SemiFit - Seminar for intercultural trainers in HRE -was a space for experienced and emerging youth educational practitioners from different fields to exchange competences and experience on the different domains of intercultural trainings with linking clearly to European Human Rights education and youth work issues. SemiFit in HRE should serve as an example of Peer and Lifelong Learning where educational practitioners have had the chance to share their competencies and experiences and learn new concepts from peers. In SemiFit, every participant was actively involved in the preparation and design of the learning space, content and flow. The project was linked to key European youth policy developments where non-formal educational youth work faces a need to better connect to but also bring in its expertise: the European Youth convention in 2020, the COE rec on Youth work, the European Training Strategy for YW, the development of a European Charta on Youth work, but also reference cooperations such as “Becoming a part of Europe”, “Youth for Human Rights” or digital youth work: all indicate youth issues in Europe become more political. Such there was seen a need to foster strategically the processes of capacity development of EDC/HRE work in the field of youth, as in the recent years barriers in a lot of European countries have become higher. Semifit was developed as a partnersahip for educational practitioners and their organisations to further develop their competences and network with each other. During 3 seminars a total of 85 youth workers, teachers, trainers, facilitators and coaches from 22 organizations active on youth work, human rights and democracy education from 14 different countries: Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Slovenia and Italy cooperated in seminars on: - Project Management under Erasmus+ in Almuñécar - Spain November / December 2018 - Citizenship Education in Berlin - Germany April/May 2019 and - Blended Learning in Trento - Italy October 2019 Specific objectives of SemiFit: Bringing together educational practitioners from different fields, Designing a space of co-creation and active participation, To develop and exchange competences and experiences on specific areas of training that have an emerging relevance in European Youth Work Co-Creation of tangible resources as a result of seminars’ activities aiming at a follow-up, where participants gad the chance to go further with what they have gained (methodology, tools and connections) in their local reality. The project tried to create an environment for educational practitioners to come together, take different roles and approaches and to be critical upon the methods that they use in their work, such provided a space for them to switch their roles to from educator to participants, expert to learner, contributor to documentalist etc.By gathering qualified people from different education fields - formal and non formal, youth and student organizations, social work and youth work and with different interests the Project facilitated feedback, space for innovative approaches and new opportunities, thus created an environment for learning and sharing. Such it also supporting the processes of European capacity development of youth work organisations and of educators active in the youth field.

"From the 29th of September til the 1st of October 2015 the Human Rights Academy and DARE (Democracy and Human Rights Education in Europe) organized “DARE Network Meeting: Education for Democratic Citizenship (EDC) and Human Rights Education (HRE) against extremism among youth"". The three-days seminar was held at Frivillighetshuset in Oslo. The main objective was to promote democratic participation and to prevent radicalisation among European youth. This was achieved by developing new, and sharing already used, participating methods in the field of HRE/EDC, and to increase the awareness among European educational NGOs on how HRE/EDC can be used as tools in this regard. During the seminar the delegates participated in a wide variety of activities. Among the hightlights were several informative lectures, educational workshops, plenary discussions and social outings. The network meeting also aimed to encourage cooperation between the DARE members. The participants visited also the 22 of July Centre and the Nobel Peace Centre.The 25 participants represented 20 different organizations from 13 countries. They were all members of the DARE Network and working with youth in the field of HRE/EDC. In addition around five participants from Norway, representing Norwegian DARE members and Universities attended the meeting.There has been an increasing focus on HRE/EDC as a tool for promoting peace, democracy and respect for human rights worldwide in the last decade. In 2010 the Council of Europe launced its ""Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenshin and Human Rights Education"" and in 2011 the UN General Assembly adopted the ""Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training"". In these documents the organization's member states are urged to strenghten HRE/EDC in the school system and in the society at large. HRE/EDC represents teaching methods that stress the importance of active participation, including group work, reflection, dialogue, discussion and practical exercises. The teaching is seen as a social process in which knowledge, values, attitudes and responsibilities are created in interaction, and not just through individual processes. Participants develop their ability to reflect and listen to each other as well as critical thinking. This kind of teaching is democracy in action. The Human Rights Academy is now in the process of writing a manual on EDC/HRE against extremism with good practices that will be published on the DARE blog and the Human Rights Academy website. The project's long-term goal is to increase the DARE members, and other stakeholders in the field of EDC/HREs, capabilities to contribute to the prevention of extremism and radicalisation among European Youth."

STEPS – “a Survival Toolkit for EDC in Postfactual Societies” is a 19 month long project lasting from May 2017 until December 2018. STEPS is a set of three seminars and one training of trainers for educators and youth workers active in the field of EDC HRE citizenship education with youth, adults and more specifically mixed groups. STEPS activities will happen in Germany, Spain and Greece and involve 16 active organizations from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Romania, Spain and UK. STEPS activities will involve 24 to 28 participants and last 4 days each. This way the process will directly reach over a hundred youth workers and experts during the 16 days of activities and indirectly over 300 youth workers, 50 decision makers, 500 youth and 160 active organizations. STEPS is created as a direct reaction to the rise of propaganda and populist ideological movements in Europe and around the world due to the influence that these are having in reshaping society and more specifically youth. The project reacts to the EU policy agendas being democracy education in Europe the central orientation point of this project. It starts and works concretely on the frames created by the European Institutions with the Paris Declaration, the revised ET strategy 2020 and neighbouring strategies such as the EU YOUTH strategy and the EU strategy on HR. The final objective of STEPS has two dimensions. In practice terms it is the support in current work of the youth workers and promoter organizations with more tailor made activities on citizenship education with youth. In policy terms is the positioning and lobbying towards key stakeholders and decision makers for a more secure and inclusive society through citizenship education. For this, the four events long process has a flow we will build the frame and dimensions for tackling EDC in this new age of propaganda and define a set of focus groups for having as final results a training kit for Education for Democratic Citizenship in today's societies for educators and youth workers, year reviews on the state of affairs in Europe and the world and open the dialogue with decision makers for shifting the direction our democratic systems are heading. Together with this survival kit we will support youth workers with a resources library and we will write a year report on EDC. All activities during seminars, training and online phase will use non formal, experiential, participative, collaborative and peer learning methodologies. Youthpass will be the central recognition tool in STEPS and will support the personal reflection process of participants. Thanks to STEPS, participants and organizations involved and further NGOs and youth work community will have a tool updated to today's world situation for working on Education for Democratic Citizenship and a frame for lobbying and advocating for Human Rights and Youth Participation.