"<< Objectives >>Outdoor education and experiential learning are effective ways of engaging learners and promoting personal growth, team-building, and problem-solving skills. These approaches are increasingly recognized as important for building well-rounded individuals and promoting social, emotional, and physical well-being. By implementing this project, we can provide participants with the opportunity to engage in meaningful learning experiences that will not only benefit them personally but also enhance their professional skills and help them become more effective educators and trainers.The European Union faces a range of challenges related to education and training, including a need to improve the quality and relevance of education and training, address skills mismatches and promote lifelong learning. This project can help address these challenges by promoting innovative teaching and learning practices, supporting the professional development of educators and trainers, and promoting the exchange of good practices between countries.""Nature as a Classroom: Developing Skills and Confidence through Experiential Learning"" aims to promote the physical and mental well-being of young people through innovative teaching and learning practices, and to enhance the professional skills and competencies of educators and trainers in the field of outdoor education.The objectives of this project are:•To provide participants with an understanding of the principles and practices of outdoor education and experiential learning•To equip participants with the skills and knowledge to design and implement effective outdoor education and experiential learning programs•To promote the exchange of good practices in outdoor education and experiential learning among participants from different countries•To enhance the professional skills and competencies of participants in the field of education and training•To promote the Erasmus+ programme and its values of internationalization, cooperation, and innovation in education and training.<< Implementation >>The ""Nature as a Classroom"" is a training course designed for 30 participants from 5 EU and 5 EaP countries, namely, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, North Macedonia, Greece, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine. The project consists of 8 full working days and 2 travel days.The project is designed for youth workers, youth leaders, and educators, who have direct experience working with young people with fewer opportunities, and who have experience in using non-formal education methods. Previous expertise in outdoor education and experiential learning is not mandatory. Strong background in youth work and experience in working with young people between the ages of 13 to 30 are mandatory criteria. In addition, the project will prioritize the involvement of youth workers with fewer opportunities, including those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, rural areas, ethnic minorities, or those from war-affected regions. This will ensure that the project is inclusive and accessible to all and that the benefits of the project reach a wider range of young people across Europe.The project will be based on non-formal education methods, which emphasize learning through practical, hands-on experiences rather than traditional classroom instruction. Specific non-formal education methods and tools that will be used in this project include: a) experiential learning; b) peer learning; c) outdoor education; d) reflective practice; e) project-based learning.<< Results >>This project is highly relevant to the Erasmus+ programme, which aims to promote innovation and excellence in education and training, support the professional development of educators and trainers, and promote international cooperation and mobility. By participating in this project, individuals will have the opportunity to engage in a high-quality learning experience that will benefit them personally and professionally, while also contributing to the wider goals of the Erasmus+ programme.Through the development of new skills, knowledge, and partnerships, the project will enable youth workers and organizations to design and deliver more effective and engaging programs for young people. By incorporating outdoor education and experiential learning approaches into their work, they will be able to create more inclusive and supportive learning environments, and promote the holistic development of young people."

"Routes4Inclusion is a training course, lasting 6 days, which takes place in Palermo and involving youth workers from 3 different countries: Italy, Greece and Spain. The countries involved are characterized bymigrant flows and refugees among the highest in Europe, problematic intercultural cohexistence, troubled situations on the borders. The main idea of this project is to face the situation of difficult social and cultural inclusion that characterizes today's Europe and to make easier and more efficient the work of youth workers who act in the field of social exclusion. During the training course new methods and instruments will be proposed to help the process of social inclusion, especially in the first phases; youth workers will have the opportunity to gain experience and reflect on the issue of equality and integration of young people with fewer opportunities, especially migrants and refugees. In particular, the training course is focused on offering professional instruments to youth leaders, to be aware of their educational approach. The basic concepts are: the comparison of exclusion with inclusion; stimulating new initiatives, ideas and projects for young people, active civil position against the passive one; the aim is to develop and improve the skills and competences of youth workers in Europe so that they become able to offer young people better options to prevent or reduce exclusion, to support newly arrived young people, and to provide educational strategies aimed at to build social and cultural integration. Non-formal education is the adopted methodology: the competences will be achieved through roleplays, round tables, outdoor activities, creative workshops. Participants will repeat the innovative activities and methods learned with young people in disadvantaged situations, offering new and effective opportunities to express themselves, to be recognized and valued, to participate in an inclusive social process. These new ""routes"" are able to produce active involvement of youth worker and provide adequate preparation to reduce social conflicts and to promote active and appropriate participation in the sector in which we operate and the context in which we live. The long-term benefits are higher professional quality of the youth workers; mutual understanding, union and respect towards cultural, linguistic and social diversity in the local community, the improvement of work skills and the activation of a greater effort by all stakeholders in the development of strategies high quality inclusion and greater commitment to the implementation of these policies across Europe."

