National governments, civil society organisations and international agencies have for many years assembled and reported data on achieved human well-being, be it for individuals, families, regions or countries. Human well-being achievement at the level of countries receives special attention. It is now commonplace for international agencies, such as United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank, to publish annual reports that rank countries according to various well-being or well-being related indicators. At the same time the obesity levels of youth are rising on uncontrollable (and scary!) levels. So despite the fact that various theorists analyse well-being on a number of indicators, such as political, income-based, social, gender, sustainability and various composite indexes, young people are merely numbers. And limited attention (and initiatives) are actually introduced in order to address the reasons of the lack of well-being, rather than to merely analyse it.This project directly responds to that problem. Young people who come to the ASHA Centre are often stimulated to ask questions about day-to-day personal well-being, and we aim to support them in making positive life-style choices. Surrounded by the Forest of Dean, the ASHA Centre provides an excellent setting for improving well –being. We regularly host groups that practice yoga, meditation, counseling. We have a biodynamic garden producing healthy, vital, organic food for our volunteers and course(s) participants. Not only therefore we want to address the theory of well-being, we want to empower young participants with a mixture of tools which will allow them not only to educate others about well-being, but also apply them in practice for themselves, their families, nearest neighbourhoods, etc. All of the activities planned for the project have one objective - to promote the social and personal development of young people. This is the reason behind our topic (well-being of young people) as well as programme and the methods planned. Young people will be directly involved in the process and implementation of activities. The fact that our methodology will be based on non-formal education, will assure not only focus on individual development of every single participant, but also create an opportunity to challenge them (participants), take them out of their comfort zones, to maximise the impact of learning-by-doing.We seek to train 64 participants (32 in each of the two courses) in the principles of well-being (issues, concept and measures) as well as with practical tools and methods of how young people could be educated about well-being. Why two courses? Because we have received a high number of quality enquiries about partnership in this project, which allows us to approach a bigger number of young people from different European countries. Participants will be volunteers, youth workers and/or activists from local NGOs directly working on youth empowerment in different local settings in Europe. We hope that the ultimate result of this project will be a group of 64 highly motivated and empowered individuals who will draw inspiration from the educational experience we plan to offer in order to use it in their own organisations. The aim of this project is to put all of the ideas, tools and methods in practice in order to educate young people on well-being. Although we aim at the empowerment of 64 individuals, we hope that the project’s reach will exceed 600 and will impact all possible local communities. We will also encourage participants to design and then implement their own well-being based projects, thus increasing the impact beyond Forest of Dean/partnership organisations!The project will take place in the ASHA Centre, at the edge of the Forest of Dean, in an environment that is health giving, intentionally designed to be therapeutic, beautiful and inspiring.

This is an Erasmus+ Key Action 2 – Eastern Partnership Youth Window - Civil Society Fellowships for Youth project. It involves 6 partner countries and organisations: Azerbaijan – YEOA (Applicant), Georgia – Droni, Moldova – DGETS, Italy - Salento Bici Tour, UK – the ASHA Foundation and the Netherlands – DiggOut.The project’s main aim is to strengthen the capacity of youth organisations and youth workers in Eastern Partnership Countries on social inclusion work through competence building and cross-sectoral cooperation on youth policy development for promoting healthy lifestyle.The project will reach this general aim by pursuing three interlinked objectives that aid the capacity building of individuals, organisations and structures.- To increase the capacity of Moldovan, Georgian and Azerbaijani youth organisations to influence youth policy in the field of social inclusion –specifically in the area of healthy lifestyles - notably through cross-sectoral co-operation- To build the capacity of youth workers in Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan for fostering social inclusion through programmes promoting healthy lifestyles among young people- To mainstream cross-sectoral co-operation at national and local level in Moldova, Georgia and AzerbaijanThe project includes the following activities:- Fellowships programme for EaP youth workers (fellows) in youth organisations in the EU: United Kingdom (environment and healthy eating habits), Netherlands (substance abuse prevention) and Italy (outdoor activities and active lifestyle)- A training of trainers for ‘healthy lifestyle champions’ network in Azerbaijan- An expert seminar on good practice in cross-sectoral youth policy and tools and methods in social inclusion/healthy lifestyles in Azerbaijan- A series of nine local youth policy fora on cross-sectoral youth policy in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova- A Good Practice Resource (GPR) including examples of projects and methods used by EU partners and other EU-based organisations