The VOCCESS project has managed to create an interactive online program for career guidance, aimed at students between the ages of 19 and 26 to help them guide and build a professional career that is consistent with their skills, values ​​and passions. The educational system created has been based on proven teaching and training practices, in addition to having an attractive appearance and adapted to the target group: it is gamified and easy to use through the app created by the project.Organizations from Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Spain have participated in the VOCCESS project. The objective has been to share the knowledge and experience of the consortium in the field of career guidance and work with young people to achieve an innovative methodology, but one that is adapted to the real and current needs of young people, which can be useful not only for your professional career but also for your self-knowledge.The training program generates an active involvement of users, asking and making them reflect on their situation and their preferences, without forgetting their knowledge and skills, to give rise to a range of specific guidance suggestions for their professional careers.The system supports users in the most important points of a successful career:- determine your vocation, using a unique combination of values, interests and natural talents;- find the best career path/option, setting and achieving goals;- Generate guided and oriented learning so that they acquire knowledge about the necessary steps to develop the professional career that best suits them.The intellectual results created are:-An innovative methodology on labour and professional guidance-A complimentary online training course-A mobile application with a profiling algorithm based on the interests, knowledge, skills and values ​​of young people.Through the created VOCCESS methodology, a gamified learning process is presented that gives participants the opportunity to track their progress and earn rewards for each achievement, an innovative approach in the field. In addition, VOCCESS provides a unique step-by-step strategy for each user, which creates a vision for their professional development, helps them set goals and build a plan to achieve them. The methodology includes coaching, NLP methods (neurolinguistic programming) and curriculum design for professional education.Through the online course and the VOCCESS app, the opportunity to take advantage of the interactive online program for career guidance is provided to young people from the participating countries but also to English-speaking users outside these countries. All results have been translated into all languages ​​of the countries of the project partners.VOCCESS has managed to generate a methodology, a system of profiles and an online course that unifies the program, which helps young people to have a different approach in terms of their careers, guiding them in their self-knowledge and that of their own context and opportunities available.The project has reached more than 4,500 people between the ages of 18 and 34, with the majority group being between 19 and 26 years old. In addition, the results produced have been implemented and tested with more than 450 people.The long-term benefits of the project are promising, mainly due to the contact with the General Directorate of Employment and Training (GVA Labora) since it may affect the process of preparing Valencian public policies.

CONTEXT/BACKGROUND:The main problem that we confront is the entrepreneur illiteracy and youth unemployment. This problem is a reality in European scale that reflects the socio-economic crisis that Europe is experiencing and that brings all social problems associated with it. The development of an initiative and entrepreneurial culture allows the increase of the employability in a direct way and the return of the feeling of identity, ownership and belonging to the youth, aligning them with the fundamental values of the EU, creating positive impact in all socio-economic indicators.OBJECTIVES:The general objective is the empowerment of young people to entrepreneurship and inclusion. The specific objectives provided the young people with:1.Spirit of initiative and entrepreneurship.2.Inclusive behaviour.3.Pro-activity and active participation in society.4.Values such as innovation, change, respect, tolerance and trust.5.Multicultural experiences of European dimension.6.European certificate of competences validation.PARTICIPANTS:56 young people who wished to develop and encourage the entrepreneurial spirit and promote competences conducive to the development of an innovative, inclusive, creative, technological and entrepreneurial culture.Profile:-Age between 13 and 20 years.-Identified themselves with the problem, needs and objectives of the project.-Motivated to give input in all phases of the project, from planning to completion.-Committed to disseminate the results of the project by their networks of contacts and influences.-Pro-active in creating impacts on themselves and in the communities to which they belong.-Willing to give continuity and ensure the sustainability of the project with initiatives and contributions to other projects that also focus on the priorities of the EU.-Able to express themselves in oral and written format and understand the basics in English. ACTIVITIES DESCRIPTION:1.Project preparation: objective to establish the plans of activities, logistics, communication and dissemination, finance, security and protection and evaluation and proceed to the selection of participants.2.APV: objective of preparing all logistics and technical content of exchange and the preparation of the participants.3.Preparation of the participants: aim of preparing the participants in aspects of logistics and technical content of the project through discussion, experimentation and reflection on the objectives, results and expected impacts, expectations, contributions and fears of young people, the various project plans and the youthpass and the linguistic, social and cultural aspects.4.Exchange: objective of empowerment of young people to entrepreneurship – provided the young people with a spirit of initiative and entrepreneurship; of inclusive behaviours; pro-activity and active participation in society; values like innovation, change, respect, tolerance and trust; multicultural experiences of European dimension; and European certificate of competences validation.5.Communication and dissemination: objective of disseminating the project and disseminate the results at a very broad level, projecting organizations for a global level of visibility and facilitating the creation of internal and external impacts.6.Conclusion: objective to carry out the final evaluation and closure of the project.7.Sustainability: objective of continuing to use the results after the end of the funding period.METHODOLOGY:Non-formal education.DESCRIPTION OF THE RESULTS AND EXPECTED IMPACTS:1.Development of:1.1Spirit of initiative and entrepreneurship.1.2Inclusive behaviour.1.3Pro activity.1.4Active participation in society.1.5Values such as innovation, respect, change, tolerance, trust and dignity.1.6Multicultural experiences of European dimension.2.Improvement of:2.1Knowledge of Erasmus+ programme.2.2Awareness of communities and organizations to the problem of entrepreneur illiteracy, youth unemployment and social exclusion.2.3Awareness of communities and organizations for the use of non-formal education.2.4Pro-activity of communities and organizations in the promotion of activities of education and learning.2.5Inclusive behaviours, international collaboration and the appreciation of multiculturalism.2.6Involvement of communities and organizations in the debate of social and youth issues.2.7Knowledge of foreign languages, including English.2.8Participation of young people and organizations in national and European projects.EXPECTED LONG TERM BENEFITS:Creating positive impacts on social welfare and on the socio-economic indicators such as the rate of unemployment, rate of social and democratic abstention, GDP, income per capita, Gini coefficient, among others.

