Accredited projects in the field of youth offer young people a variety of opportunities:- strengthen their personal and professional development through non-formal and informal learning mobility activities;- foster their empowerment, their active citizenship and participation in democratic life;- foster quality development of youth work at local, regional, national, European and international level by building the capacity of organisations active in the youth field and supporting the professional development of youth workers;- promote inclusion and diversity, intercultural dialogue and the values of solidarity, equal opportunities and human rights among young people in Europe.The objectives of the projects can be achieved through the planning and implementation of the following activities: youth exchanges and youth workers professional development activities.Accredited projects in the field of youth are carried out by organisations holding a valid Erasmus Youth accreditation. Each of these organisations commits itself to comply with the Erasmus Youth Quality standards and to deliver high-quality mobility activities in the field of youth..

"The 'Youth Ambassadors for Youth Information against Discrimination' training course will be organised for young people coming from 12 different European countries (Slovenia, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Sweden, Croatia, Belgium, Ireland, Malta, Finland, the United Kingdom and Spain) and will take place in Slovenia. This project has its roots in the training course hosted in Malta in May 2012 for Youth Ambassadors for Youth's Right to Information in the context of the European campaign ""Information Right Now!"", implemented by ERYICA in partnership with the Council of Europe. The partnership also got inspiration from the No Hate Speech Campaign of the Council of Europe and from recent phenomena in Europe, such as youth radicalisation or the intolerance and xenophobia that the refugee crisis has awaken. Youth's right to information is fundamental in rising civic engagement among young people, strengthening their European mobility and awareness, increasing youth accessibility to opportunities for personal and professional development, and ensuring non-discrimination, tolerance and respect for European values. The project was developed from the idea that access to information is a key to tackle youth discrimination and violent and intolerant behaviours among young people. Thus by this training we aim to empower young people to be ambassadors of European values and information as a right for all youth in all the fields that concern their development.There are four main objectives of the training course:1. To raise the awareness of Youth Ambassadors on the importance of youth's right to information, both as an essential right and a prerequisite for young people’s access to their rights;2. To promote a culture of active citizenship and respect for the difference in which young people advocate for reducing the levels of acceptance of hate speech, racism, and discrimination in any of its expressions;3. To increase the competences and abilities of young people to spread the message among youngsters, decision-makers and media;4. To strengthen the cooperation between young people coming from different parts of Europe by enhancing open attitudes towards different cultural experiences and backgrounds.During the training seminar, young people coming from different countries will come together to jointly reflect on the reality of young people and the situation of youth information in their local realities. They will receive both individual and group tasks, will share information and best practice on the topic, and they will develop ideas of civic involvement through means of non-formal and informal learning. The final goal for them is to take the acquired knowledge, abilities and skills back to their home countries in order to become Youth Ambassadors for Youth Information against Discrimination. Special activities will be organized for cultural awareness, solidarity and networking, and video testimonials will be the main output of the training course.Networking will be in focus since the involved organisations have an ambition to co-operate in an European level. As all young people have the right to access information, it is crucial to ensure the participation of underrepresented groups. The project will involve organised and non-organised youth and young people with fewer opportunities, especially from minorities, poor socio-economic backgrounds, rural areas, or those at risk of social exclusion. The notions of inclusion, solidarity, tolerance, and respect for diversity are of priority for all partners. These young people will get informed about their genuine human rights especially the right to quality information. Moreover this will enable them to become more active part of the society, even include them in the structured dialogue with policy makers on national and/or European level. Furthermore, by knowing their rights, young people will be aware of how to defend them. The project will contribute to the inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities in society. On a bigger scale the project will contribute to build up a more tolerant, inclusive and fair society where no radicalisation, hate or violence is accepted."

