“Broadening the reach and richness of youth and culture in Europe” is an international Contact Making Seminar in Tuzla (Bosnia and Herzegovina) for partner organisations in the field of Youth, Arts and Culture that will bring together old and new partners, provide space for exchange of experience and create new projects. The project aims to bring together 16 organisations that are working with Youth in the field of Culture and Arts, who are interested in setting up common E+/Youth projects, to promote the cooperation, partner-finding and networking, thus to enhance the work of those to sector by providing it outreach to the bigger audience in Europe, better connections with local/national/international stakeholders and to improve the quality of youth and cultural projects in Europe.30 youth cultural workers from 12 countries will participate in a contact making seminar in October 2016.The project has a format of a classical Contact Making Seminar, combined with training elements about E+, to raise the capacity and competencies of the organisations and their youth workers to build international Art and Culture projects, with a specific focus on the priorities of E+/youth. The partnership is a combination of traditional youth organisations involved in non-formal education of young people and youth workers, classical cultural operators with intention to develop youth cultural projects and youth organisations/institutions using arts and culture as a tools in youth work. We also mix different fields of arts and culture. We have on board different sizes of organisations, also public institutions, big network organisations etc. After the contact making event, participants will bring the gained E+ knowledge, project planning skills and competencies back to their organisations and their targets, new international projects with a match between Arts and Culture and E+ objectives and priorities are being worked out, and new networking capacity will have been explored.

LET'S NETWORK TOGETHER SEMINAR project brought together youth workers from 11 European countries for 4 days to work on the networking of structures. The stay allowed to work on the in-depth knowledge of the participants, their missions and their publics in order to build together future projects of youth exchanges.The seminar took place in Belgium from Monday October 15th) to Friday, October 19th, and was built on the basis of participants' input from their non-formal education methods. At the end of the seminar, the participants gained a good representation of the realities of each other to be able to put groups of young people in relation to the purpose of creating exchanges. In the longer term, we hope that this activity and its impact will make it possible to support a network of European youth operators who work collectively on the quality of their international actions.

"<< Objectives >>The main aim of the project is to inform and empower youth workers of small rural communities on how gender and sexual based equality can be promoted and mainstreamed in local youth projects and initiatives and to develop recommendations on how to ensure gender and sexual equality in youth work with young people in disadvantaged neighborhoods.The project is aimed at youth workers and young volunteers, active members of youth organizations, members of local community who want to be informed and gain experience in implementing the principles of gender equality and fight against gender and sexual based discrimintaion in exploring further how these principles can be put in practice in youth work targeted at young people coming fromdisadvantaged neighborhoods. All applicants will be motivated to learn and share their experience / ideas on gender equality and gender mainstreaming in future local projects. They will be all potential multipliers of the learning outcomes of the course and in a position to contribute to achieve its objectives. The workshops will contribute to personal and social development by developing self-confidence, youth work skills, team-building, active listening, public speaking, conflict management skills, competencies in making young people more active citizen, fostering tolerance and mutual understanding between young people from different social and cultural background.To have a direct impact with local community, we will involve local authorities in this project (represented by local high schools and leisure centres) and local youth NGOs to take part in some commune activities such as promotion, selection process, dissemination and follow-up.<< Implementation >>The idea of this project came up in one local project and it is based on the needs of our communities. The activities are designed by our youth leaders together with the initiators of this project, the participants in the previous projects. The project is based on a single activity which will take place in a town where the concept of gender equality in still hard to understand and put it in practice, almost on all levels and ages. By this project we would like to empower involved youth workers and young volunteers with knowledge, skills and attitudes about gender equality in general; this is the main aim. We will do this together with participants from 10 countries who will contribute to spread good examples of gender equality, to fight against gender and sexual stereotypes, to offer information about their rights, etc. All this will be done by commune activities with local youngsters and a public campaign done by the participants during the mobility. We will use a very intensive interaction with local community.Activities planned to be realized:1. Get used to the goals and to one another- the training points out the needs of young leaders, hence it is important to explain the learning process on the first daya) Name games, icebreakers, Teambuilding – the participants will get to know each other better, they will learn each others names, creating a positive atmosphere, that will help throughout the course : activities for better understanding the importance of team dynamics , the participants will learn how to be creative, be leaders and problem solving skillsb) Expectations and fears, Rules, secret friend – activities intended to make living with each other easier, rules will be set on how to act during and after activities ; secret friend – to enhance the relationship between the participantsc) Intercultural learning – to bring attention to the clash of different cultures during this training, to increase tolerance and respect among each other2. Understanding gender equality block- in order to understand the concept of gender equalit , hence we have chosen the following workshops:a) Equality or Equity - Role play and brainstroming for critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and imagination b) Gender equality in