Political and financial instability, the rise of nationalism, war and terrorism have led large numbers of people to flee their countries and make their way to neighbouring countries and beyond. Fear and resentment fuelled by political rhetoric on asylum seekers and refugees is leading to minorities being targeted. This critical global situation calls for urgent action: to challenge populist narratives that make asylum seekers and refugees a danger to society and work toward diverse, inclusive societies. Aims-Raise awareness of the situation of refugees in Europe, Africa and Latin America-Counter discriminatory and racist attitudes among young people and in local communities-Foster inclusion, solidarity, and more respectful and welcoming communities Objectives-Build capacity of partners through training and tools to tackle racism and nationalism and strengthen trainer competences in anti-racism education-Share best practice on counter arguments to populist discourses and hate speech-Focus on networking and establishing cross-sectoral partnerships for the campaigns -Create awareness through trainings and campaigns of the impact of racism on the situation of asylum seekers and refugees -Empower young people to improve their level of competences and their ability to participate actively in society -Develop an Anti-racism Toolkit for International VolunteeringActivities1. Taskforce Meeting, 7 participants2. Youth Work Can Unite: International Anti-Racism Training, 23 participants3. 8-month volunteering activities, 12 young people4. Local anti-racism trainings for volunteers and host organisations in 12 countries: Austria, Iceland, Poland, Slovakia, Italy, Poland, Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa5. Campaigns addressing racism and supporting refugees in 12 countries6. Final Evaluation Meeting, 6 participantsTangible resultsa) Capacity building of youth NGOs to address racism, hate speech and support asylum seekers and refugees b) Professionalisation of youth workers in anti-racism education in 12 countries c) Greater understanding of the situation of refugees and asylum seekers on 3 continentsd) Anti-Racism Toolkit for youth, volunteers and youth NGOs to multiply learninge) Strengthened international youth cooperation, new cross-sectoral partnerships and with NGOs addressing racism and supporting refugeesImpact on youth, volunteers, civil society, partners and local communities a) Youth workers and trainers competent in anti-racism educationb) Enhanced level of competences and holistic development of youth and volunteers through anti-racism training, campaigning, hands-on experience, improving employability and ability to actively participate in society, particularly relevant for youth with fewer opportunitiesc) Cultural exchange at local and international levels will foster inclusion, solidarity and positive change for partners and communities, particularly refugee and immigrant populations

"The project “Frame[v]work” aims at improving the quality of volunteers exchange within the IVS movement, in order to reinforce the concepts of international voluntarism, active participation and international solidarity. The name refer to the concepts of framework, network and voluntarism: “Frame[v]work"" intends to be a capacity-building project to develop a functional, shared framework for international voluntary work and volunteers exchange in the IVS movement. The partners of the projects are networks and organisations who implement long-term and short-term voluntary projects involving local activists, international volunteers and local communities. The members of the partenrship share the same needs:-the need to find solutions to stop the drop of volunteers in workcamps;-the need to harmonize the exchange procedures for short-term and long-term volunteers developed by the different networks of the IVS movement;-the need propose clear and unify promotional strategy for international voluntarism, in order to reinforce the involvement and active participation of young people, including those with fewer opportunities;-the demand to map all the existing best practices on volunteer exchange and to share them within the networks, in order to increase the quality standards of projects and the campacity on the assessment of their impact. IIn order to improve the quality of the international voluntary activities of the IVS movement, it is vital to involve as many networks as possible in the process. For this reason, the partnership include large networks (CCIVS, Alliance, NVDA, SCI) and several organisations coming from different regions and continents. The final outcome of the project will be the creation of new guidelines for voluntary exchange, more updated and comprehensive that the ones already existing.The project foresees 4 phases:- A preparation phase, with the creation of the Steering Team and the kick-off meeting, where representatives from the networks and organisations will analyse the current exchange procedures and prepare the ground for the following regional laboratories;- The 4 regional laboratories, where organisations will analyse all the aspects of their region related to volunteer exchange, quality standards of projects, promotion and communication;- An evaluation and production phase, where the outputs from each laboratory will be evaluated and consolidated into a final production (exchange guidelines with a contribution from all networks);- A dissemination phase, including a training course to share the new guidelines with IVS organisation and to illustrate the way they can be applied to voluntary projects, in order to improve their quality and impact."

