<< Objectives >>If we compare local communities across the world, the issues affecting young people would shift and change like a kaleidoscope. But regardless of variation in local issues, engaging young people is a vital part of personal development in any community. Engaging and empowering young people, especially marginalized youth presents a significant challenge in our society, because they are often disconnected from and distrust the systems/environments in which they live Yet, meaningful youth engagement is a key concept not only for optimal youth development but also as a catalyst for system change to improve support for high-risk, marginalized youth and families Importantly, youth should be more respectfully acknowledged as a key contributor to youth development and system change Art is one of the most powerful tool for engagement, because if also affects emotions Arts programs have long been used to help people communicate, share beliefs, learn skills and communicate information. When we talk about art in the youth work, the special attention deserves drama, due its ability to break down barriers in communication between young people and get them actively creating together, developing relationships, and engaging with current issues. Drama has a great possibility to help young people not only see but also to experience things from another’s perspective, something our society surely desperately needs. It is innovative and efficient way of non-formal learning. Drama impacts on five of the eight Lisbon Key Competences for lifelong learning. This was researched and evaluated in the DICE (“Drama Improves Lisbon Key Competences in Education”) study from 2008–2010 which was funded by the European Union (http://www.dramanetwork.eu).Many youth workers have a commitment to drama based programs with young people. However, many do not have the necessary arts skills to lead such a programme. That is why we come up with the idea to create a LTTC “Epic Theater” in order to equip the youth workers and educators with the tool which could help, during their work, to tackle such a difficult topics as recent and current social and political conflicts related to issues, such as immigration and threats in democracies around the world that pose concerns about racism and threaten the peace process in Europe. The LTTC aims at providing new innovative methods to international youth organisations that can be applied on a local level in their daily activities, especially in order to include young people from marginalised groups, refugees, youngsters with minority background, people with disabilities and other groups with fewer opportunities. It is connected with the goals of the Erasmus+, as it provides new innovative methods and skills for youth workers to include marginalised youth into the society and provides opportunities for them to develop skills, Furthermore, it brings young people from different cultures closer together, and it helps young people to express and reflect their opinion, gain self-confidence and take active part in the society. The methods that the youth workers will learn during this project will help them to work in their local communities to foster cultural diversity, understanding and implementation of common European values, such as tolerance and respect of human rights.OBJECTIVES:To create new methods for non formal learning based on drama techniquesTo share and analyze drama methods within educational contextPromoting drama as a valid youth work methodologyTo put drama techniques into practice for soft skill development of youngstersTo understand the effect of drama for social inclusion of young peopleTo understand the impact of drama onto the Lissabon Key CompetencesTo develop new projects and co-operationsCreating linkages with youth organizations and other stakeholders at local, national and international level.These objectives link to Erasmus+ and KA1 objectives as project:- Provides youth workers with skills which are valuable for enhancing work of NGOs and youth organizations around Europe; - Improves level of key competences and skills of young people, including those with fewer opportunities;- Enhances participants' foreign languages competences;- Promotes youth mobility in Europe, active citizenship, raises awareness and understanding of other cultures and countries among participants;- Fosters quality improvements in youth work, in particular through enhanced cooperation between organisations in the youth field and/or other stakeholders.<< Activities >>The LTTC “Epic Theater” is consists of two parts – two training courses.The first TC will be implemented in Pafos, Cyprus 7th to 15th of August, 2020The second TC will be implemented in Weimar, Germany 7th to 15th of November, 2020The LTTC is open for 28 trainers, teachers, facilitators, coaches, youth workers, educators, social workers, staff from NGOs and active volunteers, coming from 12 countries ( Germany, Russia, Georgia, Croatia, Ukraine, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Macedonia, Turkey, and Hungary) All participants should be, at least, a year long active staff members of their organizations, who are interested in getting to know new opportunities and tools for their daily work, who are working directly with young people and have little or no experience in using the methods of drama. Youth facilitators who haven’t had the chance to participate in an international project lately will have a higher priority of taking part. The two activities of the project complement each other. Therefore it will be the same participants for both parts of the project Each day in the programme will be devoted to a certain skill and topic - participants