Project includes 3 activities: training course that was implemented 29/10/2016 – 05/11/2016 in Belgrade, Serbia; local capacity building activities that were in all partner countries, particularly in EU candidate and potential candidate countries, and seminar that was implemented in Belgrade 12/03/2017 – 18/03/2017. Project was hosted by CET Platform in cooperation with partner organizations from (Olawa) Poland, (Ptuj) Slovenia, (Djakovo) Croatia, (Andrijevica) Montenegro, (Skopje) Macedonia, (Caserta) Italy, (Trikala) Greece, (Nr Mitcheldean) United Kingdom, (Frankfurt am Main) Germany, (Eyup) Turkey, (Sofia) Bulgaia, (Prizren) Kosovo, (Narva) Estonia, (Miklusenai) Lithuania, (Galati) Romania, (Banja Luka) Bosnia and Hezegovina, (Tirana) Albania. Project aims to build capacities of involved organisations and other relevant stakeholders in Western Balkans, EU candidate and potential candidate countries and EU member states to promote European values and European citizenship among youth trough non-formal education, formal education and other forms of youth work. As well to create a new wave of European values education and activities particularly in Western Balkans trough influence on regional youth work in relation to trends and experience in youth work in European Union.To achieve this aim, project has following objectives:- To educate youth workers, junior trainers and other staff of involved organisations about European values and European citizenship, tools and methods in youth work, communication with decision makers and other stakeholders- To establish and enhance partnership among youth workers in EU and Western Balkans, as well to provide them with competences and opportunity to develop national, regional and European project and activities through Erasmus+ and other means.- To implement series of local and international activities in order to deeply discover and analyse situation in EU and WB regarding education on European values and in cooperation with decision makers and other stakeholders- To provide possibility to exchanges examples of good practice among involved organisations, including experience in youth work and on that way rise quality of youth work in WB and EU- To help youth organisations in Western Balkans in influencing youth policy national and regional levels according to local needs and European youth policies.- To develop and provide involved organisations and other youth workers from Western Balkans with tools and methods for promotion of European values and European citizenship among youth including trough activist that involve online youth work.Non-formal education methods were used during the project. Most important results of the project that were used by partner organizations and other stakeholders are ToolBox that includes all methods, tools and tips for implementation of local, national and European activities.

"<< Objectives >>The main objective of our project is to promote mindfulness for inclusion among young people, particularly in the context of war or natural disasters. Through non-formal education methods such as meditation, yoga, mindful walks, and sound baths, we aim to provide young people with tools to cope with stress, anxiety, and trauma, as well as to promote social and emotional learning.Our project also aims to promote intercultural dialogue and exchange by bringing together young people from different countries and backgrounds. By creating a safe and inclusive space for participants to share their experiences, perspectives, and challenges, we hope to foster understanding, empathy, and respect among young people from different cultures.Another objective of our project is to support the personal and professional development of young people, particularly those with fewer opportunities. By providing training, mentoring, and networking opportunities, we aim to empower young people to become active and responsible citizens in their communities and in Europe.Overall, we hope that our project will have a positive impact on the well-being and social inclusion of young people, as well as on their personal and professional growth, while promoting intercultural dialogue and exchange.<< Implementation >>The planned activities for the ""Mindfulness for Inclusion"" youth exchange on the French Island of Guadeloupe include:- Ice-breaking activities and introduction to the project;- Team-building games;- Presentations and discussions on mindfulness and its benefits for well-being and inclusion;- Group work on personal reflection and goal-setting;- Mindful walk in nature and group reflection;- Sound bath and meditation sessions;- Intercultural dialogue and exchange, sharing of personal stories and experiences related to inclusion and diversity;- Workshops on stress management, coping skills, intercultural communication and conflict resolution, and project management and entrepreneurship skills;- Creative workshops on art pieces inspired by mindfulness and well-being;- Group activities on community-building and social inclusion;- Cultural visit to a local historical site and reflection on its significance; - Role-playing activities on intercultural dialogue and understanding;- Preparation and final presentations of personal and group projects related to well-being and inclusion;- Evaluation of the project and feedback session.The number of participants involved is 30, which includes 2 facilitators and 5 group leaders. The profile of the participants includes young people aged 16-25 with an interest in mindfulness, well-being, and social inclusion. The group leaders and facilitators have experience in youth work, project management, and the topics covered in the exchange (mindfulness, well-being).<< Results >>The following impact and results we expect our project to have:- Increased awareness and understanding of mindfulness techniques and their benefits in promoting inclusion, resilience, and mental health, especially in times of crisis;- Improved skills and competencies of young people in practicing mindfulness techniques and using them as coping mechanisms in difficult situations;- Enhanced intercultural dialogue and understanding among young people from different backgrounds and cultures, promoting social cohesion and tolerance;- Strengthened collaboration and partnership among youth organizations and stakeholders, facilitating the exchange of knowledge, practices, and experiences;- Increased visibility and dissemination of the project results and outcomes, contributing to the promotion and mainstreaming of mindfulness and inclusion practices in youth work and beyond;- Positive impact on the personal development and well-being of the young participants, promoting their resilience, self-awareness, and self-confidence."