<< Objectives >>If we look at research on the state of young people in North Macedonia we will see a dark image. The reality is that our youngsters are not emancipated as others across Europe and the political situation in the country only makes the reality worse for young people. Youth participation is at a low level and the democratic processes happen without the active involvement of a large portion of young people. Seeking a better life they resort to European Union member states. What happens is a huge loss of quality young people on whom a country’s future rest. From this premise, we are guided in creating the proposal Citizens of Europe, Citizens of the EU.According to The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, young people’s active participation in civic life can serve to secure social cohesion and guarantee democratic principles in a society where human rights are respected (European Charter on the participation of young people in municipal and regional life, 1992).In the Congress’ “Youth and democracy: the changing face of youth political engagement” report, however, it is noted that young people engage politically differently and there is a wide gap between political institutions and young people’s understanding of participation. Young people face joblessness, job insecurity, difficulty transitioning into employment and grown-up life. They are more and more disappointed and feel side-lined from the political process. Institutions do not fully understand what the new forms of youth participation are, and they also misconstrue the issues that mobilise young people.Young people need a nurturing environment for their participation to have meaning. They require rights, means, space, opportunities and support. Youngsters’ active participation in democratic structures and representative institutions is fundamental to guaranteeing the legality, credibility and operation of self-governing systems.Political participation of youth is conditioned by socio-demographic factors but the frameworks shape the stages of political participation among youngsters. In the EU, it is subject to democratic maturity. The engagement of young people in diverse types of political participation across individual democracies variates significantly. Youngsters from reputable EU democracies are more likely to be politically active. COVID-19 revealed humanity's upsides and downsides as well. It demonstrated that while we may preach one thing, we do the complete opposite. It blatantly showed that exclusion and xenophobia are a mere part of the issues affecting our coexistence at the European, and at global level. The most glaring examples are the stereotyping and name-calling of the entire Asian community while placing the blame on them alone for the virus. Other exclusion issues arise from certain double standards practised by the Union, such as:- Bulgaria's veto on North Macedonia's accession negotiations;- the cases with Hungary and Poland's defiance to comply with EU laws about migrants and the recovery budget, as well as bringing in laws that deny or limit people's freedoms (especially of the LGBTQI community, and women), just to name a few.The new state in which the world was tossed, affected youngsters. From the 25% rate of social exclusion of young people in 2019 (according to Eurostat), we expect the percentage to rise in 2021. The highest levels of young people at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2019 were in Greece (38.1 %) from the EU member countries and North Macedonia (43.0 %) from the non-EU countries in Europe.Our project aims to fight xenophobia and exclusion on the territory of Europe, and beyond; to foster dialogue and understanding among the different groups of people who live here; increase tolerance and intercultural dialogue; to promote EU citizenship and identity resulting in active participation. The main objective is to initiate an intercultural dialogue that will promote European awareness among the participants and give them a sense of European identity.<< Implementation >>The youth exchange involves partner organisations from 5 countries (North Macedonia, Serbia, Greece, France and Spain) each represented by a group of 4 young people + 1 group leader. Two facilitators from the host organisation will facilitate the learning process.In this project, we seek to involve youngsters from across Europe who are interested in the project’s topic no matter their nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, economic or any other background they come from. Also, we believe that involving youth with fewer opportunities such as unemployed youth, youngsters with cultural inclusion problems, youngsters living in peripheral or rural areas, youngsters from a migrant background, etc. will help promote tolerance and anti-discrimination among the participants coming from different backgrounds.With the activities which we will implement, we aim to raise awareness among the participants and teach them something new about topics which affect their daily lives. We strive to improve the key competences in participants (multilingual, citizenship, learning to learn, cultural awareness and expression, and literacy) and bring them closer to the Youth Goals (connecting EU with youth, inclusive societies, information and constructive dialogue, space and participation for all).The methodology used will be non-formal and informal, and various communicative, activity-based, socially-focused, participatory and self-directed methods including interaction, dialogue, practice, teamwork, creativity, research, ICL, etc.This activity was organised to provide the young people who will take part in it with the possibility to learn something new, meet new people, discuss, debate and learn from each other about European issues, for which often even adults fail to discuss properly, but which are a part of our daily lives. Whether we like it or not, these issues