Project Colors of Humanity

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“Covid-19 threatens four lost decades for gender equality” was the alarm of UNCTD in 2021. It showed how the pandemic affected women and men differently due to their distinct roles in the society and economy. Another major problem Europe seems to experience (European Youth Goals) is the lack of recognition of discrimination toward girls and young women, while hate speech continues to be a challenge that needs to be addressed.

The project “Colors of Humanity” aims to promote gender equality and counter discrimination through using nonformal education and youth work to create social mechanisms that involve boys and young men, parents, teachers and decision-makers. Its objectives are: Empower youth NGOs and increase youth workers competencies through nonformal education in promoting EU values of non-discrimination, tolerance, inclusive societies; Support and raise the advocacy capacities of youth workers to affect their community; Increase the involvement of several stakeholders on gender antidiscrimination and awareness activities; Raising awareness and advocacy countering hate speech, combating discrimination, and breaking down traditional gender roles.

These objectives will be achieved through: Involvement of partner NGOs in the management and implementation of the activities; Training of 52 youth workers in using non-formal education as a tool to promote EU values and awareness/advocacy; A toolbox created and shared for free in the European portals on the methods to promote and use non-formal education and to advocate and affect their community on gender equality and inclusion of people with fewer opportunities; 15 workshops with teachers and parents to be more aware about their roles in creation of gender stereotypes and gender-based educational choices; 3-day trainings with 20 boys, preparing them as public standers against discrimination; 10 meetings with decision-makers; 20 photo-messages, 10 podcasts, 4 videos will be produced for the awareness campaign

Project Safebook – new methodologies in youth work

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“Safebook – new methodologies in youth work” project aims at promotion of safety culture among young people through newly developed manual “Safebook” for youth work in the field of youth safety. The manual was produced through Strategic partnership in the field of youth in 2021 by the Club for Youth Empowerment 018 (KOM 018) together with Beyond Borders – Italy, and partners from Croatia and North Macedonia and recommended as a good practice project by Erasmus +. “Safebook” manual includes new and innovative methodologies and creative tools in the form of youth friendly manual for youth workers. It focuses on 5 segments of youth safety: peer violence, cyber bullying, abuse of psychoactive substances, discrimination and mental health in time of COVID–19. Training course will bring together young people (youth workers, educators, activists) from 10 European countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Spain to adopt new methodologies regarding above-mentioned safety segments and to explore concept photo and concept video as methods in youth work in youth safety related project.
Specific objectives of the project are:
· To equip 22 youth workers and educators with set of new educational tools in the field of youth safety focusing on 5 segments: peer violence, cyber bullying, abuse of psychoactive substances, discrimination and mental health in time of COVID–19 through new manual on youth safety “Safebook”
· To provide youth workers from European countries with skills and knowledge to use concept photo and videos as methods for the work in the field of youth safety.
· To network young people from European countries with different set of skills and tools to promote youth safety culture.
Developed methodology which is incorporated in the youth friendly manual for youth workers will be used as main tool for achievement of defined aim and specific objectives. Project consortium includes partner organizations; Club for youth empowerment 018 (KOM 018) and Beyond Borders as organizations which developed mentioned methodology and partners DOPE from Germany, Innovative Education Center from Austria, Hellenic Youth Participation from Greece, Idea4Life from Poland, L’Ayalguina from Spain, Mano Europa from Lithuania, Act o’clock from Romania and YES from Bulgaria which will strengthen their capacities in the field of youth safety and security through adoption of Safebook methodology

Project”Get Smact“

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Acting Youth, Get SMACT (GeS) aims to increase the competencies of youth workers in EU and WB on media literacy. Our objective is to build the skills and the capacities of youth workers to assess and to have a critical understanding of the media, as well as to interact with the media.

Project Challenging traditional leadership – empowering women!

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Challenging traditional leadership – empowering women! is a long term project proposed from 7 partners from EU and WB. It is composed of activities aimed it raising the capacity building of partners and other stakeholders and mobilities that allow young people and youth workers to learn in an inter-cultural learning environment.

Activities:

  1. Kick Off Meeting of Partners
  2. Training of Trainers “From Power over to power to-transformative leadership in a man’s world”
  3. Local Campaign “iLEAD for Equity”
  4. Youth Exchange “Youth leaders as change makers”
  5. Seminar The main aim of the project is to train and empower youth workers, youth leaders and young people advocate for transformational leadership while raising awareness about traditional gender roles with regards to the women empowerment.

