In Europe there are serious issues with intercultural dialogue and acceptance of diversity due to wars’ and economic migrations towards the EU. In our work for intercultural acceptance we’ve noticed how quite some values disappear from the mind-set of our beneficiaries when there is “important” sport competition event and when they take sides in opposite fan groups that show strong animosity towards each other. Then we can see certain negative behaviour shown by the same beneficiaries that are usually positive and accepting different individuals around them in regular youth work activities. Until youth work is separated from sport, we will not be able to reach as good results as possible for intercultural acceptance in our communities. We need to practice more the healthy competition and teamwork in sports among our beneficiaries. This project responds to those needs and aims to encourage our youth workers to develop more youth sport work projects that will explore and extract all the possible positive aspects of sports for developing consistent positive intercultural acceptance among our beneficiaries.There was no similar opportunity yet organised – a PBA where interested organisations could discuss the alarming situation in Europe nowadays (when it comes to intolerance, discrimination, exclusion, etc.) and try to find solutions for it through developing youth SPORT work projects together.The core activity of the project was – 8 days long partnership-building activity (PBA). It was organised in the youth hostel in Novi Sad, Serbia from 4th till 12th April 2017. Project gathered 35 participants, trainers and staff from 19 organisations and 15 countries (RS, AL, BA, ME, XK, CY, ES, GR, HR, IT, MK, PT, RO, SI, TR). There were 14 young people with fewer opportunities.The goals of this PBA were to develop capacity of youth workers and partners in Erasmus+ KA2 Western Balkans Youth Window and Sport strands and to establish partnerships for youth sport work projects tackling current issues of discrimination, marginalization and exclusion in Europe and diversity in general.We expected from participants to be able to represent their sending organisations and enter into new partnerships and new project proposals during this PBA. Through increased quantity & quality projects, we expected the increased competences and readiness of young people in communities for taking active stand on fighting discrimination and intolerance and promoting respect of diversity and intercultural acceptance. We expected at least 380 youngsters being indirect beneficiaries of our project (20 per partner organisation).On European level, our project has as impact 8 newly initiated projects with possibility to include additional partners from other countries of Europe, as well. Thus, the impact that this PBA gave to our direct participants and partners will be multiplied also to other organisations / youth workers in Europe.

<< Objectives >>Eco Path is a project based on young people’s needs. It is a result of online youth exchanges that have been made since June 2020 and have shown positive results. The main aim of Eco Path is:-Raising awareness among young people of the importance of changing everyday habits into a more sustainable and ecofriendly way,-Empowering young people to take initiative and become proactive towards raising awareness about the importance of eco-lifestyle in their local communities will boost their self-esteem, -To develop competencies of young participants on personal and professional that will put them on the higher level of the labor market,-To bring this pilot projects mentioned above in an offline mode and on the regional level which will bring the development of the WB6 region and strengthen regional cooperation.More specifically, objectives are: -Developing social, individual, and civic competence among young people. Young people should develop and improve their sense of social responsibility in order to become active citizens at the local, national, and regional levels.-Developing cultural awareness and tolerance. To increase awareness of own cultural context and the cultural context of others and prevent racism, xenophobia, and related intolerance amongst youth.This project will create an opportunity to gather 6 group leaders, 24 young persons, and a facilitator from WB6 countries to exchange experiences and knowledge on the topic of how to live more sustainably in everyday life and to empower each other to take small steps towards active citizenship and eco-activism.<< Implementation >>“Eco Path” is mobility for young people project that will gather 24 participants plus 6 group leaders plus 1 facilitator coming from 6 organizations from 6 Western Balkan countries (Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia ). The profile of the participant will be the following:• Facing disadvantaged backgrounds and fewer opportunities such as economic obstacles (low income or facing unemployment), educational difficulties (learning difficulties, poor school performance, early school- leavers), geographical obstacles (people from remote or rural areas), social obstacles (young people at risk of radicalization) and therefore at risk of marginalization, cultural obstacles.• Lacking competencies and knowledge to actively engage in the societyThe project is open to all those interested in joining regardless of their gender, race, religion, ability, political views, etc. as long as they demonstrate the necessary motivation and will commit to participate in the full cycle of the project. Participants should be motivated to learn from others and share their own experiences. Participants will be actively involved in each phase of the project, from its preparation to the evaluation and follow-up. The “Eco Path” Youth Exchange will be realized in Djuriselo, Serbia from 1st to 8th of April 2023 (travel days excluded). The planned activities and working methods have been selected with the support of the facilitator Sanja Kamberovic from Serbia, according to the principles of non formal learning. Therefore they are highly participative, cooperative and rather self-reflective. Each of the activities foreseen in the project will be divided into 3 stages: preparation, implementation and evaluation. Partners will have an active role through all stages of the mobility by supporting their participants, arranging the practical aspects with the coordination team and keeping informed about the process and the learning outcomes of the sessions.