Exchange of experience on international level and international networking of the platforms involved in rural development, social entrepreneurship and non-formal education in their small communities. To achieve these the project was built from capacity building and the mobility activities starting from exchange of knowledge to practical interventions and follow-up actions. The project has generated the following outcomes: 2 international study visits, 1 seminar on youth entrepreneurship in rural area, 1 youth exchange with a lot of practical component, a large scale public event, elaboration of the thematic guide and media materials to boost thematic effect in target rural area, and eventual growing of thematic networking are those achievements that led us to the project goals. Much in the focus of the project was a Stina community (where Ukrainian partner evolves a rural educational platform) which hosted the large scale public event - “Festival of experiential education and traditional culture ‘Stina welcomes’ ”.After successfully implementing all of the activities planned the partners oversaw the following impact of the project: 1) Empowerment and stimulation of entrepreneurship among engaged rural youth in target communities. 2) Growth in programming of the partners, boost of their sustainability due to raising local leaders and followers. 3) Enhancement of inter-sectorial cooperation and deeper integration of partners in their communities that will help ignite other programmes of rural development and social innovations in future. 4) Popularization of experiential, educational and cultural mobility into rural area and particular stimulation of tourism interest towards the Stina village in Ukraine. 5) Design of thematic methodology for exploitation by other multipliers of experiential education in rural area. 6) Reinforcement of international networking between organizations running rural centers of non-formal education and rural social innovations.

"""COOLture among young people"" project aims at the long-term preservation of the European Cultural Heritage through promotion, awareness and intercultural cooperation and commitment of relevant stakeholders and youth NGOs. The project emphasises on open cultural heritage education through the creation of specific instruments available for the public and the implementation of training's in this field for both the staff of the involved partners but also for the youngsters of the communities involved. As a final result, the project will raise awareness on the importance of cultural heritage in the lives of young people and in the prosperous development of regional communities by creating international instruments and actions in all 5 countries, that will promote and remind young people about their local patrimony. By creating different tools (apps, platform, booklet, toolkit) we will enable young people to learn about the existent European Heritage from partner regions and to have a unique cultural experience.The main aim of this project is to exchange best practices and to contribute to the growth of social business related to Cultural Heritage of the 5 communities by using non-formal education and digital instruments created by young people. Specific objectives: 1. Increase no. of social businesses through the training of at least 70 youth workers from 5 countries in entrepreneurial skills / cultural management, during 10 months2. Raise awareness among at least 1000 youth on the importance of European Cultural Heritage through youth engagement in order to foster its long-lasting preservation. 2. Improve local / national tourism by involving young people in the development of digital tools to promote their cultural heritage.We plan to train total of 70 Youth workers, divided in three groups (30/15/25). Training session is a five-day course (C2-C3) and 7 day - C1, consisting of theory, informational materials, workshops, case studies and an in-depth presentation of the material and tools applying in each case.The 2 Blended mobility for young people that we envisage aim at motivating and at giving youth the right skills, tools and information in order for them to develop their own social businesses in Cultural Heritage domain - and also to improve their knowledge about this aspect (contribute to the preservation of their patrimony). The aim of the project is also to meet other targets ofthe European Union Youth Strategy to ‘support the development of creativity among young people - ‘increase access to culture and creative tools.With the help of young people and experts we will create the following:1. ""Discover your region"" mobile applications that will include: real time notifications on the cool things going on in the participating cities; running-routes in all cities, where people can keep records of their activity and discover new and interesting running routes, based on different levels of difficulty or on what you want to see along the way; touristic / historical routes - where people can discover their history and patrimony (made by young people).2. The platform will include besides the Booklet and the Toolkit also some innovative parts - using IT technology. One part will be Teen Digital Museum - to create a hashtag, teach youngsters about technology and photography, empower them to create a digital museum of their culture. A second part will be TeenCast - Podcast for teens that features interviews with artists, entrepreneurs, professionals, youth workers. Third part Guided Tours - Teens of cities involved will help create a map of their go-to places (most attractive to youth).Another important section will be - Digital History of the cities – we will create digital representations of the most important (representative) buildings and/or represent the city in different historical ages, based on available descriptions. One last part of the platform will include an online store for young entrepreneurs - that sell local products. All these features of the IOs are innovative for the communities of the 5 partners of the project - ""COOLture for young people"". Also we plan to develop instruments for youth workers - IO2 and IO2 - training material on Social Entrepreneurship and Cultural Heritage.""COOLture among young people"" project is developed to lead to innovative outputs, and engage into intensive dissemination and exploitation activities of the newly produced products and ideas. For this reason, ensuring a long lasting, multi-level impact is our high priority. This project is here to create the conditions for important positive changes, benefits and long term effects in the youth field, both in the countries involved, as well as all over Europe.All partners have a good history both in terms of thematic approach towards labour market initiatives and creating change at social level, hence the project is ensured to have a sustainable long term impact."

