"<< Objectives >>“F.O.L.K. for Justice” was inspired by the last Erasmus+ projects in which Entrejuegos and the partners took part and it merged their main themes: “N.A.T.U.R.E.+”, “World Peace Too”, ""Youthgoals: a pathway to practical implementation"", ""While the wolf is not around"", ""Focus on democracy"" or “Totem R.I.S.E.”.The common point resulted upon the reflection on these experiences from our volunteers, was the figure of the forest outlaws from the past, which surprisingly, in one way or another, were present in many cultures in Europe, relatively during the same historical periods: Haiduci (Balkans), Briganti (Italy), Bandoleros (Spain), Klefti (Greece), Cossaks (Ukraine).Besides historical researches, lots of the information about them comes from songs, movies, books, poems and other forms of arts and culture, diverse from country to country or from region to region, generating similarities and differences.High social classes of the past were imposing taxes for their own economic stability, creating a gap with the lower classes also in terms of social, educational or cultural opportunities. The outlaws were fighting against social injustice and corruption, helping the poor ones and the social progress, considering forests and mountains their home.Lack of economic stability as individual, family, community or region, leads to a general deficiency of literacy, civic sense and even health or self-esteem, while poverty, hunger or social exclusion are around the corner.Inspired from the past, nowadays, we consider Outlaws as form of activists and independence lovers, promoting peace, its values and general well-being, equity among citizens, equality in rights, respect for nature, democracy and freedom, aligning with the European values or priorities.According to EuroStat, Romania was leading at the risk of poverty among EU-28 countries in 2017, with a rate of 23.6%, followed by Italy, Spain and Greece with an over 20% rate as well, while according to United Nations Development Program “despite economic growth, about 60 percent of Ukrainians live below the official poverty line”. Considering that the Debt to GDP ratio in these 5 countries (involved in the application) is on average 100%, and 80.4% in EU-28 countries (in 2018), questions arised among young people regarding the future of social progress and sustainable development, or else, if the general sense of well-being in the future will be wide spread or rather stretched.With the COVID-19 lockdown, more and more people were at the edge of poverty and there was a strong need to debate the future of economy and social classes during and after this pandemic.The motivational heritage from the outlaws’ forms of art is inspiring us, the young generation, to step ahead and stand for our rights and needs of self-connection, connection with the others and their cultures, with diversity or nature. There was also diversity in the perception of the outlaws, as on one hand, they are seen as bandits, and on the other hand, which we are plan to focus and explore more about, is their romantic heroes’ perspective, in order to create a thematic and interactive atmosphere for an increased quality of the project and the learning process.More so, this application came out from the need and curiosity of young people to approach serious issues in an entertaining way, so 4 main objectives were to be underlined, together with 4 main concepts:– to make a parallel of oppression and discrimination matters from the past and from the present, by offering 30 participants educational tools in order to create and share good practices during all the project’s phases, towards solidarity, equity, inclusion and social justice,– to enhance European Citizenship and European values (human rights; dignity, freedom of speech, democracy), regarding the topic, among 30 participants, empowering creative and critical thinking through the confrontation of ideas and experiences, using a non-formal methodology towards defining individual needs, sense for responsibility and selfawareness,- to explore the outlaw folk culture in 5 different European countries and how they shaped part of our history and our cultural identity, embracing diversity by appealing intercultural dialogue and different forms of art, according to the participants’ knowledge, talents and interest,- to encourage sustainable approaches, respect for nature and spiritual introspection by developing an 8 days youth exchange in an inspiring natural background, where responsible use of resources, outdoor activities and reflection will be heading the community spirit, empathy and environmental awareness.<< Implementation >>30 young people from Spain, Italy, Greece, Romania and Ukraine took part at the project, most of them younger than 24 years old, university students, unemployed, young people at risk of social exclusion and from disadvantaged rural areas. The Ukrainian team was also a highly delicate group, due to the situation going on in their country.The working dynamics were based on cultural and experiences exchange, typical traditions and heritage linked to folk outlaws, outdoor activities, interaction with the local community, theater methods, video-making, crafting and creative workshops.Day 1 – FOLK for Justice!