"The argument for this project was formulated upon the asymmetry of volunteerism in Europe. Participation in volunteering, and the spirit of volunteering in parts of Europe is quite high while it in other countries is very low. Furthermore the majority of volunteers are adults within the age of 30-50, this shows a distinct lack of interest and participation of young people in voluntary activities. In line with this, the partners, through their experiences, recognizes a lack of focus on ""value creation"" within voluntary activities. Most often than not, volunteers don't live up to expectations and take value creation objectives for granted. This in turn affects the quality of impacts attained through volunteering. Therefore as a result there is an identofied need for competent youth workers to compliment the resources made available to volunteerism by the EU. This is necessary to improve participation and value creation among youth through volunteerism. Based in this need the partners identified the aim of the widespread promotion of youth involvement in volunteerism through a common European approach.In the light of the aim behind the project several objectives were created to promote youth involvement in volunteerism through a common European approach. The objectives to achieve this are the following: 1. To Identify EU and local youth volunteering trends, similarities, differences and challenges.2. To Raise awareness on youth volunteerism and its associated benefits.3. To Identify and promote common youth volunteering policies, strategies, and approaches for EU and neighboring regions4. To Improve competencies of youth organisations and youth workers in supporting and facilitating youth volunteerism.The project compromised of two activities a seminar and a training course that took place in the venue Baza Sirius in Vadul Lui Voda, Moldova. The seminar brought together youth workers and decisions makers from youth organisations as well as guest speakers and experts in this field. This created an interactive platform for exchanging ideas, and generating unanimous advocacy approaches, towards strengthening volunteerism. The training course brought together youth leaders who during the training course were equipped with skills, information, tools and methods that was relevant for improving their work in facilitating volunteerism and promoting volunteering among youth in their respective countries. The projects objectives significantly mirrored Erasmus+ objective of enhancing the capacity of youth workers and organisations, in particular through the promotion of mobility and cooperation between stakeholders from Programme and Partner countries. Also, the renewed framework outlines the need for support and recognition of young people’s voluntary activities for their value as an important form of non-formal learning. Obstacles to voluntary activities should be removed and cross-border mobility of young people promoted. During the seminar there were 34 participants and in the the training course there were 35 participants from 10 different partners who all brought different views and knowledge in regards to volunteerism.The participants selected for the project all had to have, motivation to participate, language skills, and importantly their dedication to disseminate and follow-up on the activities. The impact of the project is that youth workers now are able to revamp their responsibility and take more initiative towards bringing about change. Also, through working together with invited stakeholders, participants are now able to work on volunteering difficulties and challenges they face in a better way than before. They are now able to suggest and develop plausible initiatives with the appropriate people, who have a certain level of influence to effect changes in reality. This has given youth workers hope and assurance that measures will be put in place to meet their needs and the needs of the youth they work with.The youth leaders that participated in the project have gained a better understanding of the procedure of volunteering and how to practically implement them. Consequently they are dissipating knowledge and the skills acquired. The tools they were equipped with during the training course and the seminar, is enabling them to assist young people in their communities and inform them about the benefits of volunteerism and active citizenship. In conclusion, and inline with the Erasmus + programme, the project impacted the participants by way of:- improved competences, linked to their professional profiles as youth workers/managers- broader understanding of youth practices, policies and systems across countries;- increased capacity to trigger changes in terms of modernisation and international opening within their organisations;- better quality of their work and activities in favour of young people- increased support for and promotion of mobility activities for young people"

According to the UN Secretary‐General’s Scientific Advisory Board, Science is critical to help meet the challenges for sustainable development as it lays the foundation for new approaches, solutions and technologies to identify, clarify and tackle global challenges for the future. Both in its scope of study as well as applications, science spans from the understanding of natural processes and human impacts thereon to the organization of social systems, the contribution of science to health and well‐being, and on ways to improve subsistence and livelihood strategies so as to meet the overriding goal of poverty reduction.However, a growing distrust in science continues to spread among societies and this loss of trust can sometimes lead to dangerous consequences. For example, anti-vaccine movements are believed to have contributed to low rates of immunisation against highly contagious disease in countries such as Italy and Romania, which have both seen a recent spike in infections. During