in social inclusion/healthy lifestyles- Local workshops in schools and youth centres in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova implementing knowledge gained- A Community of Practice for youth policy practitioners and policy-makers working on social inclusion through healthy lifestyle promotionProject outputs include:- 18 civil society fellows enhance their skills and capacity in cross-sectoral inclusion work with a focus on healthy living- 24 trainers in cross-sectoral social inclusion through healthy lifestyle promotion trained- 35 Experts in cross-sectoral youth policy development in social inclusion through healthy lifestyles- 9 local youth policy fora held in AZ/GE/MD- A good practice resource on the basis of experiences and local research- A series of workshops for 60 young people on healthy lifestyles across 3 EaP Countries- A community of practice for youth policy practitioners and policy-makers working on social inclusion through healthy lifestyle promotion

Education for Sustainable Development Training This is a long-term training programme on holistic approaches to sustainable development for youth workers from 10 European countries. The project build's on ASHA Centre's long-term experience in Education for Sustainable Development projects (we have implemented two long-term programmes within the UK YiA TCP programme in 2012-2013, having trained almost 200 people) The main aim of the programme is to develop youth workers’ competences in using education for sustainable development (ESD) across EU countries using non-formal educational methods. Main project outcomes: increased competences of partner organisations in using ESD, increased co-operation between partners within Erasmus+. The methods applied during the programme foster a holistic approach to sustainable development, including its three dimensions: social, economic and environmental dimensions. The project contents combines experience and expertise of the ASHA Centre staff and resources available locally at the Forest of Dean and across Gloucestershire (Gloucester, Stroud), looking at the connection between local action undertaken by young people and global responsibility of all communities and societies for a sustainable development. The Applicant, the ASHA Foundation, acts as a hosting organisation. The programme includes three training events: the first will focus on environmental sustainability (August 2014), the second, on economic sustainability (October 2014) and the third on social sustainability (January 2015).The programme will involve a total of 90 participants over three courses. Participants come from 10 partner countries: UK, Germany, Romania, Italy, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Lithuania, Croatia, Poland and Portugal.

This was a long-term training programme focused on the promotion of sustainable living through a combination of holistic approaches to sustainable development for youth workers from 10 European organisations. The project came out of the ASHA Foundations’ experience and expertise in sustainable development, especially including its own Centre in the Forest of Dean, run according to the principles of sustainable development and 'biodynamic' agriculture. It was also a consequence of the needs assessments of our partner organisations, all working on various aspects of sustainable development, and willing to extend their expertise learned from each other and to benefit from a more holistic approach.The main aim of the project was to develop youth workers’ competences in using education for sustainable development (ESD) techniques across EU countries using non-formal educational methods. The methods applied during the programme fostered a holistic approach to sustainable development, including its three dimensions: social, economic and environmental. The project stemmed from the experience and expertise of the ASHA Centre. We have implemented two long-term programmes within the UK YiA TCP programme in 2012-2013, having trained almost 200 people, and a long-term Erasmus Plus project implemented in 2014. It also stemmed from the resources available locally in the Forest of Dean and across Gloucestershire, looking at the connection between local action undertaken by young people and the universal responsibility of all communities and societies for sustainable development. The Applicant, the ASHA Foundation, acted as a hosting organisation. The programme included three training events: the first focused on environmental sustainability (October 2015), the second, on economic sustainability (November 2015) and the third on social sustainability (December 2015).The programme involved a total of 96 participants over three courses. Participants came from 10 partner organisations from the following countries: UK, Lithuania, Romania, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey, Spain and Bulgaria. The immediate result of the course was the creation of a pool of 96 experts in a holistic approach to ESD. Our aim was to empower them to become multipliers, using their newly acquired competencies in their local work. The courses also brought measurable outcomes in terms of future activities within the Erasmus Plus programme, as well as a number of local initiatives aimed at the promotion of sustainable living.The direct impact has been made on our participants and on their sending organisations. Also the local community within the Forest of Dean experienced the impact of almost 100 youth workers willing to learn from them, share their experiences and observations with them, and hopefully forge future cooperation. Our course also aimed at the personal development of the participants including the looking at the impact the individual can have on his/her own local community. This benefit was one of the major positive outcomes of the course, as testified to by the participants in their very heartfelt feedback.