The project « Digitalise it » was a follow-up from a previous project in which Y-E-N and its partners discovered, tested and validated innovative and creative digital tools such as digital storytelling and talent approach.The aim of this strategic partnership was therefore to experiment, share and confront practices on innovative, digital and creative methods and tools to foster youth empowerment and social inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities.The objectives of the project were:- To explore the benefits, challenges, and ethical considerations of digital tools when working with young people with fewer opportunities and in vulnerable situations;- To promote the added value of digital tools in youth work;- To develop digital competences of youth workers by training them on the use of digital storytelling and talent approach with young people with fewer opportunities;- To create a safe space for young people with fewer opportunities to reflect on their own life story, train them to storytelling techniques and media literacy and empower them to show their potential; - To inform young people with fewer opportunities about their rights, empower them to stand for these rights and get motivation for change;- To build capacity of the participating organisations and provide networking and peer-learning opportunities between them.This project had 3 different target groups:- Participating organisations working with young people with fewer opportunities / in vulnerable situations;- Youth workers and volunteers from the participating organisations;- Young people with fewer opportunities / in vulnerable situations, beneficiaries of the participating organisations. Project timeline:1- Kick-off meeting (transnational meeting) - February 2018 – Strasbourg, France;2- Capacity building: Training Course 1 (TC1) on Digital Storytelling for youth workers – April 2018 – Ostia-Rome, Italy;3- Practice Phase in each partner organisation – April-July 2018;4- Capacity building: Training Course 2 (TC2) on Digital Storytelling for young people with fewer opportunities – July 2018 – Strasbourg, France;5- Practice Phase in each partner organisation – July-December 2018;6- Mid-term meeting (transnational meeting) – December 2018 – Thessaloniki, Greece;7- Capacity building: Study Visit 1 (SV1) – March 2019 – Rotterdam, The Netherlands;8- Capacity building: Study Visit 2 (SV2) – May 2019 – Oviedo, Spain;9- Practice Phase in each partner organisation – May-November 2019;10- Evaluation meeting (transnational meeting) – November 2019 – Strasbourg, France.The results of the project include:- 1 Facebook group created to share practices on the topic (link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/439736053127415/);- 10 digital storytelling videos created by the participants to TC1 and TC2 (link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3B7JOEYE1QA_4W4t3zBIPXHYsN-evMjJ);- 2 vlogs published online, one on the TC2 and one the 2 Study Visits (link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3B7JOEYE1QA_4W4t3zBIPXHYsN-evMjJ);- 4 video interviews created by the participants to SV1 (link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL3B7JOEYE1QB2BeXsnf8Csfo9-1KyTenH&v=cMl81InTNUA);- 1 podcast created by the participants to SV2 (link: https://youtu.be/D-QH7Fh2puE) ;- 1 community event held in Affabulazione social and cultural centre in Ostia-Rome, Italy during TC1;- 1 movie event held in Dordrecht, the Netherlands during SV1 (link : https://www.facebook.com/events/562915200881509/);- 23 local workshops held in the 6 partner organisations’ countries reaching 160 young people in vulnerable situations;- 6 press releases or webpages published about the project in each partner organisations’ country (links available here: http://youthexpressnetwork.org/tag/digitalise-it-en/);- 1 toolkit « Digital storytelling in practice » published online (link: https://issuu.com/y-e-n/docs/toolkit_digitalise_it_-_final);The project impacted directly 172 young people with fewer opportunities accross 6 different countries, and around 20 youth workers.Each partner organisation will continue to work on the topic of the project, at local or European level.