<< Results >>Blogs/vlogs/pictures/videos about the project will be considered as tangible results. Besides that, we expect to have dissemination activities such as events where participants will raise awareness about the necessity of changing everyday habits in a more sustainable way in their local communities and to have them as well. During the Youth Exchange coordination team will take everyday photos/videos and share them on social media of Vega and partners will be tagged as well and invited to share the posts. In the promoting and dissemination materials (videos and photos) we will include the logo of Erasmus+ for dissemination, logos of partners, and the Vega YC logo. New gained competencies of the participants and group leaders will be considered as intangible results. These results will create more active youngsters motivated to get involved in the activities of the organization, volunteering, taking initiative, and raising awareness about the need of changing everyday habits in a more sustainable way will be intangible results for the partners.Expected impact of participantsThe project would benefit the young participants on a personal and professional level. -They would learn how to achieve the goals they set for themselves -Become more motivated to take initiative towards the goals they set for themselves-They would boost their self-esteem-Become more aware of the climate change effects, necessity, and importance of changing everyday habits in a more sustainable way-They would learn different ways of living in a more ecofriendly way.-They would develop skills that could put them on a higher level in the labor marketThe expected impact of the participating organizations:1.Organisations would expand the network of reliable partners which are focused on the topics of entrepreneurship, environment protection, and youth 2.This project would provide the opportunity for creating a WB6 network of organisations that are working with youth and fighting climate change and protecting the environment 3.Group leaders of the organisations would expand their competencies through the exchange of good practices which would benefit organisations to have more competent group leaders/youth workers4.Organisations would expand their activities through supporting participants of the project to create and implement dissemination events in the local community5.They would expand the network of young people interested in Erasmus+ projects and environment protection6.They would gain more experience related to creating and developing an entrepreneurial mindset that they can use in their work7.They could expand the number of people interested in volunteering and activismOur project aims to create an impact on a local, national and regional levels through the participants, group leaders, partner organizations, and follow-up activities.

"SCI's vision is a world of peace, social justice and sustainable development, where all people live together with mutual respect and without recourse to any form of violence to solve conflict. SCI's mission is to promote a culture of peace by organising international volunteering projects with local and global impact. The No-More-War group was formed in 2010 to recall and reinforce SCI's orginal commitment to help build a peaceful, anti-militarist and pacifist world, and a peaceful, worldwide volunteer movement as an alternative to military service. SCI deeply believes that all conflicts can be solved peacefully without resort to violence and this is the message that we try to convey and put into practice in our daily work.By implementing the project ""Think, Learn & Transform - The role of international voluntary service in promoting peaceful transition & solidarity in Europe"" we wanted to create a platform which provided a space for European peace activists who work in the area of international volunteering and education to develop their understanding of different aspects of the current security crisis in Europe. as well as to further educate, train and empower each other with methods how to plan, organise and implement initiatives dedicated to peace. The seminar also provided the opportunity to exchange views on current challenges which organizations face in their peace work and get new inspiration to work together as a network of likeminded peace activists.The specific aims were:- To gather together active staff & volunteers of the international voluntary service movement & equip/empower them with further knowledge, methods & comptences to deliver high-quality volunteer projects- Identify and determine the main challenges & obstacles to be addressed, as well as the particular problems & needs of the voluntary organizations & civil society actors active in the region;- Elaborate together non-violent & alternative and/or complimentary grass-root solutions to those traditionally practiced- Develop new, innovative projects in the voluntary service sector to promote real peace, sustainable development, social inclusion, active citizenship etc., as well as cross-border cooperation;- Support concrete actions in solidarity with the victims of war & violence & those suffering from discrimination & social exclusion. . The project was implemented in three stages:a) An opening thematic seminar from 17.01 - 24.01 in Berlin, Germany: ""Peace and Solidarity - Make It, Don't Break It""b) Implementation of a series of actions/activities elaborated & planned at the opening seminar (March-Sept.)c) ""Trade Fair"" from 25.09 - 02.10 in Poznan, Poland - Presentation & evaluation of the activities, new ideas for extending & enhancing the future quality of cooperationWhat mainly prompted us to take action, was the deepening military conflict in Ukraine and growing estrangement or even hostility between Russia and the European Union, increasing antagonisms within the EU as well as the growth of extreme right-wing movements & populist authoritarian governments in response to the increased influx of refugees caused by wars, human rights' violations & poverty elsewhere in the world, In the course of the project the following topics were addressed both in the trainings & the resulting activities:- Peace concepts - creating a common understanding- Culture of peace and non-violence- Peace activism – best/worst practices; aims/targets and challenges in peace work today- National identity, stereotyping, prejudice & discrimination- History, memory and reconcilliation.