"This project consisted of two activities where the main activity of the project was a youth encounter on environmental photography. The project was carried out in local partnership with the ORA Network e.V. and the environmental education centre ""Kienbergpark"" of Grün Berlin. Participating associations were ""EDEN"" from Albania, ""Udruzenje Crveno Drvo"" from Serbia, ""Agenda 21"" from Romania, ""Zdravo da Ste"" from Bosnia and Herzegovina and ""Axe Social"" from Spain. A preparatory meeting was held together with all participants.Grün Berlin supported the project by financing experts for photography and by paying the printing costs for the project results. The duration of the project was 3 months, starting from 01.08.2018, and included three mobilities and 8 local events of the partner organisations. The latter were exhibitions where the project results were presented in all participating countries. In September a preparatory meeting took place, which coordinated logistical preparations and enabled agreements on methodological work. In order to ensure young people's codecision and participation, young people were invited to this preparatory meeting in addition to the group leaders. The Youth Exchange took place from 28 October to 4 November 2018. The activity was carried out with five participants from each partner organisation, who were also accompanied by a group leader. During this activity the participants dealt with transport, water, landscape, pollution and waste as well as food and agriculture. Photographs on these topics were taken in the natural spaces in and around Berlin. Enriched with photos taken by the participants in the run-up to the youth meeting and incorporated into the project, a selection was exhibited and made available to the public. Each partner received this exhibition as a finished print so that he can use it in his permanent local environment and expand it if necessary. During the Youth Exchange the usual elements of intercultural learning were applied and the contents of the work were translated with methods of non-formal education. All in all, the expected objectives (increase of language skills, improvement of intercultural competence and cohesion, development of media literacy) were achieved. As a sustainable effect, we hope to have raised the awareness of the environmental and nature conservation participants and we are very confident that this cooperation also contributed to feeling European."

The project was a seminar with the goals to share skill of youth centres, youth workers from it and environmental NGOs in order to create common projects to promote sustainable living in Europe and to raise the awareness of young people in this topic. For better functioning and better effectiveness participants was separated in 3 different working groups: project design – which had on a practical way created a common projects which had combined the skills of youth centres and environmental NGOs; fundraising – which had analyzed and had shown several founding opportunities on European and national level with the goal to help each other and to find adequate donator for financing project under this seminar framework; project communication – which had exchanged experiences of how to use different media in project context and to make it more successful and visible to the target audiences. Target audience/participants of this seminar were coming from various backgrounds. It had gathered youth workers from youth centres and environmental NGOs what had helped them to create one new approach which youth workers are able to use farther in work and what is one of intellectual outcomes of this project. This project is as other projects we are implementing planed, implemented and reported by wide cooperation with all project partners. We are taking care that each partner organization representative is involved in all segments of project and that transparency amount all of us in on high level. That is one of the reason why all administration which we are doing and that all documents we are preparing and providing to stakeholders and donators are on English language so each partner is fully aware of it content. That is one of the reasons why we have active partnerships and cooperation with some project partners for period longer than 10 years. This project idea was born and created by youth workers who are motivated for learning and developing methodologies for work and to create new projects on European as well as on national level. We were planning to use created framework/intellectual outcome of this project in other projects and to work on it farther development through other projects planned and implemented after this one. By bringing people from different parts of Europe we had created excellent working space on project to share situations of their own countries and realities as well as to learn from each other. One of idea of this seminar was to create space for learning, space for sharing experiences and ideas as well as to contribute in development of each participant’s youth workers competences. To maximise effects of this, we had choose to use non formal methodology as an excellent way for interactive learning. Seminar had involved 25 participants who were coming from Germany, Serbia, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina Romania, Bulgaria, and United Kingdom. For seminar venue and in previous consultations with all partners we had choose village named Oybin in south-east region of Germany. This region is area of extraordinary beauty and it is also border region between Germany, Poland and Czech Republic. It was implemented from 19/09/2014 till 25/09/2014 and it was also first seminar in the framework of ORA.

