In the light of the 3-year Erasmus Plus accreditation obtained by the Associazione Joint to develop a strategy aimed at the inclusion and empowerment of young people with the fewer social and economic opportunities in European mobility projects, the training was the first step towards achieving 3 objectives:

• Recruit young people with fewer opportunities, also by creating local networks of organisations working directly with them;
• Train youth workers active in the field of international mobility to work with young people with fewer opportunities and train educators to work in international mobility projects;
• Create standard preparation and follow-up activities to meet the needs of this target group.

Inclusion in Mobility Projects

The objective of the Training Course “Inclusion in Mobility Projects” was to train participants to their eventual involvement in Youth Exchanges financed by the Erasmus+ programme and organised by Associazione Joint and its network of partners over 2023, and in the following years. These projects will in fact involve vulnerable and highly vulnerable young participants with economic and social difficulties.

During the course, the priorities were:

• Train group leaders on inclusion and strategies to support participants with fewer opportunities before, during and after a youth exchange experience;
• Co-design the youth exchanges to be hosted by Associazione Joint in 2023 that will focus on inclusion;
• Establish cooperation agreements with organisations active in the field of youth mobility.

Testimonies of Participants

Curious to know how it went?
During the 8 days of work, Associazione Joint collected testimonials from the training participants!

“THE TRAINING COURSE WAS WELL THOUGHT AND I FELT LIKE I GOT PERSONAL GROWTH THAT HELPS ME IN MY CAREER AND ALSO IN MY PERSONAL LIFE.1 WEEK IN MONTE BARRO WAS EXCEPTIONAL.” – JAMI, FINLANDIA (ASSOCIAtion OIVANKI)

“NGO PROVIDING EXCELLENT SUPPORT AND IMPARTING VALUABLE KNOWLEDGE. OVERALL, IT WAS THE BEST-ORGANIZED PROJECT I HAVE EVER PARTICIPATED IN.” – MIRKO, SERBIA (ASSOCIAtion MOTUS ADOLESCENTI)

“EIGHT INCREDIBLE DAYS, BETWEEN SKY AND LAKES, EXCHANGING PRACTICES, KNOWLEDGES, LANGUAGES AND STORIES. IT IS HARD TO FORGET EXPERIENCES LIKE THESE.” – NICOLÒ, FRANCIA (ASSOCIAtion HORS PISTES)

“IT HAS BEEN AN AMAZING WEEK. THANKS TO THIS TRAINING COURSE I HAVE LEARNT A LOT ABOUT HOW TO IMPROVE MYSLELF AS A YOU THE EXCHANGE LEADER. I HAVE ALSO MET A LOT OF INCREDIBLE PEOPLE INSPIRING ME FOR MY PERSONAL LIFE AND MY PROFESSIONAL PROJECTS. I’M REALLY GREATFULL TO EVERYBODY THAT MADE THIS POSSIBLE!” – ADRIÁN (ASSOCIAtion PARCOURS LE MONDE)

“THE TRAINING COURSE WAS PRETTY COOL, I LEARNED A LOT ABOUT INCLUSION OF PEOPLE WITH FEWER OPPORTUNITIES, AND THE PRACTICAL EXERCISES WERE GREAT FOR PRACTICE.” – MIKKEL, DANIMARCA (ASSOCIAtion PASSION UDFLUGT)