- Hate speach and propaganda techniques, role of propaganda in past and current international conflicts.- Peace building – current issues: conflict between Ukraine and Russia, „refugee crises”, situation in Balkans (current tensions), Brexit and EU crisis, right wing extremism in Europe, situation in the Middle East, USA elections- How to create a culture of peace and non-violence transversal to different perspectives- Implementation of gained knowlegde and experience, planning follow-up activities- Workcamps and long-term volunteering as major tools for HR & Peace work- Presentation of carried out local and international follow-up activities and exchange of practical experienceMany of the participants were personally involved in situations related to the main themes of the project, which led to vivid and emotional discussions. The confrontation of different perspectives induced deep reflection and, often, a change of mind about some controversial issues. The reflection and evaluation of these experiences became a starting point to plan future events, which took or will place next year in Poland, Germany, Finland, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Kosovo, Belgium, Georgia, Italy and Hungary. These local initiatives will try to propose a positive solution to the challenges facing Europe today as the tensions and conflicts in Europe are still growing,"

"In 'Planning Exchange and Arrange Collective Engagement' two major impulses to the work of IAL will be given.EUROPEAN VOLUNTARY SERVICE - PLACEMENT OFFICER AT IAL OFFICEA volunteer at the secretariat will give solid bottom to IAL's capacity. The volunteer will help to make the exchange of volunteers to go smooth, offer support, logistically and administratively to create more engaged projects, study themes and returning volunteers. All this will give the participant improved organisational skills and raised awareness of how international voluntary work can create a better, fairer world. Additionally she will build up a network, both locally and internationally that will hopefully stimulate her to stay active for international solidarity and peace, after the program ends.EXCHANGE PLATFORM MEETINGBy organising this evaluating, inspirational and knowledge-sharing meeting in Sweden a significant contribution to development of international voluntary exchange projects will be made. It literally is a platform in the form of a seminar for youth workers responsible for organizing international voluntary projects in collaboration with local NGOs and communities, as well as youth workers who are selecting, preparing and evaluating experiences of young people joining these local projects. The European youthworkers have a need for this platform, especially regarding the young people sent to regions of the world called ""the Global South"" but also within Europe and neighbouring countries. The objectives of the platform are to exchange best practices, evaluate evaluation-tools and projects as well as to share ideas and visions for the further development of international voluntary projects and sending young people to voluntary projects in the Global South. Also it offers space to discuss the recent global refugee crises and to come up with initiatives to counter it. As outputs collections of best practices and shared tools are expected. The results of the implementation of this outputs will be a better quality and higher impact of international voluntary projects, a clearer position of non profit international volunteering organizations towards commercial offers and reinforced capacity of the partner organizations as well as personal development of participants towards a broader understanding of their every day work with young people volunteering abroad. All in all, when all elements hit the target, we hope to see more active citizenship at our target group, European youth."

"<< Objectives >>The “From Dreams to Actions: together for a peaceful future” project aimed to build capacity and empower 30 European youth workers from 12 countries to gain essential competencies and experience which would support them in becoming active citizens and peace envoys, and who would implement on the local level various types of actions about and for peace and non-violence.Our specific project objectives included:- To promote European values of peace and non-violence, democracy and freedom of speech;- To promote active participation and citizenship, civic engagement and a sense of ownership of/ responsibility for societal processes;- To facilitate the transborder exchange of ideas and experiences among youth workers from a range of both EU and non-EU countries;- To raise the possibilities of people within the European volunteering movement to get active in peace activism through a variety of forms;- To bring non-formal peace education to the streets and online spaces of Europe and as a consequence increase public understanding of peace, responsible citizenship and participation;- To increase the quality and amount of youth projects for peace, inclusion and non-violence.<< Implementation >>The project lasted from 1.05.2020 to 30.04.2022 and build the capacity of European youth workers from 12 project countries. To reach the project aims, the Training Course ""From Dreams to Actions: together for a peaceful future"" was organised online between 15 September and 3 October 2021 with 30 participantscoming from 12 countries - Albania, Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Kosovo, Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Serbia and Spain.It was a training course for peace envoys where we showed that even though there is one aim for peace-buildersand peace-keepers, there are many paths to reach it. The participants ‘taste’ these different paths and got equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to start country actions. The training included:a) Common time dedicated to expanding knowledge on peace and its different levels;b) Parallel session (upon the choice of participants) related to different ways of working for