"<< Objectives >>Our society is a group of cooperating groups made up of individuals who come together, interact with each other and finally achieve a common goal, their smooth and peaceful coexistence. Thinking about this unique puzzle of people that makes up our society, and how we can clarify it to define the value of social inclusion and intercultural differences, we focused on the art of modern mosaics.The technique of mosaic allows us to understand at practical level, the importance of each unit, coexisting and supporting one another. We are all different individual ''small stones"", with different colors and shapes, textures and origins, but when we unite and become an integral whole, we can succeed in developing common goods. Just as small stones come together and coexist on a mosaic, giving a sense of harmony and perfect coexistence, the same happens with our society.Practicing the art of stone and modern mosaic in particular, which takes place in such a creative and dynamic learning environment, reinforces personal and social skills, social solidarity, communication, conflict management and the ability to self-integrate.In non-formal education of young people, art is a sure and safe area for developing personal abilities and enhancing creativity. Through artistic practices, people with disabilities and young people with social integration difficulties are empowered to “liberate” and express their deepest thoughts and suggestions for a better world, a world that embraces diversity and pursue equality.Engaging with the art of mosaic will give them the opportunity to learn more about the history of an ancient art, which perfectly represent the process of society's composition. Groups of people come together, overcoming obstacles, and through social interaction, contribution and integration, we create societies, in which we live.In modern mosaic art workshops, participants can develop communication skills by expressing their feelings and ideas about their social surround and their unhindered integration as a whole. Interacting with others in an intercultural group will enhance their self-esteem and increase their motivation to participate in solidarity and cohesion activities. Coming together with people from different countries will get over any phobia about the foreign and the different and will enhance cohesion at an international level. Practicing in a multicultural environment can also overcome language obstacles and enhance integration.In view of the above, we would like to organize an exchange involving 32 young people, including people with disabilities and young people with fewer opportunities from Estonia, Spain, Greece and Poland. The exchange will last 8 days and will take place on the island of Lefkada (Greece).Participants will work together to prepare an art exhibition of modern mosaics at the Town Hall of Lefkada on social inclusion, active citizenship and social solidarity. They will have the opportunity to exhibit a collective and group works (as they will work in groups of three) in front of the local people of Lefkada. Through this exhibition, young people's self-confidence and self-esteem will be enhanced and their socialization through art will be achieved to the maximum.Our main concern, during this exchange is to provide appropriate support to all the participants, to help them to understand the value of social inclusion, participation and tolerance in diversity. We will provide the necessary knowledge for their artistic practices to achieve a cultural creative result through cooperation and co-existence.Through our youth exchange we want to achieve the following objectives:1) to urge young people with disabilities to participate in artistic multicultural and creative exchanges to develop artistic, social and political capacities based on intercultural exchange, peer support and peer learning.2 ) to encourage a group of young people with mental and/or physical disabilities to create together their own modern mosaic, based on their own ideas and thoughts about the social inclusion and participation.3) to engage people from different countries with different backgrounds, abilities and profiles in a multicultural group in order to promote inclusive culture that promotes dialogue and improves personal skills.4) to promote and allow, through the art of mosaic, a non-formal learning process, social inclusion, personal development and active participation of young people of different origins and capacities, especially those of lesser EU society.5) to enhance intercultural dialogue and collective reflection among beneficiaries through the exchange of experiences, ideas, knowledge and best practices.6)Raise awareness among citizens of partner communities through peer education and encourage them to adopt artistic methods.7) to generate innovative entrepreneurial ideas in terms of promotion the sustainable creativity through practices of art.