“IN GALBIATE, ITALY. I REPRESENTED THE PRIENAI YOUNG MALTESERS GROUP AND THE PRIENAI PRIENAI PRIMARY SCHOOL.THE AIM OF MY PARTICIPATION WAS TO FIND PARTNERS FOR THE YOUTH EXCHANGE AND TO BE A YOUTH LEADER IN THE FUTURE EXCHANGES. IN THIS EXCHANGE WE PLAN TO INVOLVE THE BEST MEMBERS OF THE PRIENAI YOUNG MALTESERS GROUP AND THE BEST STUDENTS OF THE ISLAUZ SCHOOL. 22 PARTICIPANTS.10 COUNTRIES – PORTUGAL, LITHUANIA, FINLAND, SERBIA, GERMANY, POLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, ITALY, AND DENMARK. WE LEARNT HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE MOST VULNERABLE YOUNG PEOPLE AND INVOLVE THEM IN MOBILITY PROJECTS. CONTACTS WERE MADE FOR FUTURE YOUTH EXCHANGES. I AM GLAD THAT THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE ISLAUZ SCHOOL SUPPORTS MY DESIRE TO LEARN AND DEVELOP. AND ABOVE THAT CHURCH IS A 15TH CENTURY CHURCH. FRANCESCO SFORCA, GREAT-GRANDFATHER OF OUR SIGISMUND AUGUSTUS, HAD A FORTIFICATION WALL BUILT.” – RITA, LITHUANIA (ASSOCIAtion PRIENU JAUNIEJI MALTIEČIAI)

“IN THIS TRAINING COURSE I HAVE SHARED AND EXCHANGED EXPERIENCES WITH OTHER YOUTH WORKERS AND YOUNG FUTURE YOUTH LEADERS WITH DIVERSE PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUNDS.  THE SYNERGIES THAT I HAVE CREATED WITH OTHER PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AND CULTURES IS AN ENRICHING EXPERIENCE BOTH PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY” – AIDA, SPAGNA (ASSOCIAtion MUÉVETE POR EUROPA)

“THE TRAINING COURSE REALLY HELPED UNDERSTAND OTHERS WITH SIMILAR GOALS AND GOT ME TO EXPEND MY VIEW OF THIS FIELD OF WORK. IT MADE ME EVEN MORE SURE THAT I WANNA KEEP GOING IN THAT DIRECTION, AND I HOPE THAT I MAY BE ABLE TO TEACH THAT EXPERIENCE TO OTHERS” – LOICK, FRANCIA (ASSOCIAtion PARCOURS LE MONDE)

“THIS TC HAS BEEN ESPECIALLY EMOTIONAL FOR ME. THE TOPIC TO BE DISCUSSED WAS INCLUSION AND WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED IS TO CREATE A GROUP OF VERY CLOSE TIES BETWEEN US, A TOTALLY HORIZONTAL COMMUNITY AND A SAFE SPACE IN WHICH EVERYONE FELT COMFORTABLE. WE HAVE UNDERSTOOD INCLUSION AND ITS IMPORTANCE AT THE DEEPEST LEVEL SINCE WE HAVE EXPERIENCED IT ON OUR SKIN. IT HAS BEEN AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE” – SANTIAGO, SPAGNA (ASSOCIAtion BRÚJULA INTERCULTURAL)

L'articolo Inclusion in Mobility Projects | Training Course on the inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities proviene da Youth Networks.

Digital Transformation

Digital transformation has become a big part of our lives. Panel sessions on Participatory and Inclusive Digital Transformation bring together experts from the European youth field, policy making, research and private sector to discuss what digital transformation in this context means, what kind of competencies are necessary to adapt, what are the opportunities and challenges, how to be a leader instead of a follower, how to connect with young people in this changing reality.

Panel Sessions

The series includes 6 panel sessions (1,5h per session):

1. Understanding Digital Transformation, 27 September 2022, 13:00 CEST
2. Digital Inclusion and Participation, 8 November 2022 13:00 CET
3. Digital Sustainability, 29 November 2022 13:00 CET
4. Accessibility and Infrastructure, 31 January 2023 13:00 CET
5. Ethics & Digital rights, 07 March 2023 13:00 CET
6. Emerging technologies and innovation, 28 March 2023, 13:00 CEST

All panels will be on Facebook live + YouTube live.

Next Panel Session on Digital Inclusion & Participation

For the next session “Digital Inclusion and Participation” on November 8, 4 experts in the field of inclusion and digital participation (Jasmin Rukolainen, Adina Serban, Thomas Schallhart and Panu Räsänen) will delve into the latest academic research on the topic of how participatory and inclusive digital transformation can be achieved. They will touch on topics like accessibility, creating safer spaces and gaming and VR as tools for youth participation.