will learn about it through experiential learning, using non-formal education methods, such as games, participatory activities, role playing, performing, brainstorming, discussions and group work. << Impact >>At end of the second activity participants will make a final performance in front of the invited guests, which will help to reach wider audience in order to spread content and outcomes of the project. One more outcome will be the handbook aims to meet the needs of youth workers by arranging the material into searchable categories:a)Working with specific target groups (e.g. Migrants, LGBTQI+)b)Working with specific social inclusion themes (e.g. gender equality, anti- racism, xenophobia, etc.)c)Using Forum Theatre as a methods of youth work d)Working generally in the field of social inclusion with young people (conflict resolution, developing critical thinking, exploring power, etc.)The handbook will be published on Salto tool boxIt is expected that the participants of the LTTC will acquire new skills, knowledge, attitudes and behavior models. By acquiring skills of using drama methods strategy and project management as well and understanding its importance for positioning and developing of their organization, they will increase and strengthen capacities of their organizations on local and international levels and will be able to use them successfully in their daily working life. On local, regional, national and international levels mutual understanding and social diplomacy will be developed and cooperation between youth NGOs in programme countries strengthened

The coordinators and facilitators of this project, coming from Italy and Bulgaria, met in the Training of Trainers “Quality in non-formal learning for Youth Workers” hosted by YouMore in Chiari, Italy, where the idea of “B.U.L.L.Y” saw the light, a first draft of the project was written and they met representatives of the partner organizations. There we realised, both as Youth Workers and young citizens, that bullying is a common and widespread phenomenon in all the involved countries, against which action has to be taken: we decided to organise a Youth Exchange and gather together in Chiari, Italy, from 17 to 23 July 2017, 31 youngsters aged 18-25 from six different countries (Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Spain, Czech Republic and Lithuania) in order to make them reflect on the topic and raise awareness on the impact of words, labels and nicknames and how they affect other people’s lives. The participants realised that they may have unconsciously been bullies/bullied through their lives and how easy it is to hurt other people through a non-aware use of language.Awareness was raised using different methodologies, such as role-plays, walking debates, small group discussions, but mostly through workshops in which the participants were actively involved and free to express themselves and use their abilities. Participants were divided in small working groups according to their own talents and skills, in the frame of a common campaign they decided to call #mylabelisHUMAN:- Street artists, the participants created a permanent graffiti on an outdoor wall in Chiari- T-shirt designers, who came up with the design ideas for the t-shirts participants then created and wore during a Flash Mob they organized in Brescia- Social media campaign group, in which a smaller group creatively took care of the communication and promotion of a campaign against bullying through different social media- Photographers and Video-makers, producing audio-visual material for the social media campaign- Musicians/Flash Mob committee, in charge of creating and coordinating a Flash Mob- Coordination board, in charge of coordinating all groups and making sure all groups followed the same vision in order to achieve the main goal of the campaign. More specifically, we aim at including minorities, giving participants an input for a more active citizenship and campaigning against bullying. We required from the partner organizations to select participants with artistic skills (graffiti, photography, drawing, film-making, writing, graphic novel, social media storytelling &communication..) and at least 1 person per national group with a background of social exclusion and/or a bullied past. All project partners were met during the mentioned Training Course in Chiari and they will be actively involved in the designing, implementation and dissemination of the project: every partner had a specific role.The Italian local community will be actively involved in the project: a special dinner was organized in which participants were invited at local families’ places for dinner in small groups, while the outcomes of the workshops were presented in a closing ceremony. All participants agreed to commit for the dissemination of project’s results both through campaigning on social networks and in their local communities.We prepared a survey participants were asked to fill before departure, and another that they were asked to fill after returning home, the first one containing specific questions on bullying, labels, campaigning, their personal experience and skills, while the second one asking questions on their experience, learning process, their acquired skills and feedback on our work, in order to measure the impact the project has had on them.A final evening took place on the last day of the project to share the project’s outcomes to Chiari’s local community. After the YE, partners will play an active role in the dissemination of the project’s results, both online through social media and their official channels and in their local communities organizing a topic-related meeting with local Youth.