"This project is a continuation of a series of projects that we have been carrying out since 2014 with a similar methodology. We apply this methodology to different topics and support creative and critical thinking, awareness of Europe and human rights as well as cultural awareness. In this project and its 3 project activities we focused on the values of Europe and gave the participants the opportunity to express their vision of Europe in a creative way. In addition, we motivated young people to take part in the European elections, using the music videos we created.This is our response to two findings. Most young people in Europe see an opportunity to live together. They have grown up with the achievements of freedom of movement and freedom and fear that these could be restricted. They often see themselves more as Europeans or cosmopolitans. They and we as partners have great fears that nationalism in the countries will increase and destroy these achievements.On the other hand, knowledge of Europe is poor, especially as regards the history, values and objectives of the European Union. We want to change that and expand that knowledge. In this way, we can also show that Europe's successes are closely linked to its values.Our young people have processed their knowledge in a creative way and published the results on Youtube and Soundcloud. When they creatively process and disseminate knowledge and their own visions, we hope that they will have a greater social impact. In this way, we made a small contribution to giving citizens a more realistic (and therefore more positive) image of the EU. Moreover, the young people's vision of ""their"" Europe has become clearer.Three activities, all youth exchange programmes, took place in this project. The main part of the participants changed from one part to the other. A total of 137 young people took part. It is not possible to describe a common profile of the participants, because the connecting element was that they like music. There were various disadvantages, which could also be compensated by acting together and in solidarity.Each meeting consisted of the following phases: getting to know each other, team building, thematic introduction, group work in bands, concert. The concerts took place in public and were recorded.The first youth exchange took place in February 2019 in Berlin. In introducing the project, we focused on the historical roots of the EU and the reasons why it was developed. The second youth exchange took place in April 2019 in Fontanelas, where the participants worked on values that are important to them. The third part took place in May in Jerusalem, where the focus was on current challenges. A total of 18 music videos were produced and uploaded. In each exchange there were 3 Bands sein who each created 2 songs, which are shaped by the cultural diversity of Europe. During the project we implemented a strong participation approach and worked with non-formal methodology. We also offered the space for informal learning.Through the way it was implemented, the project could achieve a deep local impact, slightly different in each part. In addition, we can see from the statistics that the uploaded media content reaches people from countries other than the participating countries."

The overall aim of the project is to realize a long term non-formal education process at international level (08/2016 - 10/2017) able to empower the youth work that the partnership is realising on field with young people coming from disadvantaged backgrounds and/or vulnerable groups, to raise their capacities to better perform and provide more useful services (educational, cultural, social, etc.) for the young people with which they work, to increase the competences of their youth/social workers to better include the different target groups in the social, cultural, and economic life of their communities. Project partners (Youth Centres/Clubs, youth associations, associations of social promotion, cultural associations, NGOs, etc.) are coming from 8 different European countries (EU and Western Balkans) and have a common understanding that it is important to evolve constantly the learning pathways and the development opportunities to reflect the changes in society and to establish a cross-sector approach to empower young people in their development. For this reason and following the ORA approach, general objectives of the project are: 1) to support innovation and quality of non formal education in youth work acquiring and developing new methodologies, activities and competences; 2) to improve the youth work that our NGO’s are doing on field with young people coming from disadvantaged backgrounds and/or vulnerable groups in order to empower their social, cultural and economical development and increase their inclusion opportunities; 3) To reinforce the relationship among partners with the specific objective to plan and realise future projects under the framework of the Erasmus+ Programme using the knowledge and competences acquired during this project. Future projects will represent a concrete opportunity of active involvement and personal and economic development for those young people with which all the partner work. During all phases of the project will be respected and applied the principles of non formal education (these include the methods of non-formal/ informal learning, ORA - Observe, Rethink, Act, experiential and active pedagogy, mentoring and/or peer support and relationship-based activities): all the methodologies that will be used and activities proposed are designed to ensure the direct involvement of partners and participants at any time of the project promoting freedom of expression, exchange and cooperation, interaction and creativity. Furthermore, the methodology used will be strongly oriented in terms of intercultural learning paying attention to the cultural diversity represented by the partnership (EU and Western Balkans countries), promoting a good environment, mutual understanding and cooperation among all participants. Following the ORA approach, main activities planned are a Study Visit in Liege (Observe Phase), a Seminar in Berlin (Re-think Phase) and a Training Course in Banja Luka (Act Phase).

