The successfully implemented project “Volu.M.E. - VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT ENHANCED” was aimed at developing competencies of youth workers and organisations in volunteer management and mentoring of EVS (now ESC) volunteers. The purpose was to enhance the quality of EVS projects (and future ESC projects) as learning experiences in all levels - from the writing of a project right through the closing and evaluation. In the project, consisting of a Training Course in Weimar, DE, an implementation period and a seminar in Lysos, CY, EVS/ESC coordinators, mentors and ex-volunteers took part. The participants developed competences in management of EVS volunteers and EVS projects, they were developing tools and documentations that will be implemented in the on-going EVS projects in their organisation (and thus will enhance their quality and the learning process quality), they were becoming more competent in mentoring and the learning development of volunteers and finally got a wider and deeper overlook on the EVS/ESC program and what it can create. During the project, the local realities in Weimar & Lysos were used as a tool for learning and achieving mutual influence both on local community and on international group. The involved organisations in the project were: Plattform Generation Europa (Austria), POLITISTIKO ERGASTIRI AYION OMOLOYITON (Cyprus), Stiftung Europäische Jugendbildungs- und Jugendbegegnungsstätte Weimar (Germany), SOCIAL YOUTH DEVELOPMENT CIVIL NONPROFIT SOCIETY (Greece), Compass Európai Ifjúsági Közösségért Egyesület (Hungary), JUMP - GIOVENTU' IN RISALTO (Italy), Stichting Internationale Werkkampen (Netherlands), POLSKA FUNDACJA IM. ROBERTA SCHUMANA (Poland), Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa (Portugal), Team for Youth Association (Romania), XERACION VALENCIA (Spain) and Örebro Kommun Gymnasieförvaltningen, Kommunala aktivitetsansvaret (Sweden). The TC took place from 23rd – 30th of March 2018, the Seminar from 7th - 13th of July 2018.

The Art of Facilitation is a project that includes 8 partner organisations from Armenia, Finland, Georgia, Italy, Moldova, Spain, The Netherlands and Ukraine. It aims to provide various theatre skills to youth workers as a method to improve their facilitation skills. In this way they will facilitate team work and group discussions in their organisations and activities in a better way. All organisations are active in organising activities for and interacting with local youth. This facilitation is sometimes challenging if the youth worker is not confident in how this facilitation needs to be done. With the skills of improv and forum theatre they will be able to be more spontaneous and respond to the requests of their target groups.The Art of Facilitation consists of the following four phases, of which the first and third phase will be included in the activities planned and applied for in this project proposal:PHASE 1: a training to equip the youth workers with the theatre and facilitation skills in order to increase their competencies and confidence to facilitate group work and discussion in their organisations. In total 31 participants will be joining in, including 4 trainers and 1 support staffPHASE 2: an implementation phase back home in all the organisations. The participants will implement the lessons learned and test out what works well and what is still challenging for themPHASE 3: an evaluation seminar during which all the organisations will share their experience during phase 3. They will also develop conclusions and action plans for future international cooperation. In total 11 participants will be participating in the evaluation seminar, including some of the trainers that were mentors during phase 2PHASE 4: spin-off and follow up activitiesThe objectives of all phases of The Art of Facilitation are therefore as follows:- To understand and apply facilitation skills in the reality of the youth workers present at the training;- To gain youth workers experience in non-formal education and improv theatre skills as an inspiration for facilitation;- To create new improv methods for daily facilitation situations of the youth workers;- To equip youth workers’ with forum theatre skills to facilitate interaction with their target audience (youth groups);- To apply forum theatre as a method of human rights education to increase active citizenship of youth;- To develop an action plan for the participants for facilitation in their organisation's context;- To implement the lessons learned and action plan in the organisations;- To evaluate the activities organised;- To provide recommendations on using theatre skills for facilitation for youth workers;- To develop and implement spin-off projects and follow-up activities at a local, regional and European level.During the training, forum theatre will be applied on human rights as these are relevant for all organisations present in this project. Through this creative process, participants have an opportunity to develop critical consciousness. The use of performing arts in youth work has the potential to accomplish the empowering and transformational goals of Human Rights Education.The Art of Facilitation boosts the youth workers' theatre and facilitation skills. The organisations will benefit from this and improve the quality of its youth work. It enhances at the same time the international dimension of the organisations, including organisations in Partner Countries. Furthermore the participants will increase their employability as well as gain intercultural awareness and human rights knowledge. The learning outcomes listed during the third phase of the project will be disseminated in the networks of the organisation. The project also affirms tolerance and equality, active citizenship, and stimulate replicating more international projects. This inter-organisational cooperation will foster quality improvement in youth work on local (phase 1 and 2) as well as regional and international levels (phase 4).

