This project aimed to bring together 10 organisations from the UK, Italy, Austria and Germany, with strong EVS experience. Seven of the organisations successfully worked together to devise high quality volunteering opportunities, addressing real social needs in society and communities in the UK, which contributed towards securing a better future for Europe. All partners were particularly aware of the importance of the project in the context of the post EU Referendum environment.The project was based in a diverse range of locations and benefited socially excluded children, young people and people with learning, physical and sensory disabilities.The objectives of the project were: 1. To consider the future impact of the vote for the UK to leave the EU through:•Exploring the impact of the UK remaining in or leaving Erasmus+•Evaluating the benefits of intercultural experiences and challenging negative attitudes to non-UK nationals in the aftermath of the EU Referendum vote2. To develop the future of communities and individuals within them through:•Individuals undertaking positive social action•Individuals becoming active citizens•Promoting social inclusion•Improving future health, well-being, independence and quality of life of individuals•Raising individuals’ future levels of attainment and achievement and helping them achieve their full potential3. To develop future citizens of Europe through:•Enabling people to gain skills, knowledge and experience, and enhance their future chances of gaining employment and accessing educational opportunities•Raising awareness of different cultures and countries, and diversity, thus contributing to the European values of solidarity, inclusion, tolerance and mutual support4. To enable everyone involved in the project, volunteers, beneficiaries, organisations and project staff, to learn and benefit from the experience.The project involved 11 volunteers from Italy, Austria and Germany, aged 18 to 30. The volunteers each volunteered for up to 12 monthsAmongst others, the activities included: befriending and mentoring beneficiaries; providing support and companionship; supporting people to access social, leisure, sports, educational and outdoor activities to build confidence and community integration (e.g. through accessing cinemas, shopping, swimming, bowling, attending education classes); supporting group activities, such as arts and crafts; supporting people to find their own volunteering opportunities and to volunteer at projects, such as charity shops, community cafés, animal sanctuaries; supporting people to gain new skills through training in life skills, basic skills, budgeting, travel and CV writing; assisting people to access public transport to get to opportunities, community facilities, shopping and appointments; and identifying new opportunities and interests to suggest to the beneficiaries.The partners worked together to recruit volunteers, organised intercultural seminars to select volunteers, develop well-planned volunteering opportunities, and support activities, through a system of volunteer management and project partner reviews. This was all coordinated through the designated team at Volunteering Matters.Despite the challenges of Brexit negotiations environment and uncertainties about the impact of Brexit on young people’s mobility, volunteers, partners and beneficiaries all benefited from this project. Intercultural experiences, in the context of a challenging post-EU Referendum environment, were very important, as volunteers learnt about the beneficiaries, the diversity of cultures in the UK, improved personal development, became more aware of European affairs and became better prepared for work or study, preventing future youth unemployment.Receiving Organisations (RO’s) benefited from the added value that volunteers brought through their cultural diversity, different perspectives and new ideas, interests and skills, enabling them to diversify the activities they undertook with beneficiaries and communities. Sending Organisations (SO’s) met their objectives of sending volunteers to a different country to have intercultural experiences. Beneficiaries became more socially included through taking an active part in their communities and accessing social, leisure, educational and outdoor activities. We met our objectives to promote volunteering in an international context, increased cultural diversity of volunteers, promoted cultural awareness and provided opportunities for intercultural exchanges between volunteers and project partners, including the new Italian partnerIt is felt that the project has successfully left a sustainable legacy to the volunteers, beneficiaries and communities, as the activities continued after the project and are continuing to be developed through our current two EVS projects and preparation for the implementation of our approved European Solidarity Corps Partnerships proposal.

x

An experience in European or international mobility is an asset for any young person. The skills gained through this type of experience are very important and valuable for his future life as a person, a professional, and a citizen. This statement matches even more the public of young people with fewer opportunities. Contrarly to what is generally thought, young people with a low level of qualification, few financial ressources, social/personnal issues, or disabled, etc, could benefit from a mobility experience, should they access a professional guidance, support and proper preparation. In France and in Europe, several organisations share the same values and work in favor of this public. The field of international mobility has evolved in France as in Europe in the past few years, with new programs; but mostly with the development of a wide approach on international mobility. With employment, training and volunteering opportunities, with project in group or for individuals, mobility comes in all shapes and forms. This project is created with the aim to work extensivly on the subject, with a consortium of 8 partners, including 3 French (Jeunes à Travers le Monde, UNAREC, et Itinéraire International), 4 European (Cesavo en Italie, Institute for United Europe et Eduq en Pologne, Dynamo en Belgique), and a European network (Volonteurope), who would gather around this subject and these values, emphasizing strongly on the essential role of guidance and mentoring of young people with fewer opportunities. Public of youngsters we are dealing with is composed of young people with fewer opportunities, or Netts, or vulnerable adults aged between 18 and 30.The project coordinator is a French organisation amed Itinéraire International. The organisation has the opportunity to cooperate with each organisation, most of which already know each other. All of them share the same observation and motives. The projects offers to the partenrs to cooperate together for:- the promotion at EU level, of a proper trade on mentoring young people with fewer oppotunities, and the creation of new training tools for professionals or future professionals. - the development of a common advocacy speech and create a formal cooperation network that will disseminate the speech and will act to make mobility more accessible and inclusive in the future. The end of the project will drive us to 2017, when the partners will be able to participate to the dialogues around the future Europea programmes in 2020. Activities of the project will be carried around workshops and between groundwork professionals who will exchange on their (best) practices, develop and experiment new working methods. The project also includes 2 seminars, one is organised during the project to invite a wide number of new partners to join the formal network, and one that will be the closing event to present and disseminate the results at the end of the project. Among various dissemination and communication activities, a website will be created to share information with any person or organisation interested.