the project and the COVID-19 pandemic these issues have become more visible.Project ContextWhen people say they don’t like science, it is often because of a bad experience they had during the learning process. This “educational trauma” often turns into a rejective attitude towards scientific subjects and sometimes the scientific community. It’s important, then, to foster science education and improve the learning process. Non-formal learning reveals itself to be a powerful tool in the field of education, but when it comes to science, the partners found there to be a distinct lack of non-formal learning methodologies for science education. Based on the above context, the partners aimed to foster improvements in school science education, preventing disengagement in science caused through educational trauma. The aim was addressed through the following project objectives:1) Develop new methods in science education that foster student engagement and inquisitiveness 2) Share and utilise best practices from Non-formal education within the school sector3) Develop an active network of pedagogues with a commitment to innovation in science learning4) Foster the recognition of the role of science in society and daily lifeTo fulfil the project objectives, a consortium of 6 diverse organisations worked together to develop, test, and disseminate two high quality intellectual outputs. Throughout the project there was a core team of circa 20 persons from the partner organisations, who contributed to the different stages of the project with specialised knowledge, skill and experience. As a result of well-functioning cooperation, the project resulted in the creation of:- A physical and digital book containing detailed instructions for the delivery of 26 non-formal learning methods for teaching science in schools. The methods primary target group are school children aged 11-14 years old. The methods address topics covered by school curriculum within the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, geology and computer science.- A series of 10 videos, that utilise current trends in social media and current debates to foster a broad recognition of the role of science in society- An active forum of pedagogues who are dedicated to high quality and engaging science education. The forum currently has circa 140 members.The new science education methods developed by the partners were tested during the project by 56 teachers and other pedagogues on 585 students and other learners. A training course was organised in which 28 members, volunteers and staff of the partner organisations were given the opportunity to meet together and develop a complete understanding of the developed outputs, and a shared commitment to exploiting the outputs for maximum impact. Physical multiplier events were organised in Romania, Turkey and Italy in which the outputs were presented to 96 relevant stakeholders who have expressed their intention to use and share the results of the project.The project results have been highly commended by those who have engaged with and benefited from it. The project’s intellectual outputs, activities and visibility has created a sense of a surging movement and engagement in discussion and action for improved science learning. Students across Europe are already benefitting from an increased focus on how to make science education relevant and engaging.At a local, national, and European level, if the population is fostering science it is automatically fostering sustainability, as science has a key role in the achievement of a sustainable world in every aspect. From green technology to medical innovations, science contributes to successfully addressing global challenges with a positive impact in everyday life. As such this project has contributed to the attainment of the EU2020 strategy and will continue to contribute to the EU’s social, economic and environmental ambitions, such as those within the EU Green Deal.

<< Objectives >>There is great potential to change the minds of many young people through gaming. More and more video game developers are focused on being more inclusive, the popular Overwatch League chose to make about half its game’s characters women. Esports is also giving many young people a sense of accomplishment and shows them that regardless of social or educational background, gender or disability anyone can be successful with hard work and enough practice.Therefore, youth leaders have a tremendous opportunity when it comes to games and Esports. By gaining an understating a general interest in gaming and Esports, many young people could be reached, probably even those who would not think of engaging with youth leaders. An open and positive attitude towards videogames could be a simple way to build connections with young people, who often have to justify their love of gaming and struggle with judgement and negative attitude from adults.The aim of the project is to engage more young people in non-formal learning with the help of video games. The objectives of the project:a)to help youth workers understand the world of video games betterb)to help fight the stereotypes regarding video gamesc)to provide youth workers with tools to engage young people through their interest in video gamesd)to provide youth workers with a platform to discuss their experiences and best practices regarding gaming and young peoplee)to develop a guideline on facilitating non-formal learning through gaming, focusing on the following topics: health, participation & leadership, social competence, creativity, strategic thinking & entrepreneurship<< Activities >>A 10-day seminar will take place in Slettestrand, Denmark in the summer of 2019 and will gather 28 youth workers and three facilitators from Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Romania, Spain and Turkey.The main focus of the seminar will be on exchanging experiences and best practices in working with