"Longterm EVS project ""Zavod O – Kids in Action 2.1"" deepened the cooperation of five daily centers in the wider area of Škofja Loka, Slovenia: MDC Blok (Youth Daily Care Center Blok), PUM (Project learning of Youth), Daily Care Center DCΩ, Daily center Podlbnik (all in Škofja Loka) and Daily Care Center Škrlovec in Kranj. First two are run by the NGO, DC Škrlovec, DCΩ and DC Podlubnik work under the Center for Social Work in Kranj and Škofja Loka, which are governmental institutions.Despite slight organisational differences they all have a common target group, which is children and youth between the age of 6 and 16 years and their families. The fundamental idea of all five Daily Care Centers is based on the desire to offer a program of activities to the generation/ group of young people with different problems, who spend their free time aimlessly and in a disorganised way, in idleness and boredom, who are deprived from normal family life experience.They give children and youth a place, where they feel confortable and safe, where they can develop their social skills and get quality support considering their behavioral, emotional, learning and other diffilculties. The program aims to provide support to learners with specific learning needs and to those with adolescent problems. The support is meant to be provided both at the individual level – working with each individual, as well as in cooperation with parents and all family. The program includes group work and activities with adolescents, cooperation among different institutions, learning help, advisory work, holiday camps, daily excursions. All these centers are extremely similar to each other,they have similar practice of work and practicaly same target population. That is the reason why we came to the conclusion, that the cooperation between those centers should be streighten by hosting a common EVS project with 5 EVS volunteers, activities of which would last for one school year.Volunteers of the project Kids in Action 2.1 expanded group of 3 EVS volunteers of already existing EVS project named Kids in Action 2, so the above mentioned short term objective were realized.Volunteers of Kids in Action 2.1 were included in the work of hosting Daily Care centers for the period of 8 months, from january 2016 until september 2016, when also activities of Kids in Action 2 project end. During this period volunteers were involed in Daily centre in; free-time holidays activities, camps for youth, helping youth with school tasks, free-time activities in Daily center during the school year and other activities; helping to performing personel with administration, team meetings, meetings with mentor, dealing with media, getting familiar with theory of preventing work with youngsters and with social care sistem in Slovenia etc. All the included institutions have proven to be very perspective environment for EVS volunteers to show and improve their own abilities and skills, to grow in their knowledge, to be a part of sucessful work-team, to show or to develop their self-initiative which is one of the most likable characteristic in our institution. EVS volunteers of the project were equally and fairly included in the working team. All issues considering work, developent, ideas, progress or problems were discussed individauly or on the weekly meatings. The project raised the quality of youth work and created opportunities for joint projects and further successful work, not only on the local level, but also at the regional. The aim of all in project included youth organizations was to get new skills and experiences, to increase the level of tolerance, mutual acceptance, understanding, respect. Volunteers acquired new skills, improved academic success, improved their employability and career prospects, they developed their self-confidence and independence, they gained a sense of entrepreneurship, strengthened intercultural awareness, they internalized the values of the EU and increased the motivation for continuing education, both formal and informal.Not only the volunteers who were hosted gained from the project, but also local young people involved as activists in our organizations, as they participated in an international team, where they learned from one another in a multicultural environment. Through it they gained for such a small town as Škofja Loka, yet very much needed European dimension of viewing the world. At the same time, we presented and promoted Erasmus + programme among local youth and motivate them for participating at any of the existing programs in the future. In this way, through the examples of good practice, we had significant impact on the increase of mobility of young people. In addition, the project aimed to positively influence and spread the values of the EU among other residents of the local community."