Our project shall address gender as an equality issue, with positive approach to diminish the negative stereotypes and discrimination related to sex and/or gender and promote equity and collaborative leadership in society. This project focuses on putting the participants in a safe environment where they are given space, time, means and support to self-reflection, self-empowerment and improvement. Our project goes out of the feminism rhetoric, and seeks to approach gender as an equity issue and look closely to the “power over – power to- power with” approaches that go in line very well to traditional leadership and gender discrimination in today’s society.

By bringing youth in a position to analyse and critically think on the topics we aim at allowing and supporting them to create their own opining and responsibility for their future actions.OBJECTIVES:

  • Train youth workers/leaders and young people on how to promote gender equity, fight the gender stereotypes and promote the transformative leadership education for empowered societies.
  • Challenging and changing existing structures, institutions, practices, customs, norms, values, attitudes, and beliefs where these are barriers to the achievement of women’s rights and the rights of all people, regardless of gender or sexual identity.
  • Support and improve skills of youth workers by giving them practical and professional skills in leadership styles and values.- Increase the awareness about importance of gendered leadership; – Analyze existing cases and design a structured strategy on how to approach and transform practices through youth work, gender mainstreaming and gender culture;
  • Foster the participation of youth workers in taking role of advocates and ensure ethical conduct in leadership world.
  • Promote the Erasmus + as a strong tool for promoting transformative leadership and gender equity.
  • Create an effective practice that can be used by all the partner promoters and the wider networks.

Project Power ON Competencies

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Power ON Competencies aims to raise capacities of 6 partner organizations from Western Balkan and EU countries in the topic of youth empowerment and social rights through multimedia This project aims to equip youth workers with skills & competencies for empowering young people with fewer opportunities to actively participate in local, national and European level through usage of new media tools.

The implementation of this Capacity Building Project consists on implementation of local actions and mobility activities which bring together lot of inspiration, experience exchanging, new skills and competencies to be multiplied in the local level. The project aim to provide youth workers with the concept of empowerment and active participation of young people with fewer opportunities and generate creative solutions. It highlight the role of the Key-Competencies within Youth pass for youth empowerment and supporting young people in the process of acknowledging of these competencies.

As well improve youth workers’ competencies on promoting of youth empowerment competence of young people and fostering their active participation. Among others the project encourages the participation of youngsters socially disadvantaged and with fewer opportunities to participate actively and give them a chance to be included and rise up their voice through using the freedom of speech through youth work.Our project will have a direct impact on skills and competencies of the involved youth workers and participants : sharing experiences will provide youth workers with new examples and new ideas as well as experimentation of using and creating new tools will provide them with new methods whose usefulness and effectiveness will be strengthened by their evaluation and validation.

It is also expected to provide new experimental teaching tools aimed at motivating youngsters how to become active citizens and contribute in their communities live.320 young people will benefit directly from the planned actions and over 2000 people will be involved indirectly through different actions in local and European level.

Project “Mission: Youth Employment”

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The project “Mission: Youth employment” aims to help young people and particularly those of them who are at risk of being excluded from the labor market and those facing barriers at starting first job, finding new one, to get information and acquire knowledge, skills and competences through the methods of non-formal education, needed for smooth and successful transition to the labor market. Main activites will be held in Bansko, Bulgaria.

Objectives:

• To raise awareness among young people for the problems of youth unemployment, the methods, the tools and the institutions to dial with it.
• To encourage young people to be more confident and self-esteem while they are looking for new or first job;
• To motivate young people to disseminate the learning outcomes in order to cover a wider range of young people who are at risk of exclusion from the labor market;
• To promote the methods of non-formal education among young people as tool to tackle with various problem related to youth.
• To develop long-term partnership between the project’s partners as a method to work together for future issues related with youth.
• Тo explore employability of young people, inclusion, soft skills, young people with fewer opportunities and how it is searched in various sectors of life. These skills and competencies will be beneficial for participants for future initiatives, also helping participants become more aware of self-employment as a career option.

The learning process will be follow this structure: four workshops per day with respective breaks among them. The activities will follow the logical line: start with get to know each others steps, group building exercise, entering into the topic, explore the topic, providing tools for empowerment, sharing best practices, put in practice what was learn, follow up and dissemination and final evaluation of the course.
The methodology will include communication-based methods (interaction, dialogue, open discussions), activity based methods (sharing experience, practice and experimentation), socially focused methods (partnerships, teamwork, networking) and self-directing methods (creativity, discovery, responsibility, action).