<< Objectives >>According to the publication of the Macedonian Media Institute (MIM), misinformation mainly refers to misinformation aimed at misleading someone, but it is created or disseminated without manipulative or malicious intentions. Most often, this delusion turns into manipulation, very often among young people because they don't have enough skills to recognize false information from reliable. Particularly vulnerable to misinformation and propaganda are young people from rural areas who are most informed and build their views on social networks. Regarding the verification of information, the majority of young people, ie 52%, when in doubt, check the source and look for evidence. 34% compare the information with other media, and 13% do nothing. The biggest challenge young people in rural areas face, is their exposure to false information shared by media on a daily basis, so it is necessary to strengthen their capacities in recognizing and resisting misinformation and hate speech. They need to be ensured with the ability to recognize and report repeatedly misleading news and verify the accuracy of news sources used.It is necessary to support this group of people in achieving their qualities and potentials, through intercultural learning with young people from European countries, which at the same time will affect the acquisition of critical thinking skills and resistance to false information and manipulation.Young people from rural areas need to be treated equally with young people from urban areas and start building their future by using the opportunities offered to participate in non-formal activities.The project will affect the promotion of media literacy among young people that live in rural areas from 5 different countries, as well as strengthening the capacity to recognize and deal with misinformation and hate speech. The goal of the project:Strengthening social inclusion by promoting media literacy among young people living in rural areas.Objectives:1. Young people from rural areas came out of their comfort zone by participating in non-formal activities together with their peers from 5 European countries.2. Fostered intercultural learning among young people from rural areas, living in 5 differentcountries, by promoting media and information literacy.3. Empowered young people with geographical and economical obstacles to recognizingdisinformation shared by media, and report hate speech.By implementing the project, YCP seeks to strengthen social inclusion among young people living in rural areas and having geographical and economic barriers.By promoting media literacy among them, at the same time, the promotion of European values, intercultural learning, and cooperation with peers from European countries will be influenced.<< Implementation >>Тhe project itself seeks to promote equal opportunities and access, inclusion, diversity, and fairness across all its actions.The project envisages Youth Exchange with 30 young people from 5 different countries. The exchange will be attended by 6 participants from each country, including the leader, who will be aged 15-29. Eligible young people who would participate in the exchange are young people aged 15-29, who have geographical and economic barriers, who live in rural areas, and who do not have the opportunity to use their potential there.YCP requires young people who are motivated to engage themselves in the field of youth participation and activism but also engaging within activities that will improve their state and also the community and youth information as well. It is important that they have an interest to work with young people from different nationalities and environments and eager to support and incite youth participation and increasing the activism of local youth.The exchange will cover topics related to the challenges faced by young people from rural areas and their level of media literacy as the biggest challenge, which will contribute to fostering the development of social and intercultural competencies, critical thinking, and media literacy among people with geographical and economical obstacles.The project envisages follow-up activities, which will be implemented after the exchange, by the participants in cooperation with local youth<< Results >>The project will enable rural youth to step out of their comfort zone and participate in community activities that address the challenge of media manipulation and lack of critical thinking skills.Through joint cooperation of young people from different countries, intercultural cooperation and breaking down prejudices will be promoted, and at the same time, all young people will have the opportunity to gain skills for recognizing false from credible information shared by the media.All persons participating in the project should have the opportunity to take full advantage of the possibilities for personal and professional development and learning.By participating in non-formal activities, young people will become more active in the community, while working on their own personal development and gaining skills that will provide them with better access to reliable information, support their ability to evaluate information critically, and engage in participatory and constructive dialogue.The achieved results:1. Young people living in rural areas gained skills to fight manipulation by media by participating in international non-formal activities.2.Fostered intercultural cooperation among young people from 5 different countries, by promoting media and information literacy3. 30 young people from rural areas from 5 different countries, strengthened their skills to be critical and responsible users of information.

