<< Background >>The Launch and Thrive project is an innovative project between 7 European countries, from the north (Sweden, Denmark), the south (Spain/Italy), the east (Ukraine) and the west (Germany/Switzerland). It responds directly to a request and situation in which civil society networks feel the need to strengthen themselves, since the multiple crises (climate, democratic and social) requires the mobilization of all actors. Some countries have national networks of thriving ecovillages that have existed for years. However, others are characterized by absence or failure due to lack of coordination and synergy that do not promote movement. Until now, there has been no systemic approach to the development of national ecovillage networks. Therefore, guidelines (manuals), assistance (tutoring) and coordination (ICT platform) are needed, but it is also essential to make visible the impact of national networks (videos), their successes and challenges (exchange). GEN Europe as the lead organisation proposes this project in order to better support national networks in a diversity of stages - from its infant steps to mature movements. For this reason, the project has the general objective of helping national networks across Europe to launch and prosper (Online Learning Package), thus strengthening European cooperation in the field of ecovillage development, SDG awareness and advocacy capacity through coordinated, legitimate and representative national networks.<< Objectives >>What we want to achieve throughout the project is to reach a more informed and qualified level from which assistance to national network building can be given. We explore in the project different means and paths, as learning styles and needs can vary. The ultimate aim is to create helpful resources (IO’s) that can be disseminated and utilized for all kinds of networks. The project pursues the following immediate objectives:- Creation of a qualitative framework for country-to-country assistance in Europe, in the creation of functional and prosperous national networks, through a MANUAL to guide the process.- Development of a MENTORING PACKAGE as part of the manual, creating and piloting twinning schemes between national networks throughout Europe with an exchange programme between the twinned partner organisations is to establish long lasting collaborative relationships and allow for in depth exchange of good practices and peer learning.- Establish an ICT PLATFORM to systematize the provision of information on the different national networks, the exchange of knowledge and the resolution of problems, to strengthen cooperation.- Present ecovillage networks on a national scale through SHORT VIDEOS that promote networking activities for active citizenship, with a European component that strengthens national efforts.- Develop an Online Learning Package (OLP) using the different educational resources and training materials available through this project, promoting innovation in ecovillage networks. The main target groups and participants involved in this project are the board members, staff and permanent volunteers of the existing national ecovillage networks and the capacities of the thriving national networks, who can offer their expertise and participate in the development of the necessary IOs, from their position and perspective. At the same time, it is important to include initiators of new national networks that are not yet well consolidated and where the project can contribute to their immediate needs. The long-term and secondary target group are all national networks that do not yet exist or that need assistance to thrive. Every national network initiative can benefit from the results of what the core group of 6 partners will bring to bear on this nearly 2-year project. These, in turn, can only do so with strong backing from their national groups, where some 20 people will participate in each country. As such, the project seeks to build on the collective wisdom and experience already present, but also to explore and co-create, through the partnership, to design patterns and pathways.<< Implementation >>The project activities are centered around three transnational meetings and the production of three intellectual products, a manual for networks (including a mentoring package), an ICT platform (including videos) and an Online Learning Package to transmit the gathered knowledge. A twinning process between partners will be directly integrated into the mentoring package, as an innovative action learning process. The partners in Switzerland, Sweden and Ukraine (networks in the process of being established) will go through the processes on which the manual will be based, thus testing the manual as it is being produced. National activities include seminars/events in each partner country, manual translation and video production.- All partners will organise local MULTIPLIER EVENTS, to be hosted in each partner country before the end of the project, to promote and present the project results and materials as well as assess the benefits of its methodology in the non-formal sector. A particularly important moment to disseminate and exploit the project's results locally and involve national stakeholders/actors that would not have the chance to be involved otherwise. - The EXCHANGE PROGRAM between the twinned partner organisations allows for an in depth exchange of good practice and peer to peer learning from both organisations. It also allows for close collaboration on the projects Intellectual Outputs, and is a practical achievement of the overall objective of the project- The TRAINING OF TRAINERS forms a key part of the project. The training will contribute to equip participants working towards the objective to build capacity and empower national ecovillage networks to Launch & Thrive; networking and regional cooperation, including civic engagement, how to influence policy makers (as a network), social mapping, use of online tools for international cooperation as well as principles of public relations and dissemination. The training will be replicable throughout the GEN Europe network (and beyond) and be the basis for the IO3, the Online Learning Package.<< Results >>The concrete results will be the manual itself, the ICT platform and the short videos of the partners, showing their differences as national networks, and the Online Learning Package. Facilitators and trainers will use these tools to work with networks to establish themselves and generate good operations and cooperation. The impact will focus on the growth of national networks in Europe, but also on supporting more established networks that prosper and become stronger. The project is called 'Launch and thrive' and that is what it offers to the long-term vision, that civil society needs to organize in networks better to gain more voice and impact, in order to promote active participation of citizenship in the climate debate, initiatives focused on the SDGs and showing a citizen path to European cooperation on these issues.