Project “Videmocracy“

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The Videmocracy project aims to enhance the capacity of the consortium to provide space, tools and opportunities for youth workers to explore, analyze and promote active participation and democratic citizenship for young people through interactive multimedia and creative tools. The project aims to support the professional development of youth workers and youth leaders in terms of their critical understanding of democracy, active citizenship and European citizenship. Following specific objectives to be achieved throughout the project duration:

To raise awareness and understanding of local democracy and to provide technical knowledge on the tools that young people can use to require more accountability and transparency at local level. is to disseminate visually a portfolio of issues of concern to young people, members of the partner organization

To give concrete examples and the link between European citizenship, human rights, democracy and intercultural learning Improve the skills of participants in civic education for young people with fewer opportunities and targeting them as a factor for a positive change in the communities they live in.

Promoting Erasmus + projects as a great tool for empowering young citizens in the EU and WB using an informal educational methodology.

Project “Entrepreneurial mindset through social innovation in youth work”

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The project “Entrepreneurial mindset through social innovation in youth work” will engage 8 youth organisations, 96 youth workers to increase their competencies on entrepreneurship education and social innovation themes. Indirectly, project will reach around 8000 young people (for all consortium) who will get information through newsletter, workshops, info sessions, Facebook & websites, about the result of project. The project is build up through following activities: Read more

Project “Be ACTive”

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The “Be ACTive” project has as its main objective to provide quality training for young people from small settlements in the Blagoevgrad district to help them develop their entrepreneurial skills, applying for work and promoting their own initiative. During the project will be realized 5 / five / trainings, 2 / two / information days and 1 / one / campaign. The trainings will be two-day and will cover different thematic modules that will enable young people to be active in small settlements, and we will also help them find a way to tackle different youth issues. Through the information days we will raise the knowledge of young people and give them guidance and opportunities to participate in the process of solving important social issues. The “Take an initiative” campaign will be aimed at encouraging young people to express ideas for change on pressing issues related to their region. All activities will be carried out by a highly qualified team of specialists who will work together with the project manager for quality performance During the project, over 500 young people between the ages of 15 and 29 will be covered by the small settlements in Blagoevgrad region without any difference in their social, property, political, ethnic or religious differences. .ch. young people with disabilities. The target group of the project is all young people aged 15-29, with no differences in their social, property, political, ethnic or religious differences. Identification of young people who are neither in employment nor in education and training according to the National Youth Guarantee National Implementation Plan. The project is aimed at young people from small settlements and will also include young people in unequal position. Anyone who does not have the same opportunities with peers because of one or more of the circumstances or situations listed below is considered to be such. In some cases, these circumstances or situations do not allow young people to have real access to formal and informal education and active participation in society as a whole. Social difficulties: young people who are discriminated against by gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation , disabilities, etc .; young people with limited social skills or with anti-social or sexual-risky behavior; young people in a problematic situation; (formerly) criminally developed, young people who are (or have been) addicted to drug or alcohol use The main goal of the project is to raise young people in small settlements and improve their awareness and participation in the process of solving important social issues and changes affecting young people. The objectives of the project are: Raising the awareness, knowledge and experience of young people about the opportunities to participate in organizing their own lives themselves, to increase their motivation for their own developed e. Activities: Organizing and conducting trainingsThe planned trainings will be conducted in the form of 5 training seminars in different settlements from Blagoevgrad region – Bansko, Hadjidimovo, Razlog, Garmen and Satovcha. The tutorials will be developed by a specialized team and will be conducted according to a prepared from them a schedule and popularized through social networks and media. The selected topic will be divided into different panels and subtopics that will be tailored to the objectives of the Program and the project. The training will be based on interactive methods and techniques as a basis for non-formal education. The trainings will be led by our experts – a psychologist and a lawyer. Given the settlements in which we will train, it is important that young people from these settlements work with professionals with proven experience that can help young people overcome their cultural, religious and ethnic differences. Through the psychologist, young people will have the opportunity to get out of the status quo they live in and realize the huge potential they have. This will help them become more active and interested in building their own personalities and shaping their views on their future. In this way, they will understand that the young people from the small settlements have the opportunities of their peers from the big city.

Be the change -Empowered Citizens, Empowered Communities

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The project “Be the Change – Empowered Citizens, Empowered Communities” aims to increase capacity building of 10 partner organizations, and involve of 55 youth workers in citizenship education in order […]

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