The last years a discussion and practices have been developed in promoting the importance of rurality for survival but also the enhancement of quality in life of a countrie's population. In Countries like Cyprus there is still a strong connection amongst the population with the rural areas although it is noticed that rural areas are declining and offer less and less opportunities to youngsters but also inhabitants. Young people are disconnected with the rural way of life and tend not to appreciate the benefits it offers but at the same time do not recognize the difficulties it hides and its dark sides. Parallel to this we also encounter the helplessness of villagers in keeping up with the demands of crop production and collection. Politistiko Ergastiri, having a special connection with a few communities has been addressing the above mentioned social issue. Awareness of rural lifeOpportunities of employment in rural lifeSupport by volunteering of locals in their everyday needs of life. Politistiko Ergastiri, by implementing Short EVS projects is aiming with an innovative implementation of a project to address the above issues and at the same time offer an learning experience to participants around Europe.After successfully managing long and short term EVS projects the last years, our organization has expanded its efforts in supporting rural areas in different regions of the island. Since the first implementation of the project called World Wide Village some years ago, life in the village gains a new perspective. (it has already cooperated with 4 different villages) This project has been strongly supported and promoted by the Commissioner of Environment and Commissioner of Voluntarism since the very beginning. Lysos, a small village located in the center-north part of Paphos region has been receiving volunteers from Cyprus and other European countries mostly in summer and spring seasons. Having a big group of active youngsters coming from different cultural backgrounds with common vision and solid objectives instantly turns around the environment and the mood within the village. Participants tend to adapt easily in such an environment where they can lead and take initiatives, put their best effort and expect a good result. The main aim of the volunteers is to give assistance and help the local people dealing with activities such as fruit picking since the available working hands for these tasks are limited within the local community. During their time in the village volunteers are involved in preparing and participating in local events , practically learning how to prepare different traditional goods (bread, carob syrop), writing articles for the website hosted by the village and spreading the knowledge about Eramsus+ programs amongst the local community. Participants have the opportunity to experience the way of living in Cypriot villages by supporting, working and cooperating with the local community by sharing their skills and knowledge. Mixing of cultures and attitudes creates an ideal environment for inter-cultural learning where the group works closely together on different tasks and activities. Our proposal consists of 2 Activities:Activity 1: Short EVS (35 days) World Wide village in Lysos, (Almonds, Carobs, berries, turtles and Forest) August - September 2017 10 PARTICIPANTSActivity 2: Short EVS (33 days ) World Wide Village in Lysos organisingA RUNNING EVENT April - May 2018 8 PARTICIPANTSMain objectives of the activities:-Support the professional development of youth workers through the implementation of activities such as contact making events, study visits and short term EVS.- Provide tools for development of key competences, empower and promote the need for personal development of the participants.- Contribute and raise self-awareness about better recognition of competences gained from the participants during their service abroad.- Promote the understanding of other cultures and countries to give the opportunity for the buildup of a network by identifying partners with vision for a united Europe consisting from people who are socially active; aiming to develop a sense of European citizenship. - Offer an alternative future perspective to young unemployed people and those at risk of unemployment.- Create a unique sensation between the relation of the participants and the environment. Raise awareness of the importance and power of nature and how we can work sustainable for the benefit of both the human and nature. - Promote non-formal learning and cooperation in the field of youth with partner countries.- Foster cooperation and exchange of best practices between young people from different regions of Europe. - Enhance the participants’ foreign languages competences.Some of the needs the project addresses are: -taking care, maintaining and developing the cultural heritage of a rural area. -increase the awareness for healthy transportation an