At present, 75% of the EU population lives in urban areas, while over 90% of its territory is classified as rural. These rural areas throughout Europe are often neglected and portrayed in a negative way. Wether we like or not, the image of the “rural” is generally associated with the rustic, old-fashioned and poor, and its inhabitants face isolation, lack of infrastructure and services and a restricted job market. For this reason, rural young people are often stereotyped as bored, lacking ambition or troublemakers. However, new technologies, bio values and examples of young entrepreneurship and sustainable innovation in the countryside redefine what “rural” means and provide a modern and fresh look at rural areas in Europe today. WE RURAL is a Youth Exchange of social, cultural and environmental commitment, in which 23 participants, aged 18 to 26, from 4 different countries (Armenia, Italy, Malta and Spain) will take part for 6 full working days. The youth exchange will take place in a remote rural area in the municipality of Zaragoza (Spain). WE RURAL aims to promote and make visible the opportunities and values of the rural, in order to empower young rural people to take active part in the development of their local communities and put in practice a vision of Europe that is based on sustainability, solidarity and pluralism. Objectives: - To reduce the negative impact of stereotypes associated with the “rural” and emphasize the positive aspects about living in rural environments. - To get to know that “sustainability” means in rural areas and provide a deep understanding on sustainable development. - To facilitate a space for learning and exchange of good practices, ideas en experiences in young entrepreneurship and sustainable innovation in rural areas. - To encourage young people to promote and take part in environmental volunteering activites and adopt and ecologic way of life that makes a local positive impact. - Strengthen the role of youth and environmental organisations to support young people in rural areas. - To promote the creation of youth networks to foster sustainable development in rural areas. - Strenghten cooperation between partner countries and programme countries. Number of participants: 23 Profile of participants: -Young people who choose to live an alternative way of life, rethink about moving back to the country side or want to reconnect with their roots and nature. Young people who try to make a positive impact in their local communities throughout environmental protection / conservation. - Young migrants or refugees living in rural areas. -Young people who moved back or stayed in their viallages with a desire to revive and foster their regions’s culture and traditions (traditional arts, handwork, agriculture…) -Young people engaged in informal education activities (youth clubs/centres…) -Young local entrepreneurs who developed their own business in their rural area in order to dynamise the region and create more opportunities Methodology, tools and activities in this youth exchange are based on methods and techniques of non formal education and experiential learning: outdoor activities, team building, debates, role playing, simulations, games, informative sessions, interactive workshops, local inmersion proposals, etc. As a result of this youth Exchange, a booklet and audiovisual content will be made and at public’s disposal. As a commitmet of young rurals with their territories, a MANIFESTO will be developed, to challenge ourselves and one another in our efforts to be part of the change we want to see in Europe. Also a campaign on the social media will be launched under the hashtag #WeRural.

Mostar Friedensprojekt is organizing two training courses: “Theater of the Oppressed: Implementation of forum theater methods in the youth work to fight youth unemployment“ (11.12.2015-20.12.2015) and “Theater of the Oppressed: Implementation of forum theater methods in the youth work for dealing with the phenomenon of migration“ (25.09.2015-04.10.2015) for participants, who are active as youth workers, social workers and project leaders. “The theatre itself is not revolutionary: it is a rehearsal for the revolution.” This was the idea of the Brazilian theatre director and writer Augusto Boal. He founded the Theatre of the Oppressed and developed it in practice throughout his career. The objective is to develop a theatre that gives answers to the very important issues of nowadays European society. The first training course, which will be attended by 35 participants from 16 countries, will deal with unemployment and poverty. The statistics show that unemployment among young people is increasing every year across Europe. There are many reasons behind the problem of youth unemployment, for example: lack of particular skills, wrong educational system, mismatches between education and needs in labor market, lack of self confidence, lack of self esteem, and of course structural lack of working places.What can young people do to increase their employability then? How are they can find a job? How they will effectively present themselves in the labor market and succeed? With the help of the Theater of Oppressed methods, we will simulate different situations, which will come directly from the participants’ personal and collective life experience. By doing it, we will discuss the problem and will search for an answer in creative way. The second training course, which will be attended by 35 participants from 16 countries, will deal with migration process, which is comprised of any kind of movement of individuals or group of people; it also includes refugees, displaced persons, uprooted people and economic migrants. The purpose of this training course to analyze and discuss such issues as lack of personal or community support mechanisms for migrants, which can be exposed to racism, xenophobia and discrimination. Theatre of the Oppressed provides an arsenal of theatre techniques and games that seek to motivate people to restore a true dialogue and to create space for participants to rehearse taking action. It encourages the audience's interaction Independent of age, social or cultural background or previous knowledge in theater techniques Theater of the Oppressed works educational by creating a cooperative and democratic environment. Independent of age, social or cultural background or previous knowledge of its techniques Theatre of the Oppressed works educational through its cooperative and democratic methods to motivate positive social changes.Theatre of the Oppressed is therefor also a great creative pedagogical tool of non-formal learning. It excites, entertains and engages participants as well as audience. During the training course participants will be introduce to the theories and the practices of Theatre of the Oppressed movement. Two qualified theater trainers will prepare participants to use this techniques in their own youth work and in their local communities, while having lots of fun in that process! Participants will not only create their own performances, but also take a closer look at the European reality and reflect about oppressive structures on personal, local and global levels. In order to create an inspirational atmosphere and to catch the muse, the Mostar Friedensprojekt team will work with participants also outside, at fascinating locations in the city of Potsdam and in Berlin. These training courses are an excellent chance to became a multiplier of the theatre techniques.