young people interested in gaming and fostering their non-formal learning. At the end of the seminar, a guideline will be created with best practices in the following themes: 1) health, 2) participation and leadership, 3)social competence, 4)creativity, strategic thinking and entrepreneurship.The partners of the project have agreed that in order for the activity to be the most effective, the selected participants should be experienced youth workers with knowledge of gaming and/or experience with young people involved in gaming. It will be an advantage if the nominated participant has extensive experience in the creation of non-formal methods and methodologies, potentially involved with research and development at the partner organization. Ideally, the participant would also be involved with supporting the less experienced youth workers at the organization, probably even organizing their events and activities. Thus, even if the participants themselves are currently not actively involved with the delivery of youth activities at the organization, they have a deep and complex understanding of youth work. On the one hand, they would have a knowledge of the needs and struggles of young people involved in gaming. On the other hand, they can understand the methods and potential of youth work and have an overview of what is realistic.The 10-day training course will take place in Slettestrand, Denmark in the fall of 2019 and will gather 28 youth workers and three trainers from Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Romania, Spain and Turkey.The main focus of the training course will be on understanding the guideline created in the training course. The participants of the activity will arrive with little knowledge of gaming and how to attract gamers to their activities. The guideline is intended to help change that, however, it is important that they familiarize themselves with the best practices and methods included and think of ways to utilize them. The activities of the training course intend to provide a platform to the youth workers to do just that. Their knowledge of methods and best practices will be useful in their future work. It is also expected that they will share their newly gained knowledge and the methods of the guideline with other youth workers at their organization, another reason for a thorough understanding of the guideline.To best utilize the guideline created through the seminar, the partners have agreed that the main criterion for the participant selection for the training course is that they are active at the youth organization. It is expected that the nominated participants are the ones delivering the activities at the organization and they are in daily contact with the beneficiaries. As the training course will provide the participants with a thorough introduction to gaming and video games, it is not necessary for the youth workers to have a preliminary knowledge of the topic. It is, of course, expected that they have a general interest of the topic, and arrive to the training course with the understanding that becoming more familiar with video games will help them reach more young.As the guideline will have a collection of best practices and non-formal methods in facilitating learning through gaming, it is not required of the participants to have a wide experience with non-formal methods. Through the training course, and with the use of the guideline, they will be able to gain more experience and deliver higher quality activities. Additionally, when selecting their participants, the partners will look for the ability and willingness to share the newly gained knowledge with the other members of the organization.<< Impact >>ParticipantsBy the end of the project the participants will have a better understanding of the world of video games and esports. Through sharing their experiences with their fellow youth workers and discussions with the students of Randers Production School, the participants are likely to become more interested in gaming but at the least they will feel less out of their element. Thus, the participating youth workers will become more comfortable around young people interested in gaming and esports.With the help of the project, the participating youth leaders will be equipped with knowledge to fight the stereotypes regarding gaming. Other than that being for their own benefit in their work, they will be able to help young people better articulate the positive effects of their hobby in school, to their families, etc. Additionally, the participants will gain best practices in involving young people in non-formal education through gaming, making their work easier and more efficient. They will also gain a network of international youth workers they can turn to regarding the topic of young people and gaming.Participating organizationsFirst and foremost, the participating organizations will gain youth leaders that are better equipped in working with young people interested in gaming. Due to that, they will be able to organize more interesting activities aimed at that target group, reaching more young people through their work and involving them in non-formal education.At the end of the project, the participating organizations will gain a useful guideline that they can use for the organization of such activities. With the help of the guideline and their youth workers that took part in the project, they will be able to train more their youth workers to be able to use gaming as a tool to get young people interested in non-formal education.Finally, through the cooperation in this project, each organization is gaining a network of potential partners that they could work together with in the future.Target groupsThe target group of the project, young people that are interested in gaming, will have a chance of interacting with youth leaders that are more open towards their interests and easier to talk to. They will have