Economic instability and competitiveness on labour markets make the focus on skills and competences of young people crucial to their holistic development and employability. In times when right-wing populism is on the rise, youth and voluntary work is key to changing mindsets and reminding people that solidarity is the answer to our problems, not division; to promoting common European values, fostering social integration and intercultural understanding. The project thus aims to strengthen and assess the impacts of intercultural learning in terms of skills and competences young people gain during their voluntary service.Aims1) To professionalise IVS organisations and trainers to reach their goals in fostering intercultural learning, solidarity and the values of human rights, and setting up an international pool of ICL trainers.2) To boost skills and competences of young people and their ability to participate actively in society, and to enhance social cohesion, solidarity and inclusion within local communities across 4 world regions. 3) To test the impacts of the intercultural learning process on volunteers’ skills and competences, and to examine the needs and strengths of IVS organisations in volunteer management, training and support.Activities-Taskforce Preparation Meeting-International Training for Trainers in ICL and qualitative research-EVS for 13 volunteers-ICL trainings for EVS volunteers & other local and international volunteers in 12 countries: Austria, Finland, Poland, Slovakia, UK, Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya and Nigeria-Impact study testing volunteers’ skills and competences in the 12 countries-Taskforce Final Evaluation MeetingTangible outcomes1) Professionalization of trainers in ICL and creation of a pool of trainers2) Organisations proficient in research, volunteer management, training and support 3) Greater understanding of strengths and weaknesses of each partner organisation and each region, and strengthened regional and international cooperation4) Products: a) An Activity Report of the Training for Trainers; b) New Practical Guide for ICL Trainings and new and adapted methods and theoretical input; c) Impact Study Report and new research methodology to assess skills and competencesImpact on stakeholders-Professional trainers with enhanced ICL and research skills and competences-Improved quality and practices of IVS organisations in volunteer management, training and support, serving the sustainable development of organisations and local communities-Strengthened cooperation among IVS organisations and local NGOs, and greater recognition of volunteering and work at grassroots level-Enhanced skills and competences and holistic development of young people and volunteers, improving employability options and ability to actively participate in society

The project connects 4 partner NGOs from Europe and Africa working with young people willing to organize 4 virtual exchanges and 1 virtual escape room. Each virtual exchange will last for 6 months and 200 young people will participate in it (1000 young people in total). The topics – Family and Friends, Housing, Food, Leisure time, My country – try to connect the young people through their everyday reality, but at the same time go deeper under the “surface” of the topic and have a closer look at their stereotypes and prejudice. While working on the digital presentations on the topics and in the guided discussions with peers from other countries, the young people will learn how to use various digital tools, develop their soft skills and become more interculturally sensitive. During each virtual exchange, the young people will realize a “small big change” (we expect 700 in total), which is a simple action done to make a (small big) change in their life, the life of another person, or even in the life of their community. The project outputs will be a module of the 4 VEs, a module of a virtual escape room, 5 created escape rooms, a digital toolbox, methodological guidelines, and the module of the online training for youth workers. These will all continue to be used by different education organizations and youth organizations across the world after the project finishes. The main target group of the project are young people aged 15 to 19, about 80% of whom are youth with fewer opportunities. The project aims at the empowerment of the 1000 young people participating in the project, capacity building of the 37 youth workers in 4 youth organizations, and at the same time, empowerment of their local communities through education, promoting global cooperation, active citizenship, and the common values of freedom, tolerance, and non-discrimination. The overall objective of the whole project is inclusive and accessible digital education for young people across the whole world.

The main aim of YouACT has been to develop a visibility strategy to promote the value of volunteering and stimulate youth participation worldwide. This requires a communication strategy that is goal-driven, on-going, cost effective, well-timed and with clear targets. YouACT's partners were be able to modernize and internationalize their public relations and external communication systems, and likewise enhance skillsets of youth workers (i.e. staff, mentors, volunteers...). The wider the promotion, the greater the recognition of youth voluntary work and non-formal learning, the higher the numbers of youth stimulated to active participation, and the larger the impact on youth policies and systems in EU and partner countries. Aims: I. Visibility: Create global visibility by promoting volunteering in 21 countries on 4 continents and reaching large numbers of youth, incl. young people with fewer opportunities, to inspire them to active citizenship, and to forge new partnerships for youth and voluntary work.II. Building Capacity: Develop a tailor-made visibility strategy and enhance the non-formal education and communication skillset of youth workers.Activities: 1. Visibility Kick Off, Berlin, Germany 2. Calling Youth to Action: Multipliers’ Training for a Global Visibility Drive, Accra, Ghana3. Calling Youth to Action in promotion campaigns in 20 countries: Austria, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, UK, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique, India, Nepal and Vietnam4. Visibility Evaluation, Paris, FranceTangible Results: a) Global network of communication multipliers from 10 European, 4 Latin American, 4 African, and 3 Asian countries developed a visibility strategy and implemented it together with volunteers, youth, host projects...b) An international visibility training for 25 communication-multipliersc) Campaigns raising awareness of volunteering in 20 countries involving diverse stakeholders and reaching youth, NGOs and the wider publicd) A visibility strategy and visibility guide for ongoing, long-term, sustainable and result-oriented promotion and disseminatione) Strengthened existing partnerships, new collaborations with NGOs, local authorities/ministries, host projects, other youth/volunteering organisationsf) Active participation of increased number of youth in volunteering and civil society Impact on youth, volunteers, civil society, volunteering NGOs and local communities:a) Greater visibility, recognition and validation of volunteering and non-formal learning worldwideb) Long-term increase in global youth engagement in local communities in 20 countries c) Cultural exchange at local and international levels will fosters cultural diversity, equality and solidarity d) Strengthened partnerships and new collaborations and partnershipse) Fostering of youth entrepreneurship, employability, leadership building, creativity and responsibility through hands-on campaigning.