Youth Information Outcomes Those working in youth information will benefit from improved competences, linked to their professional profiles particularly through experiencing other examples of practice and examining the impact of policy on their work Staff and managers will attain greater understanding of interconnections between formal and non-formal education, vocational training and the labour market particularly as there will be dedicated sessions on these. By beginning to work together participants will gain a greater understanding and responsiveness to social, linguistic and cultural diversity.The scope for increased ability to address the needs of the disadvantaged will be improved as will increased opportunities for professional and career development by interacting with fellow practitioners and managers from other countries. A greater understanding of the practice and policy environment will lead to increased motivation and satisfaction in their daily work.The organisations will gain increased capacity to operate at EU/international level as this is central to the work as are internationalisation strategies. The focus on the EU and Council of Europe plus an emphasis on the impact on policy will lead to reinforced cooperation with partners from other countries. The increased allocation of financial resources (other than EU funds) to organise EU/international projects will be examined in the planning stage, these might include active labour market or mental health funds. Given the centrality of the EU and the Council of Europe to the subject matter an increased quality in the preparation, implementation, monitoring and follow up of EU/international projects will be key. While the focus of the project is the policy making process, the examination of practice will also contribute towards innovative and improved way of operating towards target groups. Similarly, we see changes to youth information as an improved youth work method and practice to actively involve young people and to address disadvantaged groups. The focus on communicating practice to decision makers will also lead to a more modern, dynamic, committed and professional environment inside the organisation: ready to integrate good practices and new methods into daily activities. Core to the work on improving the policy environment is being open to synergies with organisations active in different social, educational and employment fields and the sessional plans reflect this. A focus on policy and decision making will assist planning strategically the professional development of staff in relation to individual needs and organisational objectives. Inclusion Outcomes A core aim of the project (and in moving to a KA2 application) is improved competences, broader understanding of practices, policies and systems in education, training or youth across countries relating to the issue of migration. A deeper understanding of the policy backdrop is also provided for. Similarly, a core outcome will be an increased capacity to trigger changes in terms of modernisation in dealing with new client groups. Working on the issue of migration will foster greater understanding of interconnections between formal and non-formal education, vocational training and the labour market respectively. Longer term (particularly in moving towards a KA2 application) better quality of work and activities in favour of students, trainees, apprentices, pupils, adult learners, young people and volunteers from migrant backgrounds will be a key outcome as inevitably will greater understanding and responsiveness to social, linguistic and cultural diversity and more work to address the needs of the disadvantaged. By its very nature work in migration means increased support for and promotion of mobility activities for learners and as a newer type of youth work will entail increased opportunities for professional and career development and improved foreign language competences; As workers often mention the need for more support in this field, responding to this will mean increased motivation and satisfaction in their daily work.Given the importance of EU and international developments in this field and the plan to move to a KA2 application an increased capacity to operate at EU/international level with improved management skills and internationalisation strategies plus reinforced cooperation with partners from other countries is a critical outcome for the partners. An increased allocation of financial resources (other than EU funds) to organise this work may draw on national funds or private sector donations. Again given the centrality of EU policy in this field (regardless of opt outs) an increased quality in the preparation, implementation, monitoring and follow up of EU/international projects is expected. One of the key outcomes in moving towards a KA2 application will be an innovative and improved way of operating towards new target groups of migrants, by providing

<< Objectives >>Young people who are in transition from childhood to adulthood are at a special and very important point in their lives. The choices they make about their education, career paths and other parts of their personal lifestyle will define their present and future. Youth work, youth information and counselling and other youth services, such as the European youth card, support them in this transition by helping achieve their full potential. Despite the importance of these services targeted at young people and their added value, it is still difficult for many youth service providers to effectively promote and reach the vast majority of young people that do not take advantage of them.In order to respond to this need and to ensure that youth service providers count on the tools and skills needed to succeed in reaching as many young people as possible, ERYICA, EYCA and Eurodesk wish to organise a common training event for youth service providers across that shared these needs. The training will take place on 25-29 November 2019 (3 full days including travel days) and will aim to address the needs of youth service structures and providers in optimising the promotion and attractiveness of their services among young people and of establishing efficient digital communication and outreach tools.The project aims at broadening understanding of practices and policies in youth work internationally and at enhancing the modernisation and effectiveness of youth services, in order, ultimately, to reach as many young people as possible through different communication channels and ensure that they are accessing the services that are available to them. As such, these goals match the objectives of the Erasmus+ programme, by intensifying networking at the European level and supporting youth inclusion, youth participation, and young people’s access to rights.The main aims of the project are:- to understand and assess the needs and challenges faced in the promotion of youth services at different levels (local, regional, national, European);- to assess the promotional opportunities for the sector provided by new communication tools and information technologies, considering current youth sociological trends as well as participants’ needs and profiles (e.g. social media, storytelling, influencers, Bots, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, etc.);- to discuss possible developments in the marketing and promotion of youth services with best practices and experiences from different countries;- to gain inspiration and input from experts in the field of communication, marketing and public relations;- to foster interaction of youth workers and youth service providers across Europe; - to create a brochure of best practices to be disseminated by all partner organisations; and- to identify synergies among members of the three networks by strengthening partnership and enhancing cooperation.