more possibilities to take part in activities they are interested in. Through taking part in activities and events that are more interesting for them, and make them feel more understood, there is a better chance that the young people will become involved with non-formal education. Once they become more involved at the youth organizations and take part in other kinds of events, they will have the possibilities to develop themselves and widen their social circles.Local and NationalAs a result of the project and the creation of the guideline the youth organization can use, there will be more events and activities aimed at young people interested in gaming, with a higher rate of success. Thus, locally and nationally, more young people will be reached by youth organizations and become involved with non-formal education and activities. More active and effective youth work will mean more active young people for the local and national environments.European and internationalThe development and implementation of the project, as well as the creation and use of the guideline will create a stronger connection between youth organizations around Europe. It will also lead to more and better ways to reach young people, spreading the interest in non-formal education and potential mobility opportunities, strengthening the connection between the young people of Europe.As a result of the project and the guideline created, young people will not be discouraged from gaming but instead the positive effects of gaming will be pointed out to them, and they will also be made aware of the potential risks. The youth organizations will learn how to utilize video games in their work, helping young people around Europe to improve their foreign language skills and enhance their creativity and innovation. Being supported in their interests will help young people gain an increased sense of self-esteem and self-empowerment. Just as importantly, using video games as a tool, youth organizations will be able to promote equity and inclusion in a way young people can relate to. Therefore, Europe and the EU will gain more and more young people that are playing in a sensible manner, are able to channel their creativity, have better language skills and are generally more confident in their abilities.

<< Objectives >>On September 25th 2015, UN members adopted a set of global goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. They adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and it included 17 goals and each one of them has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years. They are high on the agenda on many global actors (commissions, governments, networks, etc.) and also local, national and international civil society members. The partners involved in this project are giving priority to these issues as being important to be approached by civil society, as they are urgent and presenting high risk for the wellbeing and future of the planet and its inhabitants. They are tackling some of these topics as part of their missions and main activities (local or international), they are also involved in the policies development and try to influence in which directions are getting the national and international decisions. 29th July was Earth Overshoot Day for 2021, marking the date when humanity has exhausted nature’s budget for the year- after that we operated in overdraft which correlated with data that reflected that humanity's total ecological footprint was estimated at 1.5 planet Earths (this in 2007 and it increased in the last years)In youth work field there is a need for creative, open and diverse methods to engage young people in this topics. Streets have a huge potential in terms of informing, making awareness, including and building a community. Specific methods designed for street work are highly recommended in this field and especially in times when they are not so widely applied. Besides this the principles and vision of global education must be included in the process of street intervention. “Global education is education that opens people’s eyes to the realities of the world, and awakens them to bring about a world of greater justice, equity and human rights for all.”.(N-S Centre, COE).Street animation and street campaigning are in their essence innovative approaches in youth work and they are the key methods that were approached in this project. Not only because they differ from “traditional” workshops and other indoor activities, but also because they are very flexible and adaptable to different situations.This project offered the opportunity for youth workers to explore deeper global topics and agenda and to bring these important dimensions in their work and act towards them by developing competencies in street campaigning.The main goal of the project was to raise the capacity of youth organizations to develop global citizenship competencies through alternative innovative methodology (more specifically street campaigning).In this sense a training course activity targeting youth workers from 11 different European countries was organized in Balestrand, Norway during 11-20 May 2022. The training program was designed for youth workers, active members of youth organizations who needed to develop their competencies to work with street campaigning methods for a better and long lasting impact in their communities.The project had the following objectives meant to support reaching the aim:•To increase the level of innovation and creativity in youth work field by using street campaigning methods ;•To increase the level of professionalism and quality of youth work in addressing global issues ;•To stimulate long term involvement of beneficiaries youth organizations in sustainable projects which address sustainability ;•To stimulate mobility of youth workers within Europe for development of new competencies;•To develop practical competencies in street campaigning for the youth workers involved;•To develop pro-active attitudes towards sustainability among the beneficiaries youth workers;•To increase the knowledge level of young people and youth workers in topics like: global interdependencies, climate change, sustainable life style, consumerism, social and global justice, social exclusion, etc.