<< Activities >>Τhe main activities of the exchange on the topic of modern mosaic, will be the following:- Group building activities- Practices of different languages - Approach on the topic of inclusion, solidarity and intercultural dialogue through games, role plays. - Creative mosaic workshop: * Collection of raw materials (small stones, pebbles, sea glasses) for the creation of mosaics. * Proper preparation and shaping of materials. * Find the appropriate content according to social inclusion and participation, for their collective and their group mosaics. * Canvas preparation for the placement of the mosaics. *Workshop of putting the small stones and shaping their final art work.-Find captions and titles for their art works.- Preparing the collective exhibitionThis program will bring together 45 participants (10 from Spain and Poland, 11 from Estonia and 14 from Greece) including young people with disabilities, in particular those with mild intellectual and/or motor disabilities as well as deaf young people from Greece, Estonia, Spain and Poland. These people are often socially marginalized and find it difficult to integrate into their community. Through this program, we will ensure their full integration so that they can be and remain socially active and profitable both for their community and for themselves.The participants must be young people between the ages of 17 and 30, including people with mental or physical disabilities and the deaf, as well as young people with fewer opportunities for social inclusion. Participants should be interested in the subject and want to work within an intercultural community to create pieces of artwork.<< Impact >>Art is an international language, understood by everyone, regardless of background or abilities. It is a common means of understanding. With these facts, the art of modern mosaic is used in this program for pedagogical purposes. We believe that the practice of mosaic art will have both therapeutic and socializing effects, helping to integrate the young participants. Through collective activities, young people will be encouraged to intercultural dialogue, develop social skills that address both spirit and body (postures, movement).This exchange will be rich in emotions and improve the confidence and autonomy of young people, as they will open up new paths of communication, which may be non-linguistic and based on sight or posture. Visual, acoustic, tactile, kinetic, physical, acoustic, etc. approaches are adapted by the facilitators to the particularities of the participants . All aspects of consciousness and social behavior will be developed.In addition, young people will discover community life away from their homeland, culture and the people they are familiar with. They will learn to communicate and work with people who may not speak their language. This will enable them to develop their ability to act in new situations. Through the intercultural framework, mosaic workshops will help young people gain an increased awareness of belonging to a group. Finally, they will develop skills and knowledge related to the preparation of an art exhibition. Partner organizations will learn to work with other organizations and bodies at European level in the context of non-formal education aimed at social inclusion of young people with disabilities, to further develop working methods, multiply good practices and launch future partnerships .This program will strengthen cooperation with four European organizations and continue exchanges and perhaps plan new partnerships in programs, particularly in the field of social inclusion of young people with disabilities.In addition, these organizations will upgrade their skills in non-formal education, especially in the field of audiences with disabilities and special abilities. They will develop their abilities to manage an international exchange program that promotes individual values and social inclusion. Group leaders and facilitators will develop their own skills in the field of know-how to support young people with a variety of disabilities."