are turning into serious problems for the citizens and the governments of Europe, so through constructive dialogue and participation in the decision-making processes can we see progress.We see the debate as an interesting and dynamic way to foster intercultural understanding and cooperation and also a free exchange of ideas. In bringing together young people from different parts of Europe and different backgrounds, this event will try to break down national, economic, cultural, and ethnic boundaries, and show that opposing views can be explored in a way that connects rather than divides people. With its emphasis on critical thinking, effective communication, independent research, and teamwork, the debates that we will do in this activity will be very beneficial to the participants. Debating will teach them that once they learn how to do it, they will be able to critically examine situations and make informed judgments about crucial issues. We have included several categories of topics of interest (ecology, politics, law, inclusion, education, human rights, culture, etc.), and every participant will have the possibility to participate in debates on all of them.The following formats of debate and discussion will be done:* The High School format - focuses on emphasizing the development of critical thinking skills, and tolerance for different viewpoints. * Model United Nations debate - focuses on applying all the democratic principles applied in the real United Nations. * Lincoln-Douglas Debate - focuses on an issue of philosophical or political context, and which will be analyzed from a moral perspective. This form of debate encourages the participants to make original and persuasive arguments on issues of ethics. * Parliamentary Debate - a discussion format taken from the British House of Parliament, with one or more teams representing the government, and the others speaking for the opposition. The parliamentary debate also permits to direct each other with short, witty, and relevant comments, which challenge some aspect of the opponent's speech and entertain the audience.* Limited Preparation/Impromptu Speaking - the participants will learn to prepare and deliver an original speech on a topic with a limited amount of preparation time. Extemporaneous topics are presented in the form of questions, and contestants are expected to take a position on the question as well as to justify their stance.<< Results >>The primary impact will be made on the way the participants perceive Europe and how they see themselves as part of it. Young people’s opinions are deeply biased by their background, nationality, social status, education, race, religion, etc. because they are still learning to process the world outside their comfort zone and what they have been taught their entire lives. This project will challenge the young people to explore and learn more about the topics that are of mutual concern, and inspire them to learn from each other and cooperate, share ideas and look for solutions by thinking outside the box.The participants will be provided with space where they can learn, upgrade their skills and competences, develop attitudes and improve their behaviours. The participants will be encouraged to be active and thanks to the way the activities are organised, they will become empowered to initiate and implement their own activities. They will learn about the importance of civic participation, and they will learn how to use EU mechanisms to advocate for their ideas and to solve mutual problems of the peoples inhabiting the continent. Young people will learn about the Union, democracy and EU mechanisms, form international connections thanks to the international character of the project, and acquire competences which they will use in their future professional and personal life.Given the skills they will gain, the young people will be able to continue development in this field and, more importantly, continue to work on the development of their communities by being actively engaged in all the processes. Each one of the involved organisations partnering in this project will gain multifaceted benefits:- get new members who are acquainted with the topic of civic participation and have international experience of cooperating with others, making them valuable for future activities to be implemented at the local, national or international level;- increase its outreach and engage young people from the local community more easily to work on exclusion, xenophobia, and other similar topics. They will be able to create synergies between the local civic organisations, public bodies/agencies and the people from the local community embracing the diverse groups who exist there. - increase its competencies to organise events on the topics of the project and to encourage the civic participation of the target group with which they work. Additionally, the group leaders, and through them, the organisations, will increase their competences for working with youth with fewer opportunities, especially those from migrant backgrounds. - Participation in the programme means increased cooperation at the international level for organisations, as well as bigger visibility and bigger chances for repeating participation in it. The organisations will impact the local community positively thanks to the topics of EU citizenship, inclusion and democracy, which will enable them to work more closely with state institutions on the creation of policies that will be in line with European strategies and development goals, as well as in their proper implementation.Big changes do not happen overnight. However, small steps lead to great victories. Locally, young people will be encouraged and supported to partake in democratic and political life. Moreover, their active engagement will bring closer the understanding of the institutions about young people's role, and it will empower young people to take on more responsible roles.