- Name games and common agreements- Team building- Projects overview in group works, debates and creative presentations- Evaluation methods of the learning process and the objectives (Youthpass Horseshoes, Coins for Change, Aiming Targets)- Romanian “Outlaw” PresentationDay 2 – Forest Outlaws- Presentations of cultural elements and heritage linked to forest outlaws from Ukraine, Italy, Spain and Greece - Open discussions on differences and similarities and overview of the concepts of Cultural IdentityDay 3 – Environmental Awareness- Exploration of the surrounding forest of the accommodation place and storytelling about the Outlaws – Bandoleros of the area, cultural and artistic movements dedicated to them- Sensorial and connection with nature activities, observation and study of the typical local trees and wildlifeDay 4 – Lost Knowledge- Division of the groups into: Guardia Civil, “El pueblo” pobre, The nobles and the Outlaws. Each group created objects through crafting techniques, working with wood, cardboard, stones, fabric and available material, in order to create items, decorations, weapons and clothes typical to each of the assigned groupDay 5 – for Justice!- Participants were split into 3 main groups: Nobles, Bandoleros and Guardia Civil. Each of the 3 groups had different missions to deliver while walking through the forest, with every of the group being hunted by the other! With the use of the materials created in the previous day, the morningactivity ended with an active role-play performance.- The activity continued (playing the role of judges, high society, poor people and outlaws) in the afternoon with an ethical open debate one the positive and negative aspects of the Outlaws, discussing subjects like social justice, social classes and concluding with elements of EuropeanCitizenship and Values.Day 6 – Workshops!- The participants were guided to perform and improvise different theatric and creative writing exercises, inspired by the previous activity days, exploring the main topics from the project’s objectives: Cultural Identity, Environmental Awareness, European Citizenship and Social Justice- In the evening, the group took part in a theatric event about banditry in Andalusia organized by the ""Cultural Theatre Association Blas Infante de Humilladero"". The participants performed typical “outlaw” dances and songs from their country, inviting the locals on the stage.Day 7 – Workshops!- In 3 different teams, the participants created a series of short theatric performances on European Values, Citizenship and Inclusivity, a forum theater play on Social Justice (with elements from the past and the present) and a video.Day 8 – Evaluation- In mixed groups, participants created new lyrics to evaluate the youth exchange- Youthpass Horseshoe, Coins for Change and Objectives Aims activities were closed and concluded with evaluation and feedback purposes- Participants completed the evaluation form and their Youthpass Certificates- Sharing Circle and Closing Ceremony ended the emotional experience<< Results >>The entire youth exchange was meant to have a chain reaction regarding the impact: from the personal development leading to the benefits of the organizations.@Participants- Increased cultural identity and sense of active citizenship based on European values as social justice, equity, democracy and more-developed creative and critical thinking to understand the role of the individual in community, in terms of active participation, solidarity and social inclusion.- Awareness about the links between emotions and environment being grateful for the resources that we use everyday.@Associations- New working tools and good practices, regarding the topics and organizational skills in general (preparation, implementation, follow-up).- Future partnerships and collaborations at European level.- Increased involvement in youth policies and emotional management (future local initiatives and European projects).@Target groups- More awareness about the opportunities of Erasmus+ programme and European Solidarity Corps among the young people of Alameda, Humilladero and surroundings, Onesti, Trikala, Guardia Sanframondi or Kharkov.- Better understanding of the European dimension from the volunteers and young people involved in the partner organizations´ activities/board.#Results- A learning process reflected in 30 different Youthpass certificates, with focus on the importance of non-formal education in personal development and community spirit.- Short performances, a forum theater play and a video made by participants as well as new values resulted from their reflections.- A public event during the youth exchange.- Tools, weapons, clothes and other materials typical to the Forest Outlaws from each participant country.- Photo stories albums and summarizing video about the whole experience."