"Acting Youth, Get SMACT (GeS) aims to increase the competencies of youth workers in EU and WB on media literacy. Our objective is to build the skills and the capacities of youth workers to assess and to have a critical understanding of the media, as well as to interact with the media. This will enable the youth workers of partner countries NGOs to navigate the modern news and to take informed decisions. Media literacy is very important for European Youth. As mentioned in the policies of European Union ""media literacy is vital for economic growth and job creation. Digital technologies are a key driver of competitiveness and innovation in the media, information, and communication technology sectors"". The EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 and its eleven European Youth Goals also indicate the need of young people to increase their competencies. The target groups of this project are youth workers working with young people and high school teachers. Youth workers especially from Western Balkan countries need to get more knowledge, improve their skills on media literacy and critical thinking. In this aspect youth CSO’s need to raise capacities by training their youth workers in media literacy. An important part of the project is the interaction with media, a necessity for the civil society to raise its impact in the community. Also, we are targeting high school teachers to raise their capacities in media literacy, aiming to reach more young people in each partner country through education system. Combining local actions and news technologies with non-formal education methodology and mobility activities will enable young people to have an inclusive and active participation in the local & European level and build their competencies.550 young people will benefit directly from the planned actions and over 50000 people will be involved indirectly through the activities in local and European level."

<< Objectives >>The “Enhance My Skills” project is based on the following objectives, demonstrating the advantages of using new personal skills related to international experience and how they can be applied to your curriculum with a view to better employability and added value for combating unemployment.The primary objective of the project will be to inspire participants to, with the knowledge acquired throughout the project, put them to use back to the present and future reality of each one. Each participant will have the power and abilities to understand how, through a mobility experience abroad, they can “open” more doors in the job market, through the most appropriate tools to do so, learning step by step how they can enhance and highlight this in their curriculum.In addition, the project intends to promote active citizenship and take advantage of the multicultural society to develop personal and interpersonal skills in each of the participants.In recent years, ESN UTAD actively participates in various youth forums, which has allowed it to participate, as partners, in several other exchange programs such as Youth in Action and Erasmus +.In this way, the “Enhance My Skills” project is concerned with creating a network of partners formed by entities aware of the problems of the European young generation, who seek to stimulate the spirit of initiative and who are eager to improve the situation in Europe.Thus, organizations were selected taking into account:. Past experiences in initiatives with young people from different cultures;. Specific competences of each partner;. Close trust between the partner network;. Possible channels of dissemination in the respective countries.<< Activities >>According to European youth unemployment figures, we find that the numbers of job opportunities for young generations do not abound. However, we live in a time when the level of education and skills is increasingly high. There is therefore a resistance from today's society to provide the level of opportunities deserved to European young generations.In this way, the project “Enhance My Skills” emerges, a project with the objective of developing and valuing skills that you are acquiring with mobility experiences and related to the labor market to value the participants directly and the young European generation through the circles social aspects of each participant and person who is in contact with the project.Naturally, the project is not only developed during the youth exchange, in this way the “Enhance My Skills” is designed in 3 different phases of development with the integration of the participants in all phases.The “Enhance My Skills” youth exchange will take place from October 3rd to 10th, 2020 in the city of Vila Real. The exchange will have the participation of young people from different international partners such as Spain, Portugal, Lithuania, Romania, Poland and Greece with 6 participants in each partner resulting in a total of 36 participants, participants who will bring different visions and knowledge to the project.The “Enhance My Skills” project foresees the participation of young people with fewer opportunities during the youth exchange, with a ratio of 4 in each team of 6 participants. Thus, it is possible to provide young people with different opportunities that, for reasons related to their social and economic condition, life events and other issues, would not be possible.Thanks to a direct relationship with partner sending associations, ESN UTAD provides extraordinary support to these participants in case of need.<< Impact >>The first beneficiaries of the “Enhance My Skills” project will be participants in the youth exchange that will take place in the city of Vila Real. Once the exchange is over, they will return to the communities of origin and continue to evolve to become an asset in regional associations. Certainly, this is the main objective, that they continue to evolve and that spread the acquired knowledge and skills during the project.In this way, the participants will be the “ambassadors” of the results obtained during the project, the most direct means of communication for them as they are part of the entire project.During the project's dissemination time, participants are expected to be an active element, when returning to the social circles that are involved, in daily life as well as in the development of activities and sharing of ideas in partnership with the sending association. These activities will aim to share the results acquired during the project, to value the young European generation and to present the Erasmus + programs, as a way of encouraging and motivating other young people to participate. The “Enhance My Skills” project, after generating ideas about the importance of skills / soft Skills, we hope that participants will become more active in employability processes. Each partner organization will have the opportunity to share the results and information about the project with institutional partners and within social circles, holding meetings, writing articles, sharing photos and information, organizing events and seminars,…With ESN UTAD's involvement in the local and national community, we are in contact with various media formats. In this way we have our own website, Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter page. Since we are connected to the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro we publish with all the media of the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro including facebook and other sites related to the University.