•To motivate all the beneficiaries (direct and indirect) to act as responsible active global citizens in their day to day life;<< Implementation >>The main activity of the project consisted of an international training course targeted at youth workers from 11 partner countries. The process of the project was driven by the experiential learning principles, having a very strong practical component, adequate time and methods for reflection, feedback, self-assessment and extraction of the learning points to be transferred to the future. 30 Participants from 11 countries (Serbia, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Turkey, Estonia, Poland, Italy, Hungary, Greece and Norway) took part and completed a training activity for 10 days in Balestrand (Norway) from 11th to 20th May 2022. Among them 2 were the trainers who coordinated the educational process as well as 2 participants from the host organization, had additional the role of coordinating the logistic process. The participants in the project were youth workers active in the partner’s organization, therefore primary they were selected by each partners accordingly with their mission, priorities, involvement in the regular activities, initiative for new projects, etc. Profile of the youth workers which was used as criteria for selection was: -Active for at least one year in the partner organization (paid or not paid)-Experience in international projects (participants in previous Erasmus+ mobility projects) in diverse environments -Active at the moment in a project targeting young people in to transfer the learning of this project-English to be at least on average level.-Interest and motivation towards Street Campaigning and the topics covered by the Agenda 2030-Willingness and motivation to be involved in the partner organization for at least one more year after the project.<< Results >>Main qualitative results:-A Training module for training practitioners in Global Issues and Street Campaigning -A team of 30 youth workers from 11 countries competent to use Street Campaigning methods to raise awareness or inform large and diverse audience about global issues such as : global interdependencies, climate change, sustainable life style and responsible consumption. -Design of different street campaign activities such as: educational game about the clothes and electronics origins, quiz about climate change, eco foot print and food waste, 2 theatre plays about responsible consumption and its links with climate change, photo boot about personal commitments to make a change, info exhibitions about different products, their journey to the super markets and concerning facts about them. -An informal platform of organizations that are using street campaigning in their work;Impact on the youth workers participants:•Developed competencies in using Street Campaigning Methods for addressing various global issues; •Increased their self-confidence, critical thinking, team working skills, communication and interrelation skills•Activated creativity potential for new global change projects;•Increased knowledge about research methodology, evaluation, statistical tools; •Increased efficiency in their profession; •Gained greater understanding of the Erasmus+ programme and its benefits for the youth work on the international level; Partner organisations: •Have their youth workers /trainers /facilitators trained in Street Campaigning methods and Global Issues •Are inspired by the youth work implemented in other countries•Benefit from the transfer of knowledge and skills from their participants to the work of their organisations; •Have a base for innovative approaches to making awareness and information campaigns in their communities.•Have a solid base of partners coming from different European countries; •Be encouraged and motivated to develop more international and national projects ;Young people from each local community:•Interact now with trained youth workers who are informed and aware about different global thematic and how they are reflected on the local level;•Interact with Youth workers and NGOs through the means of more friendly and innovative methods.•Increased their awareness about global interdependencies and what is their role in the global context.•Take an active role in the community ;

#Foodology.eu - Telling good food practices in Europe is an Erasmus+ projects proposed by Zagreus, a cultural organization based in Italy, in collaboration with Romanian partner GEYC. The exchange experience, for the 40 participants, consists of an active participation to the project, which took place in Cosenza from the 22th to the 29th September 2015. The goal of the project is to counter act the spread of bad eating habits amount young people by guiding them towards consuming responsibly and being respectful towards nature and health.Foodologyoung.eu is the blog that contains the stories, dietary information and examples of green economy that the young people involved in the project met during the exchange week. The activities of exchange aim to develop languages and digital skills useful to implement the dedicated blog.So foodologyoung.eu allow:Sharing of best practices related to food and rural tradition and rural innovation, comparing the experiences of the participating countriesThe promotion of a healthy lifestyle through critical consumption.Transfer to the young people of the importance of the knowledge and traditions of the farmers.The ability to improve the skills of the participants of “digital storytelling”.The transfer of knowledge on the principles and practices of sustainable agriculture.