my life/in my community - Individual reflection, presentations, share experience and inputs by the trainers, Working in small groups, presentations and inputs by the trainers, brainstorming and learning by doingc) The other gender is…/Are you acting like a man or a woman or a non-binary ? - a participant writing-based activity that explores preconceptions, attitudes, and anxieties concerning the ""opposite"" genderd) Path to Equality-land - small group work, imagination and drawing to explore issues of gender equality and discrimination against womene) Workshop - Gender equality in pictures - Photo-Voice3. Promoting gender equality block- one of the key aspects is to promote gender equality , hence we have chosen the following workshops:a) Creating an E-book about gender equalityb) Designing the booklet of the project - Learning by doing, brainstorming and team-workc) Workshop - Gender equality in pictures - Photo-Voice4. Further action plan block and evaluation- in order to develop a continuality of common cooperation:a) Erasmus + (focus on Youth mobility) presentation - Brainstorming, learning by doing, teamworkb) Follow up projects (I and II)c) Final Public Event “After” discussions - a public event where local community will be invitedd) Final evaluation. Future plans, future projects, Youthpass certificatesThe activities will follow the logical line: start with get to know each other’s steps, group building exercise, entering into the topic, explore the topic, providing tools for empowerment, sharing best practices, put in practice what was learnt, follow up and dissemination and final evaluation of the course. General methodology will reflect different learning styles/needs.Methodology that we will use shall lead to equal and active participation of all participants. We will aim to create a safe environment for learning and the flow and counter flow from the individual needs to the group needs to the topic to the individual and so on. To increase active participation of young people during the mobility will be used different exercises combination of individual and team work, learner-centered ways, theoretical inputs and exercises. At the same time we will leave space for them to act, to practice what they will learn.<< Results >>Participants levelThey will develop more skills, competences and knowledge and use the results and the working methods learned during the workshops, to promote gender equality and develop new local projects. They will receive new resources to express themselves and communicate their own point of view, more space for youth active participation and fight gender inequality.At the same time they will become promoters of new tools, approaches, methodologies and the usefulness of activities in framework of Gender Equality strategy of Council of Europe and the EU. As indicators to be able to measure the outcomes will be to identify the key competence developed by selfevaluation forms, the numbers of the projects initiated by participants in the follow-up process , numbers of the participants kept active (we intend to be kept active all our participants as youth leaders in local youth centers and in near future as project managers in local/European projects).Organization levelInfluence of our project on all levels will base on increasing experience, capacity and activity of associations involved, implementation of new high-quality local actions and European projects that will include also youth local community. We will be more visible; will have the chance to be involved in other projects, to develop new youth leaders and to change best practice with other partners involved. The new projects will involve also new partners so new contacts and possibilities; improve our working methodology, project quality and activities from the local youth centers and in youth exchanges. Asindicators to be able to measure the impact will be: evaluation reports, number of the new members, feedback from community and youngsters, number of new activities in youth center, number of new partnership and number of projects to be involved as partner."

The training course, Keep Educate Your Skills about Employment, is an activity that will bring together 27 participants, 2 trainers and one facilitator from 9 European countries. The training will be held in Traisteni (Valea Doftanei village), Romania for 7 working days and it is for project managers, youth workers, volunteers who are active in each partner organization and who have some experience in youth work so they can multiply the knowledge they get. Project idea was inspired by the “Study on the impact of Non-Formal Education in youth organizations on young people’s employability” launched by the European Youth Forum in October 2012. Based in the findings of the study, young people develop five of the most important skills that are widely sought for and demanded by the employers by engagement in youth organization and youth projects. These skills are communication, teamwork, decision-making, organizational skills and self-confidence. Hence, the proposed project offers methods, tools and practices (based on the principles of non-formal education) that can be implemented and used as inspiration by people dealing with youth and helping their employability skills to be developed. The main objectives set up for this course are to contribute to youth worker’s social and professional growth, to explore the concepts of social inclusion, employment, soft skills, youngsters with fewer opportunities and share best practices, to develop participants competencies how to work concretely to develop soft skills and empower young people from disadvantage backgrounds in long term perspective and to create future and sustainable partnership between partners.The learning process will be follow this structure: four workshops per day with respective breaks among them. The activities will follow the logical line: start with get to know each others steps, group building exercise, entering into the topic, explore the topic, providing tools for empowerment, sharing best practices, put in practice what was learn, follow up and dissemination and final evaluation of the course.The methodology will include communication-based methods (interaction, dialogue, open discussions), activity based methods (sharing experience, practice and experimentation), socially focused methods (partnerships, teamwork, networking) and self-directing methods (creativity, discovery, responsibility, action).The project aims is to explore employability of young people, inclusion, soft skills, young people with fewer opportunities and how it is searched in various sectors of life. These skills and competencies will be beneficial for participants for future initiatives, also helping participants become more aware of self-employment as a career option.