peace, including among others:- street actions and campaigning,- communication campaigns in social media;- advocacy and lobbying for political change,- civic engagement through peace education;- peace in daily life: supporting non-violent interpersonal relations;- working on the Peace Cards for facilitators of peace-building activities;c) Common online action during the International Day of Peace (21.09.2021);d) Preparation of follow-up actions to take place in participants' countries.Additionally, the participants organised follow-up actions (workshops, discussions, educational events, celebration of special days, movie events) organised and implemented on a local level after the training. They brought further the knowledge and inspiration for being a peace messenger, acting for peace and thus bring a positive change in the communities.The project was intended for the following categories of participants:- Youth workers or young people who are active (or plan to become) in their own communities in the field of peace education, peace-building, and active participation/citizenship;- Youth workers working mainly in groups of fewer opportunity background;- Persons with fewer opportunities (facing social, economical, or cultural challenges and obstacles) who wanted to take a more active role in their local communities as volunteers in the peace education field or other strands of peace activism;- Coordinators, staff, young board members and volunteers of partner organisations looking to initiate activities for the promotion of peace and non-violence (locally and transnationally);- Educators and facilitators within non-formal learning projects.<< Results >>The two tangible results of the project are:1. The SCI Peace Cards - a tool to spark a discussion on peace, non-violence, and activism and are available in various formats:- as a Padlet gallery - https://padlet.com/SCI_International/SCI_Peace_Cards- as a downloadable pdf - https://sci.ngo/wp-content/uploads/SCI-Peace-Cards-with-instructions.pdf?- as an interactive game - https://wordwall.net/resource/22496102/sci-peace-cards?ref=embed-image- as a physical copy of printed cards, to be ordered through the SCI website.2. Street Action Kit: including the tips on how to organise street actions: https://sci.ngo/resource/street-action-kit/In addition, there are a few levels of impact of the “From Dreams to Actions” project. Additionally, we see the following impact of the project:1. Impact on the participants – 27 persons (calculation basis: 30 participants minus 2 trainers and 1 logistic support person from SCI):- participants have increased self-confidence after the project on the topic of peace;- participants are able to apply concrete ways and live in peace on 3 levels – intrapersonal, interpersonal and with nature;- participants understand the European values of democracy, freedom of speech, peace and non-violence;- participants have a broader understanding of various forms of civic engagement, like advocacy, lobbying, the European Citizens' Initiative and other possibilities for political change at both local and international levels;- participants have knowledge and understanding of diverse ways to build peace and support peace;- participants feel confident to organise a street action for peace themselves;- participants feel inspired and believe each of them can be an actor of change for peace;- participants feel a sense of trust and support within the network of activists for peace (youth workers, educators, volunteers) that will be formed through the project;- increased number of future joint educational projects among the participants, including Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps projects within the next funding perspective;- increased employability of participants, including the ones with fewer opportunities.2. Impact on 12 participating organisationsThe impact on the participating organisations is:- increased quality of workshops, seminars, actions, campaigns and other peace-themed activities, through the acquisition of innovative learning tools (including the Peace Cards) and the increased professional competencies and capacities of the participants;- strengthened positions of providing peace education to local youth;- higher involvement of young people and local communities in their activities;- more networking opportunities and stronger collaboration among the participating organisations, basis for the future joint projects under the Erasmus+ and not only;- new projects commonly developed and implemented by the partners;- opportunities for involvement of active members (youth workers, educators, activists, volunteers) of the partners' organisations, and also being a resource for future educational and peace-building initiatives on behalf of the partner organizations and the local community.3. Impact on other groupsThe project also had an impact on the local communities in 12 European countries of the partner organisations.These were participants (young people, students, youth leaders, volunteers, youth workers, educators, activists, and colleagues) of the follow-up activities and other non-formal and informal actions, organised by the project participants.Thanks to the project, they all were offered engaging and learning opportunities on the topic of peace activism which were also in line with the principles of non-formal learning. They became more aware and responsible for their own behaviour and actions as well as empowered for taking ownership and active involvement in bringing a positive change for peace on a personal, local and international level.4. Although it is difficult to give a precise estimation with regards to numbers, we can assess that the project impacted:- 30 youth workers, activists, volunteers – participants and trainers of the Training Course – from 12 countries;- 12 organisations implementing various educational and volunteer activities for peace;- not less than 5000 people were reached by the Online Actions organised by the TC participants on 21.09 (International Day of Peace);- no less than 800 persons, local youth, volunteers, colleagues, partners, and members of partner organisations from 12 project countries who benefitted from the follow-up local activities, online and street campaigns, and nonformal education activities organised after the training course."