"The EVS project ""EVS with young persons in Upper Austria"" was taking place in different hosting organisations:In Caritas St. Isidor where we hosted 2 volunteers from 2 different countries (Bosnia Herzegowina & Czech Republic), Start was in january 2016 and a total duration of 12 months.In the Krabbelstube Rossleithen Voderstoder there we hosted a volunteer from the Netherlands from february on, for the duration of 10 months.In ""Kindergarten Vorderstoder"" there was 1 volunteers, from Italy, start was in february 2016 with the end in february 2017.We created this project to give youngster the chance of a unique learning chance in their life, but also for bringing new/fresh european ideas into different organisations who are working with children in Upper Austria and also for creating new ideas between the organisations and motivating other youngsters in Austria to do EVS as well, when they see/hear about this project, meeting the volunteers...All 4 volunteers came from different backgrounds, some with weak financial background (long time unemployed). Motivation was the thing they had all together, that`s why they were choosen. We wanted to have a nice mix of nationalities, so that they can learn about other cultures as well, when doing EVS in Austria, where all should bring in their culture, mentality, ideas and should get a good insight into being involved in a social organisation and learning more about Austria, its culture, habbits, language...With this EVS project we wanted to create a learning experience for youngsters, the involved sending organisations, but also for all people involved on the hosting side. EVS volunteers are a big enrichment for society, for Austria, for the organisation and espcially for all the persons, the volunteers are involved in.They could bring in their ideas in the area of disabled / children in all different areas. When getting an insight into this area of work they could bring in their culture by e.g. singing a song with children, creating an own project with disabled persons, celebrating a special day of their own culture in Upper Austria, showing pictures from their home country.....so in the end it didn`t matter in which project they are foreseen, as they could bing in their ideas in each area and hosting projects were also very flexible for ideas from volunteers, that were growing with their stay in Austria. By time they learned more about Austria, themselves, others, Europe...so Europe will got a face for them, they met loads of people and made friends where they can discuss things about stereotypes. The EVS project let them grow with a secure net under them, made them stronger in mind and so they returned from EVS as a real positive thinking and open minded young European. All learning process was done by using non formal learning, to understand the learning process EVS volunteers got a youthpass in the end, so that they can understand what they have learned during EVS but also to show others, using it for applying for a job and so on.The results are defenitely the learning for all involved persons and partners, to learn more about different cultures, real open talks about different issues of countries, realizing ideas of youngsters, give them the chance of becoming active in Europe, get an understanding what Europe is by living EVS and a unique learning experience in life."

"Throughout the EVS-volunteering project ""Experience/living of volunteer projects together in Vorarlberg!"" the aim was to give all volunteers diverse opportunities to collect experiences and have the possibility to somewhat evolve during their project in Vorarlberg - a place previously unknown to them. They were introduced to many different ways, settings and places to experience new things, meet new people, learn new skills and gain access to different perspectives and to learn about and generate new ideas and possibilities for themselves. The outcomes of their formal, in- and nonformal learnings from their project will support them on their further path.The hosting organisations Jugend & Bildungshaus St. Arbogast, Katholische Jugend und Jungschar (KJ), OJA Dornbirn, OJA Lauterach, OJA Lustenau and the Weltgymnaestrada 2019 hosted six volunteers from Sept./Oct. 2018 for 9 to 12 months. The volunteers were Louis Ruchon from France (St. Arbogast) ESC Reg. Nr. 6016957724, Julia Beierbach from Germany (KJ) ESC Reg. Nr. 6014040643, Maija Medne from Latvia (OJA Dornbirn) ESC Reg. Nr. 6019636379, Milda Zukaite from Lithuania (OJA Lauterach) ESC Reg. Nr. 6018884435, Malgorzata Czech from Poland (OJA Lustenau) ESC Reg. Nr. 6017330010 and Linda bij de Leij from the Netherlands (Gymnaestrada) ESC Reg. Nr. 6018802179.All volunteers supported their hosting organisations with their activities, projects, topics and workshops. While they learned diverse new skills and methods during their tasks, in varying intensities, they in return had the opportunity to share their own ideas and perspectives and therefor enrich the and broaden the (mind-)settings of their team members and target groups. The volunteers also had the chance to plan and organise own activities and workshops, with the help and support of their teams. All the activities were primarly aimed at the target groups of the hosting organisations: The Jugend- und Bildungshaus St. Arbogast as well as the Katholische Jugend- und Jungschar is working with children and youngsters and the open youthwork-centers in Dornbirn, Lustenau and Lauterach aim their activities for youngsters and young adults. The target group of the Weltgymnaestrada, in contrary, was very broadly faceted. Especially regarding topics such as sex/gender, class, race, ability, social background and age, Linda had contact with a vastly diverse target group.Throughout the whole project, the social, cultural and socio-political exchange was an elementary part within the placement at the hosting organisations but also in all the other contact zones and meetings that the volunteers encountered. Regarding that the volunteers came partly from very different settings and backgrounds, dealing with issues such as sex/gender/gender identity, sexuality, poverty/education, classism and (cultural) racism. There were many talks, confrontations, discussions and learning moments for all involved people, the volunteers among themselves and also within the working settings but also in contact with the people of Vorarlberg or in exchange with more conservative individuals and groups. Topics such as (self-)reflection, diversity, solidarity, acceptance vs tolerance and critical thinking are all mind-sets and qualities, that the volunteers have gained in this project!All candidates had an overall very rich and successful year in experiences and acquiring new skills and perspectives. According to their evaluations, they had many chances to get to know the country, the language, the people as well as the social, political and cultural aspects of living in Vorarlberg and Austria. Their experiences will support them through their life and share them with their future surroundings, on a personal, local, regional and international scale. Thus also the information about the programme of EVS/ESC will be spread and will subsequently increase the participation of new participants and partners in the program."