<< Objectives >>SafeSpace4Youth aims to have a powerful impact on self-development on young people, strengthening their employability prospects through civic and social engagement whilst also recognising the value of youth work in creating safe spaces for young people to flourish and develop. We will work directly with youth workers and young people in their communities to become local advocates and peer leaders in promoting positive mental health and building transversal skills of youth through social action.<< Implementation >>SafeSpace4Youth with train 48 youth workers to use social action to engage at risk young people, empower 40 young people to act as peer leaders in their communities, develop tailored toolkits and educational resources to support the project objectives, host virtual and in-person training activities and showcase events and we will kick-start new social actions at local level on young mental health. All resources and materials developed will be accessible, open source and widely disseminated.<< Results >>1. SS4Y CPD Programme for Youth Workers and opportunities for transnational learning and exchange2. Social Action Toolkit for Employability Skills3. Peer Leadership Programme for young people4. SS4Y Kick-start fund and accessibility grants to support inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities5. Comprehensive dissemination and communication strategy to guarantee local, regional and EU impact of the project results6. Multiplier Events and training activities for project target groups

The TC ''Innovative Conflict Resolution Approaches for Youth Workers Through Non Formal Education '' is a shared project idea among 7 partners organizations (Italy,Spain,Romania,Lithuania,Bulgaria,Greece,Turkey).The main idea came as a result of several months discussions with relevant to the youthfield stakeholders, project managers' reflections, interviews from youth workers and youths and analysis of results and impact from other TC under YiA and E+. In a more specific context youth workers of partner organizations work in environments where they observed often and deal with acts of non desirable and non easy managing attitudes. The youthworkers mention that they would like to be more competent to face issues of conflict that happening in their organizations between local youngsters to refugee youth. They often refer to their personal and professional lack of skills and innovating methods to approach youngsters in order to confront several unexpected acts that happen in often basis. Some youngsters are observed to be less active citizens for their community welfare, easy attracted to acts of conflicts, xenophobia and discrimination. Additionally youth workers recognize that some of their youngsters are non very cooperative with them. Youthworkers admit that the main reason might be the approaches that sometimes/often they use in their organizations.Looking through these issues all partner organizations came to the conclusion that there is a serious need of designing a project to support our youthworkers to develop themselves professionally and personally. We want to suggest methods, examples, practices and share ideas through joyful learning using non formal approaches in order to empower them with the development of their basic key competences and with the increase their self confidence. In other words we will implement a project and a training course using non formal approaches in order to empower our youthworkers:- to get aware of successful practices of conflict resolution that may observed within their organization;-promote Social Equity and solidarity;- assist youngsters within their society to turn into more active citizens.So, we have decided that it would be a good start for supporting our youthworkers to plan, design, implement a 16 months project and deliver an 8 days TC (with 3 participants, in Kayseri,Turkey 20/3/17-28/3/17) in order to propose, share and promote ideas and solutions to the identified problem. Our project managers and trainers will:- implement tools and methods basically from Non Formal Learning (like simulations, debriefing, case studies, Role Plays, Theater based sessions, reflection etc),- promote visibility and disseminate along with all partner organizations the power of E+ programme and results;- bring and establish a stable and fruitful impact to the participants, to their organizations, to local, regional and wider LLL Society. Objectives:1. To share and suggest practices of conflict resolution and management;2. To develop youthworkers confidence on how to resolve unexpected conflicts and acts of discrimination within their practice;3. To increase awareness on the importance of the implementation of social inclusion practices in the youthwork as a ally to conflict management;4. To train youth workers in the planning and implementing of practices for empowering solidarity and social inclusion;5. To develop further participants social and personal skills through experiential and participatory learning;6. To develop basic and transversal skills in all fields of youth work and training, using innovative and youngsters centred pedagogical and non formal approaches;7. To improve the level of key competences and skills, with particular regard to their relevance for the labour market and their contribution to a cohesive society;8. To create new future cooperation and increase the visibility of the results of Erasmus+;The expected impact on participants:As a direct impact we expect more openness in the attitude of the participants that can suggest ways on how they can improve their opportunities they have as youthworkers who face new unexpected situations in society.They will also develop their competence on social skills and managing conflicts, suggesting ideas and even solving small scale problems that are related to their own life or to their own societies.The expected impact for participating organizations is that they will reform and improve their policy and practice regarding the themes of the project. Moreover, participating organizations might prepared more projects under E+.Moreover, local communities to open themselves to the rest of the world disseminating any effort they are doing regarding the topic of youth participation.Some of the project outcomes and results: Youthpass for participants, booklet (with nfl tools and experiences), related social media pages and newspaper articles, website, new partnerships, small scale local TC.