"<< Objectives >>The idea of ​​our “Power of time” project is inspired by the experience of our partners in welcoming, sending and coordinating volunteers within the framework of the European Voluntary Service & the European Solidarity Corps. Our project was based on a common need to develop the skills of our young volunteers in order to increase the impact of our volunteering projects and to create a dynamic in our communities in which volunteers and citizens are the main actors.Given our desire to ensure the active participation of the volunteers we welcome as well as the young and non-young people with whom we work, to create a local dynamic in our community through our volunteering projects, this initiative was interesting and innovative to give a huge impact to our volunteer projects.During our work with the young volunteers, we have faced various situations such as:- Some young volunteers are not able to easily build relationships, take initiatives, or carry out an educational activity in the host community, despite the support of the host structure. This can lead to the volunteer feeling isolated or losing motivation.- Some young people with specific needs need personalized support throughout their service to be able to better integrate into the host community, accomplish their tasks related to their project and develop skills at different levels that help them to carry out their project and prepare for professional life after their service. The exchange of services between volunteers and local citizens creates positive interactions and accelerates the integration of young people, promotes the well-being of volunteers in the host community, supports the role of tutor and supervisor during the implementation of our projects in order to achieve optimal results for volunteers and local citizens.For the above-mentioned reasons and situations, the time bank has proven to be an effective and economical means of supporting the role of voluntary service and local volunteer actors with volunteers, and providing them with training and support. appropriate socio-pedagogical and technical skills throughout the cycle of their service. Thus they can further develop their skills, integrate easily into the host community, optimize the results of their projects, expand their relational network with their peers and with the local community and develop various skills. This impacts volunteers and especially vulnerable young people and those with specific needs. This fully meets the priorities of the Erasmus plus program and the European Solidarity Corps.Through our training, we aim to achieve the following objectives:- To offer youth workers and young leaders active in the European Solidarity Corps program the opportunity to exchange and acquire knowledge, skills and competences on the functioning and management of the self-help network"" The time bank"" and on the methods of engagement of the volunteers they host for the implementation of this effective network of learning, positive interaction, integration, inclusion and development.- Enable direct beneficiaries to modernize their working methods and optimize their role in supporting local, European and international volunteers within their organization and elsewhere.- Promote the adoption of innovative practices to support young volunteers, by developing personalized and collaborative learning approaches, using the strategic use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and open educational resources , in an open and accessible learning process based on time exchanges.- Allow young volunteers to create or be part of an existing support network within their host community in order to develop their social interactions, meet their learning needs, diversify their knowledge for free and to feel useful and integrated in the host communities.- Develop new pedagogical approaches that encourage participation in learning and exchanges of services with young volunteers while supporting the role of youth educators and actors of volunteering actions to increase the impact of missions at local & European level.<< Implementation >>We implemented a training mobility for youth workers in Lefkada, Greece, for a period of 9 days. The activities of our training followed the following axes:1- “Group building” activities (1 day): This axis includes energizers and “icebreaker” activities. These were interactive activities that provided an opportunity to get to know each other and understand participants' skills and experiences in terms of non-formal education and volunteer support. During this phase, the participants took part in cooperation games, they expressed their expectations and contributions, and presented monitoring and evaluation methods and tools, with the support of the trainers. The intercultural evening that took place on the first evening strengthened the connection between the beneficiaries.2- Exchange of realities and good practices (1 day): The participants made presentations of each partner organization and on the good practices of networks for the free exchange of services and skills between citizens, existing in their country. Each presentation was followed by a discussion. They also presented the video prepared by the participants of each partner organization containing interviews with young local & European volunteers in their respective countries and showing their need to register or to manage a local network of exchange of services and of skills.3- Developing capacities (3 days): this axis included interventions by resource persons, reflections in intercultural groups, debates, role plays, world café on the following themes:- The operation of a time bank network.- Time bank as an effective tool for promoting volunteerism.- The value of this network in facilitating the inclusion of young volunteers in the host community, fostering their learning, creativity, personal development and well-being, and in supporting the role of supervisors and tutors.- The impact of this network on the host community and on the quality of a volunteer project.- How to create and implement the platform of this network?