<< Objectives >>Main motivation behind the project ‘Neighborhood of youth centers in Europe’ was to improve programs of youth centers with final goal to reduce the percentage of youth that are leaving school early. In participating countries, youth centers exist but they struggle with quality of the programme, there are not able to respond to the needs of young people thus young people lack places where they can engage, especially after school. The consortium decided to carry out the project ‘Neighborhood of youth centers in Europe’ because involved organizations are in need to improve quality of activities delivered by youth centers, to increase competencies of youth workers, leaders involved in designing and delivering activities in these centers with aim to provide young people with an opportunity for personal and professional development. Moreover, the partners were strongly motivated to get to know new practices, methods and tools, establish new partnerships and work on development of new project ideas.Moreover, applicant organization Art of the Box and partner from Macedonia Volunteers Centre Skopje implemented together project under Erasmus+ Programme entitled ‘Empower Vulnerable Youth: Theater, Creative Writing and Emotions in Focus’ focused on increasing quality of activities targeting vulnerable youth. This project included two international mobility activities – training course realized in Macedonia and youth exchange in Belgium. The project ‘Empower Vulnerable Youth: Theater, Creative Writing and Emotions in Focus’ brought important impulses to work with involved organizations and made the partners realize the need to work on addressing needs of vulnerable young people.Objectives of the project ‘Neighborhood of youth centers in Europe’:-to increase competencies of youth workers to identify and to address needs and interests of young people in danger of early drop out;-to raise capacities of organizations to deliver quality program activities in youth centers targeting young people, especially young people in danger of early drop out;-to improve quality of services being provided by youth centers;-to support sharing practices, methods and tools addressing needs of young people in danger of early drop out;-to empower young people in danger of early drop out and to support their active involvement in decision making processes and in life of their communities;-to foster partnerships between youth centers from the Western Europe and the Western Balkans;-to increase knowledge on Erasmus + Programme and to support development of new project ideas addressing needs of vulnerable youth in general and youth in danger of early drop out in particular.The project objectives were in line with goals and objectives of Erasmus+ Programme set for year 2019: reaching out to marginalized young people, promoting diversity, sense of initiative of young people and equipping youth workers with competences and methods needed for transferring the common fundamental values of our society particularly to the difficult to reach young people and preventing violent radicalization of young people as well.By developing competencies of youth workers, leaders working with youth in danger of early drop out will increase the quality of services provided by youth centers and provide youth in partner communities’ new opportunities. It means we will prevent their radicalization and support their active involvement in society.The project reflected Europe 2020 strategy as it aimed to improve the quality of services for vulnerable youth and created more inclusive environments in participant’s communities.<< Implementation >>Within the project were realized 3 activities:1. Study visit of Youth Centres in Belgium;2. Study visit of Youth Centres in Germany;3. Seminar in Macedonia. In the 3 activities participated youth workers from 8 countries: Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Germany, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia who have previous experience in youth work, field of non-formal education, or work with vulnerable youth, especially with youth in danger of early dropout. In total 90 participants.The first activity was a Study visit in Belgium. Although the project application was foreseen the SV to be implemented in Lokeren, due to the practical reasons (transport) was implemented in Antwerp. All visited YC were based in Antwerp. Main goal of the SV was: to learn from practices of youth centers and to support transferring methods, approaches and tools addressing needs of vulnerable youth, especially youth in danger of early dropout. Having in mind the long experience of Belgian youth centers in work with youth and preparing different programs for them this study visit was great opportunity for sharing the practices across participating countries. Participants on the study visit had the opportunity to meet different youth centers in Belgium. In the study visit Belgian youth centers and youth houses presented their work, programmes that they are realizing, what are the most attractive activities in which youth are interested and how they fund themselves. Further, participants had the opportunity to ask questions about the work of the youth centers and youth houses. Additionally, participants had the opportunity to learn about some new methods that they can apply in their youth centers. Jinnih Beels (counselor of education, youth, integration and assimilation in Antwerpen) took part in the meeting in Felix Pakhuis in Antwerpen (20/11/2019). All partner organizations had opportunity to present their work. List of all YC and Youth Houses can be find in the Infopack attached. On the SV were used non-formal education working methods. The second activity was a SV in Bremen, Germany. Main goal of the SV was to learn from practices of youth centers and to support transferring methods, approaches and tools addressing needs of vulnerable youth, especially youth in danger of early dropout. Additionally, to the SV in Belgium, participants had the opportunity to work on developing ideas for future projects and activities that they could implement in their centres. The core of the activity was based on visiting youth centers and direct interaction with their representatives, youth workers and leaders. During the visits, the participants were sharing their experiences, presented practices of their organizations and reflected with representatives of visited organizations on common challenges and obstacles. The program included also evaluation activities that were implemented with the goal to provide the participants with an opportunity to reflect on their learning process and reach learning goals and objectives.The third activity was a Seminar held in Macedonia. Although the project application was foreseen to be held in Struga, due to the practical reasons (transport) and location of the Youth Center, it was held in Skopje. The main goal of the seminar was: to develop youth centers programs. The creation of the youth center program was divided into different topics, e.g. “How to spread the word among youngsters?”, “How to encourage vulnerable youth to be part of the youth centre’s activities?”, “Role of Social Media in the creation of activities for youth centers”. During the seminar, the participants discussed also the definition of youth work, youth workers and youth centres in their countries and had a meeting with the Mayor of Kisela Voda at the municipality, where they had a chance to talk about the implementation of youth laws, especially on the local level. On the day preceding the end of the project, the project team and the participants organized the conference for the local community to share their knowledge about youth law and the influence of the youth centers in the youth work and work with vulnerable youth. The aim of the third activity was to empower youth workers and employed in the youth centers with knowledge and know-how to create youth centers programs addressing needs of vulnerable youth, especially youth in danger of early dropout. Moreover, the seminar was an opportunity to strengthen the partnerships between the partners and to work on the ideas for future projects at international level with main goal to establish sustainable partnerships.<< Results >>Project results: - Project website: https://www.networkofyouthcentres.com/ - Booklet of good practices link: https://www.networkofyouthcentres.com/booklet/https://indd.adobe.com/view/645d1081-4d66-43fd-97a7-ad777a492a59- Videos from the activities:https://youtu.be/xs5u0mJyx4Mhttps://fb.watch/evKgeF-mau/https://youtu.be/cTACnJ9VL3whttps://youtu.be/qy1K5uaGweQThe main impact of the project was on the level of directly involved participants and participating organizations and involved youth centres. Once the project was finished the participants were equipped with new knowledge and skills on how to foster the development of young people in danger of early dropout. They gained hands-on knowledge and experience in stimulating and supporting delivering quality activities in youth centres understanding the needs and interests of young people. They increased their knowledge of practices, methods and approaches used by youth centres in Belgium and Germany. They increased their knowledge of Erasmus + Programme and its opportunities. They got a better understanding of international youth project management.Furthermore, the participants were encouraged to set up follow-up projects after attending the activities, by making use of the contacts, content, methods, concepts and inspiration gained. The partner organizations were invited to support these initiatives.The organizations raised their knowledge on addressing the needs of vulnerable youth and explored new practices being applied across participant’s countries. They benefited from new networks and partnerships and more skilled staff. They benefited from new project ideas and practices increasing the quality of activities being delivered by youth centres in their communities.Key results of the project include improved practices of participating organizations and a booklet of good practices available online to other stakeholders interested in improving the quality of services being delivered by youth centres, especially services addressing the needs of young people in danger of dropout.We are confident that by providing youth educators and youth workers with knowledge, competencies and approaches for designing and/or delivering activities in youth centres, this project notably contributed to the efforts to raise the capacities of organizations to deliver quality program activities in youth centers targeting young people, especially young people in danger of early dropout at local and European level.