Secours populaire français (SPF) and its euro-Mediterranean partners organized a seminar which welcomed 50 youth workers. It took place from 24th till 26th October 2014 in Nîmes. Some European participants were also welcomed within a departmental federation of Secours populaire a day before the seminar.The specific objectives of the seminar were:- Inform volunteers and youth workers on the situation of youth in other countries;- Exchange on the practices of the associations, especially in the field of youth;- Allow the acquisition of knowledge thanks to the exchange of good practices and experiences and mutualize it;- Organize intercultural exchanges between the participants, allow them to know better each other;- Impulse, develop joint projects between partner organisations (international volunteering);- Promote the commitment and the mobilisation of euro-Mediterranean young people.The activities of the seminar came under various forms: thematic conferences, workshops and exchanges of best practices and spaces of presentation of the partner associations. Besides, games and animations were proposed. They allowed participants to know better each other.It is according to the popular educational approach that the seminar was led. All the exchanges were vectors of learning. The participants were trained in themes concerning the euro-Mediterranean youth. The seminar was also the opportunity to promote a reflection, to carry it and to confront it to implemented projects. The participants shared their experiences and knowledge from the ground and had discussion with some youth experts.Besides, the seminar established a step forward towards an euro-Mediterranean solidarity and the strengthening of a feeling of membership in Europe and closeness of its nearby countries. It allowed, in other words, the development of a Euro-Mediterranean network.

The lack of mobilization at the last European elections, especially of the youths, questions our federation. (73 % of the people aged less than 35 years-old didn’t go vote for the European elections in France). The lack of interest for the political authorities is combined, especially since the “2011 crisis” with mistrust in the political institutions and the European Union ; mistrust the educative actors working with the youths have difficulties to fight. However, how to promote solidarity between people if the main message of the European Union doesn’t reach the people which are its future? In this context and rich of the past experiences, la Ligue de l’enseignement – FAL 44 has imagined the project “Europe acts, Act in Europe” through the following hypothesis: - the feeling of belonging to European citizenship can’t be decreed but has to be lived through common practices, exchanges with peers, from France and Europe as well as with elected representatives. - Trust towards politics comes with the comprehension of the essence of the word, very often transformed and with the participation of youths in the life of the city as full citizen,- European citizenship can only be lived through a collective European conscience and the knowledge of the rights and dutiesFrom these hypotheses, the project has been built around three main axes: - The follow-up of three young inhabitants of Loire- Atlantique in a collective mission of volunteering around European citizenship- Collecting the testimonies of young inhabitants of Loire-Atlantique on this thematic, debating and letting them express themselves peer to peer. - Imagining a 3-day-seminar with exchanges and meetings to question European citizenship with French, European and elected representatives. In partnership with local authorities (Regional Council of Pays de la Loire, Departmental Council of Loire-Atlantique, Nantes Métropole), Europe, the Departmental Direction of Social Cohesion (DDSC), and European associative actors (Arci in Italy, CRDM in Czech Republic, Volunteering Matters in the United Kingdom) and local associations (Maison de l’Europe, Maison des Citoyens du Monde, EuradioNantes, Amicale Laïque de Couëron) “Europe Acts, Act in Europe” had the aims of: - Reinforce the capacity of youngsters to act in order to build a society which resembles them, with a particular focus on isolated or more vulnerable groups.- Talk about Europe by questioning common values and what makes sense in the daily life of young people involved. This is about crossing viewpoints and to state loud and clear the values which are shared by our community.- Create a debate between young Europeans and the elected representatives for the Europe of tomorrow around a strong theme.- To bring out reflections and thoughts around this theme; they will be used for a future potential European project in 2015-2016.After more than 6 months of exchanges, collecting testimonies of youths, Europe has invited itself in Nantes from Thursday the 28th of May until the 30th of May around 4 themes: immigration, secularism, intergenerational cooperation and volunteering in order to question and make European citizenship merge. These 3 days were rich in exchanges, debates and encounters between the young French, Czech, English and Italian people and the elected representatives but also with citizens of Nantes. It enabled to learn to know each other, to understand the meanings of the words, to create a common culture and question each of the participants on how Europe existed on their territory. The program of this 3-day seminar: Thursday, May 28thBreaking the ice activities so that the youngsters break the language barrier and get to meet each other Thursday;May 28th From 5:30 pm to 10 pm : Opening evening at CosmopolisAn evening to meet each other and create a dynamic of discussion and debate. -From 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm: Arrival and first encounter with the partners. -From 6:30 pm to 8pm: Ice Breaking.Get to know each other around the European Union with educational and funny activities to stimulate mutual exchanges-From 8 pm to 8:30 pm: Flash mob with the host families. -From 8:30pm to 10 pm: Meal and friendly evening.Friday, May 29th From 9 am until 5 pm: European seminar at the Regional CouncilForm 9 pm until 11 pm: Festive evening - Cine debate at TNTSaturday, May 30thFrom 9:30 am to 12 pm : Round table on « Is a united Europe possible? » at CosmopolisFrom 12:30pm to 2am: Citizen Picnic and preparing the public inquiryFrom 2pm: Festive time on the European Cultures at Place du Bouffay and flashmobAll the exchanges has been retranscribed in the proceedings of “Europe Acts, Act in Europe” and sent to all the participants, the local authorities, and the youth associative actors in order to maintain the encounters and the speeches of the youths.