- How will volunteers be able to manage or help manage a time bank in their host community?4- Creation and innovation (3 and a half days): the participants, with the support of trainers including 1 expert in PHP language and a graphic facilitator, created a standard time bank platform for volunteers and experimented with it. our volunteers.5- ""Open space reflection"": the beneficiaries reflected on the role of each participant & partner to promote the time bank platform for volunteers and to develop together innovative ideas and a future cooperation plan (1/2 day) .6- Final evaluation (1/2 day): this evaluation was followed by the individual preparation of the youthpass by each beneficiary and ended with a farewell evening and a ceremony to hand over the youthpass. In order to achieve the objectives of our training, the trainers followed various working methods as mentioned above.We involved 38 participants active in the field of local, European and international volunteering, active in the field of international youth mobility, such as tutors, volunteer supervisors, volunteer project coordinators, language teachers alive for young volunteers and ex-volunteers active in NGOs. Each partner organization was responsible for selecting its participants according to the aforementioned profile, their motivation for the subject concerned, their desire to be open to a European-scale project and the contribution they intended to offer to the young people and their local community as a result of the project.<< Results >>The results of our project are:- The moments of the training visible on our Facebook album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=SolidarityTracksLefkada&set=a.6772119486193212- The project description infopack:https://tamonopatia.org/wp-content/uploads/files/PoweroftimeTC/infopack-Power-of-time.pdf- The schedule of the activities followed during the training:https://tamonopatia.org/wp-content/uploads/files/PoweroftimeTC/Timetable.pdfThe Facebook group to exchange with participants and share useful information for the project:https://www.facebook.com/groups/158151322983214- The “Time bank” manual tool created as part of our training:https://tamonopatia.org/wp-content/uploads/files/PoweroftimeTC/Manual-TB-web.pdf- The website developed as an example of good practice:https://timebanklefkada.wixsite.com/timebank- The promotional video of the project:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb4-X4yvi9YAll of these results are available on the Solidarity Tracks web page:https://tamonopatia.org/power-of-time-training-course/Our project has enabled youth educators and young leaders, actors of local, European & international volunteering (tutors, supervisors, coordinators of volunteering projects, trainers of volunteers etc.) to acquire skills, and attitudes accompanying them to modernize their working methods with a view to optimizing the quality of support provided to volunteers and further improving the quality of their volunteering projects and activities."

The project includes few stages:1. Preparation. During this stage, leaders will form working groups. Representatives are going to analyse the current situation in their country. According to research, each group shall prepare the presentation on theatre history and the current situation in youth theatres which are characterised by national features.2. The main part of the projeсt will take place in Armenia, June 2017. Our goals are based on using nonformal methods of education, we would be able to develop the skills of creativity, to inspire young people from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Armenia to self-realization, to raise cultural awareness, reveal the creativity, develop creative thinking and intelligence and to change the attitude towards life spheres during the intercultural exchange. During the project the participants will discuss and try to find solutions to express and develop themselves, to solve the problems by using their creativity with the help of group work in workrooms and a variety of informal methods. Creativity activities are going to teach us to use our imagination, to find a creative way in solving various problems. We will have many creative tasks and workshops. Participants are going to discover new emotions by doing something new: city exploring, performance statement, staging street performances, getting music and art from nature. Also, participants will try to solve the global problems by using creativity.The objectives of our project are to develop our creative thinking, an emancipation of ourselves as individuals, the notion of our true self and perception of it, the development of the acquired skills, a difference in awareness of creativity and creative thinking and finding ourselves between these two concepts. Creativity includes not only creation but also the ability to solve the problem of non-standard ways, our task - to learn it.We will show to the youth the opportunities for their leisure time, the new method of self-development through non-formal education.In our Youth exchange participants will be involved in different activities based on the non-formal learning methods:- Energizers and ice-breakers (to get to know each other)- Group work (to develop communication skills)- Creativity tasks and workshops (to improve creativity skills)- Discussion/intercultural dialogue (to get cultural awareness)- Reflection (to share feelings and emotions)During our Youth exchange, all participants are going to develop many personal skills which are useful in life, studies and work and this will be the main impact of our project:- Participants are going to improve creativity skills;- Participants will get a new experience of living apart from home and family;- Participants will learn about other European cultures and lifestyle of young people in other countries and will meet new friends in Europe and establish partnership for the future projects;- Participants will learn about the international youth exchanges and non-formal learning methods;- Participants will learn about competences and Youthpass;The project will involve 30 participants aged 17-22 years from countries: Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Armenia as well as one leader from each country. The methods of non-formal education will be introduced to the participants of the project and they will use these methods on their own. After that, we will give them the opportunity to practice their acquired skills in a real. Thus, in this event, the participants will improve their competence, skills and knowledge.3. Practical usage. Participants are going to open themselves up and find means of expressing themselves. At the end of the project, they will implement their new knowledge in a video shooting. This way, we will have an opportunity to compare changes. Long term benefits shall include collaboration between participants, and international communication. Plus youngsters will be able to travel with their video and lectures all around their own countries.