"The implementation of the Youth Exchange ""Change4Europe"",on the theme about Democracy and the Future of Europe, will contribute to prevent, minimize, combat and reverse of any situation of social exclusion and discrimination (racial, religious, gender and social / economic origin) in a critical and constructive way, in this tematics which are problematic issues transverse to all societies / communities at a international level. To achieve that, we will provide to all the participants, and particularly those most vulnerable to the above situations, with skills, knowledge and tools that enable them to reflect and become aware of change and th importance of active citizenship, to raise awareness of intercultural and interreligious dialogue, to know and to learn about other cultures and foreign languages and to implement actions that are in line with the objectives defined in the ERASMUS+ Programme and, particulary, in this project.This exchange will involve 6 young people and a leader from each participating country (Portugal, Belgium, France and Italy) and will be held from 31rd of march to 08th of april of 2018, in Lourinhã, Portugal. The project allows the participation of all the youngs between 14 and 19 years old, and there is no requirement, but it is a pre-condition for understanding basic English. The young people involved in the project will come from different cultures and different socio-economic contexts and the group will be constituted with 28 participants, 12 with less opportunities, especially with economic, social (minority, migrant, refugee) and / or professional obstacles.Through the experience of the exchange and the activities developed, namely: practical and thematic workshops, energizers, awareness raising actions, intercultural evenings, presentations, debates, games and pedagogic games, among others, participants will increase their network of contacts and develop their personal, social and professional skills.The methodologies applied in the project activities will be non-formal, using pedagogical methods: expositive, active, demonstrative and interrogative. The evaluation of the exchange we will apply quantative and quality methods.It is intended that there is an impact of the exchange at local, regional, national, European and / or international level, as the main goals to be achieved are transversal to the problems and priorities felt by the community and society in general and the results of the project will be visible through dissemination activities by young people and parters organisations. In the same way, this project allows the creation of synergies and reinforcement in cooperation between organizations for the fields of education, training and youth, being fundamental to increase and improve their capacity of action, in an innovative, attractive and appropriate way to the expectations and the needs of young people and the community.The impact and the dissemination of the exchange will be ensured through the knowledge of ERASMUS + Programme and its opportunities, as well as the various initiatives that young people will develop during the exchange and upon their return to their origin countries. For exemple, the organization of debates and exhibitions about the theme and the ERASMUS+ Programme; the distribution/divulgation of flyers/newspaper; the visualization of the promotional video of the exchange; the promotion of this kind of project and programme throught the local media (radio, newspaper) and through the testimonies and sharing of the participants with their network of contacts/community, and others.At the end of the exchange, young people will fulfill the Youthpass certificate, as a way of certifying all the skills acquired during the project, and it can be used as an instrument for their future (re)insertion in the job market. The expected long-term benefits of this project are achieved, at one hand, by promoting, with the local communities of each organization, good practices on democracy, intercultural and interreligious dialogue, tolerance, solidarity and awareness-raising for social contrasts and, at the other hand, the incentive to continue this actions about this and other issues considered as priorities in Europe."