<< Activities >>The following activities are planned to take place:A1) Questionnaire on best practices and training content - to open before the training course. Prior to the course, participants will be invited to share best practices in the promotion and outreach of their services. They will also be invited to signal which topics interest them the most (social media, outreach youth work, storytelling, artificial intelligence etc.), as well as their expectations. Based on the results of the questionnaires, the specific training content will be created, as well as a brochure of best practices (see A3 below) that will be published and disseminated during the training, and through the different communication channels of the partner organisations. By identifying the areas of interest and the areas of expertise, the training content will be well-adapted to the participants’ needs and expectations. A2) 3-day training on enhancing youth services promotion and outreach, which will take place on 26-28 November 2019 in Palma de Mallorca (Spain). 50 participants from across Europe will participate, and will be mainly communication strategists, youth information workers, and professionals dealing with communication and marketing of youth services in different organisations. Participants will be sent from 18 organisations from 14 countries across Europe, and will all be actively involved in the creation of the training content to ensure exchange, discussion and active participation. Some external experts will also be invited to attend. Topics will cover outreach youth work, digital communication channels and trends (e.g. social media, storytelling, influencers, Bots, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, etc.), and the training will use non-formal education methodologies.A3) Brochure on best practices: participants will be invited to provide examples of best practices in the promotion and outreach of their services before the event as a pre-task to the training. A publication of these practices will be published and shared at the event. Some of the content of the training will also be made from these good practices, and participants with the most innovative examples will be invited to present their good practices at the event.<< Impact >>The following results and impact are expected from the project:Short-term- Participants are trained on different topics, such as outreach youth work, digital communication channels and trends (e.g. social media, storytelling, influencers, Bots, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, etc.);- Participants come away with new ideas and inspiration for improving youth service promotion and visibility; - Participants have the possibility to exchange and cooperate in the future;- Participants will recognise the value of lifelong learning and be encouraged to continue this throughout their career path;- Participants improve their intercultural and language skills.Long-term- Youth services are more visible and attractive to young people;- Youth services have a wider outreach and greater inclusion of young people;- A publication is published that can provide examples of best practices in the youth field for years to come;- By making these services more ‘popular’ with young people, by involving them in the production, use and sharing of digital content, more young people will become active users of the services.

Youth Information is a prerequisite to youth participation. In many European countries, youth information and counselling are provided systematically and with professionalism, on a daily basis, to ensure that young people are enabled to make informed choices and live their own life with autonomy and independence.Koordinaatti is protagonist on a European scale of the development of youth information and took an initiative to organise a seminar aiming at analysing the meaning, impact, and evolution of youth information and counselling in the last 30 years. The seminar was an opportunity to overview the major achievements in the field and the challenges at stake for ensuring young people’s access to rights, effective promotion of youth information services, and provision of services matching the information needs of young people in the digital age.The seminar, lasting two days, gathered prominent figures that have dynamically worked in the past 30 years and who are active at the moment in developing youth information in Europe, as well as youth information workers with substantial experience with innovative communication methods and tools. The seminar gathered totally 49 participants in Helsinki, Finland on 19-21 April 2016. Participants were from 13 different countries.The main goals of the project was to evaluate the development of youth information and counselling in the last 30 years and to identify common and new challenges ahead in its development in a digital era, as well as possible solutions and approaches to overcome them. During the seminar it was found out that the historical evolution of Youth Information and Counselling can be viewed from different angles: practical-political and European-national-local levels. It was also clearly stated that European wide networking, learning from each others, sharing and supporting is important and the added value of European network over the last 30 years and it still bring. Important conclusion of a keynote speaker was: “There is no youth policy without youth information”.Participants familiarized not only with the challenges and opportunities of the digital age in youth information and counselling but identified overall strategies as well as individual tools to successfully meet new expectations. Participants had possibility to get understand and assess the needs and challenges faced in the development of youth information in Europe in the digital age, learn from past and present issues, as well as good practices, about overcoming new challenges, and identify synergies with partner organisations to successfully find solutions.Seminar concluded that Digital era has brought new information tools and channels to make communication with young people more effective, but the essential needs of young people remain very similar over decades. Online forms of information and communication tools need still to be embedded in the provision of Youth Information and Counselling services, but offline forms of communication and face-to-face interactions cannot be totally replaced by digital environments, they are complementary and cannot be dissociated. Important conclusion of the seminar was that Digital youth information work should not be an aim in itself, but a medium to reach our goals. In discussions on ongoing activities and current topics the radicalization was debated. All participants saw that youth information services have an important role in preventing radicalization in forms of informing young people on their rights.During the seminar several kind of methods were used, such as gallery walking, story-telling, open space, world cafe and visual graphic recording to ensure the broadest possible engagement of participants. Also use of social media tools were integrated in several methods to give participants ideas how to use digital technology in seminars.All the participants were satisfied with the content and used methods. Participants reported that they had either got new ideas and practices to use in their work or/and new information about digital youth information done in different organisations around Europe. Many of the participants also got new partnerships to their existing projects. Also new projects were developed during the seminar, specially in the open space -part of the seminar.