"<< Objectives >>Some young people engaged in all partner organizations are discriminated based on sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation and that is widespread across all partner countries. All partners noticed limits of the extent to which young women and LGBTQ+ people are able to participate in society. Significant barriers to full and equal participation exist in they everyday life, education, employment, and political and public decision-making. In our societies homophobic and transphobic attitudes are common and LGBT people are often bullied in schools, discriminated against in the workplace, and invisible in public and political decision making. They are also be portrayed as harmful to national identity, the family, or religion by media or leaders. But youth workers/leaders in partner organizations also noticed the similar behavior of young people in their local communities, that most of them are very passive, they do not participate in the creation of activities, they are just consuming them. They lack of self-confidence about their competencies; they are afraid to go out of their comfort zone (physical and mental), they are facing exclusion, and are facing a lack of opportunities (economic, social, and geographical obstacles). Apathy explains why young people do not participate in the creation of programs and lack of their participation in democratic and political life. Some young people find it difficult to mix with people who they deem to be different from them; it is attributed to the mismatch in the attitudes, values, and culture. What we want to prevent is generalizing negative attitudes toward gender differences. Their behavior is characterized by fear of gender difference, and at the same time in the ""not-comfort"" zone, to do something new, to fight their own prejudices.With this project, we aim to empower youngsters to be responsible, active citizens with critical and supportive behavior at the local and international levels.Objectives are:1. To empower young people with fewer opportunities from passive behavior to active participation by being engaged in gender equality issues2. To develop competences through analyzing and discussing the topics of gender identity and gender expression from local to European levels while challenging discriminatory attitudes towards women or LGBTQ+ people3. To experience multi-culturalism through meeting and working with youngsters coming from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds.4. To discover new approaches in non-formal learning influencing youth participation, including e-participation.5. To become aware of the European community and to use opportunities of the Erasmus + program as a tool for the development of the culture of youth participation on gender issues.Youth-work setting inside the youth exchange will provide a unique and crucial safe space for young men and women to discuss and share their thoughts and experiences on gender and sexuality. Inside this project, we want to provide supportive, positive environments for young people and opportunities to develop their capacities.<< Implementation >>Udruzenje Svetlost is the host organization of the youth exchanges in Strazilovo/Sabac, Serbia from June 30th until July 7th 2022 (travel dates excluded) . The partners are coming from Portugal Croatia, Spain, Bulgaria, and Serbia. It is planned to have 31 participants (6 participants per country – 5 young people, including those with fewer opportunities, mainly between 16 and 23 years old and 1 youth leader; and 1 more facilitator from the host organization)Profile: young people, including those with fewer opportunities who are, are very passive, they are facing a lack of opportunities (economic, social, educational, and geographical obstacles). Some of them live in poverty, some never go abroad, some of them have low skills, some left school, some from rural areas or from isolated communities.All partnersalready have a group of young people facing different obstacles with low skills levels, for example, verbal skills and public speaking, and with negative social attitudes and stereotyping. Some young people engaged in all partner organizations are discriminated based on sex, gender identity and sexual orientation and that is widespread across all partner countries. Partners already have groups of young people that will participate on youth exchange. We believe that around 90% of this group will stay the same and some participants will be replaced if they do not want to go anymore for any reason.This application is prepared in the line with topics and tools selected by young people we are working with and they also contributed to the writing of the program and some elements from the application related to dissemination, impact, and follow-up. Youth leaders from each country will discuss more: the topics and tools with young people before YE; such as meeting other cultures issues; insurance; safety; language and they will organize preparatory work of the group of young people.Preparatory work will consist of the preparation for the session Creative Show – youngsters, in their national teams, will have tasks to explore and to write about stereotypes, prejudges, gender roles in families, at work, in their society… and during the Youth Exchange, they will have opportunity to give this paperwork to some other partner country, and that country will present it to all other participants in a creative way. Youngsters and organizations will be engaged in the dissemination phase to spread the voice about through promotion in traditional and social media, will organize workshops/presentations/etc related to the topic in the local communities, share the results within interested parties, cooperate with schools, etc.<< Results >>Learning outcomes:• develop an understanding of youth empowerment and gender identities and expressions• follow using gender-neutral language to provide a more inclusive space for all gender identities• understand the importance of privacy and fight against discrimination and prejudices related to different gender identities• understand the consequences of marginalization and youth without power behavior• understand how to be active in the local community and how to promote and protect human rights • learning new words/phrases in different languages• improving English language (working language on YE is English)• developing digital skills while preparing sessions since they will use different programmes like PowerPoint and Prezi, Kinemaster, etc, as well as basic Internet tools• raising awareness of different cultures and people habits• adopting behavior of working in a multicultural environment• understand the importance of non-formal education and peer to peer support and help• learn how to think critically and identify risks• learn how to take individual and collective responsibility for the safety of different genders• to be able to implement, where appropriate, reduction strategies for fighting gender and other ways of discrimination for other youth workers, volunteers and youth in their communities.The project perfectly fits the principle of the lifelong learning program since it focuses on the improvement of various skills such as teamwork, cooperation, intercultural competences, and attitudes such as active participation and tolerance. Through the implemented activities participants are also invited to acquired knowledge in a non-formal way on global education, human rights, different cultures, European Union.Our project teaches the participants for tolerance since it requires social inclusion: it allows equal opportunities for everyone regardless of sex, age, or economical status or other differences. The participants with different backgrounds will meet each other, work together and help each other. Through the cooperation, they break down the walls built up by society and prejudices which will help them to become more tolerant and to spread their ideas and promote gender equality in their home community as well. In a free working environment, the participants will learn spontaneously and in this way improve their interaction skills in all-day life and in the working environments as well."