Digital inclusion is about people, particularly those that are disadvantaged and underrepresented, having access to, as well as the skills to use, online tools.

Alongside inclusion, digital participation is vital, giving people the knowledge, technology and online spaces to fully participate in the digital world, whether that be education, civic life or democracy.

Read also

Teaching Life Competences | Online Free Course

YOUCAN: Youth Migrant Dropout Tackling: Capacity Building

L'articolo Digital Transformation | A Series of Panels by SALTO Youth proviene da Youth Networks.

The Framework

Inclusion and diversity are part of the core values of the European Union. Diversity is indeed what features the European society, besides representing at the same time its strength. Taking that into consideration, the context is a good starting point to enhance cohesion and inclusiveness.

EU Programmes and Inclusion&Diversity

The European Solidarity Corps and Erasmus Plus are therefore key programmes to pursue the need of cohesion and inclusiveness. For this reason, the EU Programmes should provide opportunities that are accessible to all. The evidence tells that there are in fact many young people facing barriers when it comes to opportunities. Those are the people having fewer opportunities in education, training and youth work. People then to address by policy initiatives.

Inclusiveness is not new to the Erasmus Plus programme. But the way further is way still far to reach actual and effective inclusiveness, as evaluation and research point out.

The new Erasmus Plus Programme 2021 includes a chapter on inclusion, among other elements. It therefore requests the European Commission to establish a framework for inclusion measures outlining the main areas of work for the next seven years in this regard.

Recommendations

• Target groups: the main target groups of the Inclusion and Diversity strategy are people with fewer opportunities in life, which put them at a situation of disadvantage in comparison with their peers. This refers to both participating in the programmes and in education and training systems.

The exclusion factors that determine the situation of disadvantage may be one of the following:

• disabilities,
• health problems,
• cultural differences,
• social barriers,
• economic barriers,
• barrier linked to discrimination,
• geographical barriers.

• Inclusion and Diversity as priorities in the assessment process: inclusion and diversity are part of the criteria to select applications for funding and to allocate financial support. Quality projects that actively address inclusion and diversity and that involve participants with fewer opportunities, newcomer and grass-root organisations should get priority in the grant awarding process.
• Preparatory visits: when participants with fewer opportunities are part of mobility activities, the organisers should carry out planning visits to the hosting organisations, together with these participants, if relevant.
• Reinforcement in Mentorship: when dealing with people with fewer opportunities, it is important to keep particular attention to the mentorship process to support them.
• Dedicated financial support: the Erasmus Plus and ESC Programmes offer an additional financial support when including people with fewer opportunities.

• Smaller, easier-to-access actions: the Programmes provide smaller and more flexible grant amounts, simpler administrative and reporting requirements, as well as shorter project duration for organisations with smaller administrative capacity. This is the case of organisations supporting people with fewer opportunities.
• Step-by-step capacity building pathways
• Mobility duration: short-term and small-scale mobility can be a first experience for individuals with fewer opportunities who, due to their circumstances, cannot take part in or do not feel it for a standard mobility duration.
• Local European activities
• Online exchanges
• Language learning support

The full text of the Guidelines is available online in English.

Considering the above, applicant organisations should address inclusion and diversity in their projects.
They play indeed a key role in making inclusion real, especially in terms of organisational development (capacity building), and of outreach to and interaction with participants before, during and after the project.

Read also

Case Study: Youth Education in Post-COVID EU

New Features of European Solidarity Corps 2021-2027

L'articolo European Solidarity Corps (ESC): Inclusion and Diversity Strategy proviene da Youth Networks.

It’s true that nowadays young people spend less time outdoors and cannot integrate with nature. Very often youngsters prefer to dedicate themselves to activities they can do inside. Outdoor games and activities are important for the physical and cognitive development of children and teenagers. 

About the project

“Outdoor Activities for Inclusion” is a multi-stage project that aims to expand the use of outdoor activities that support inclusion in youth work.

The project improves the level of key competencies and skills of youth workers, young people, and also promotes social inclusion. With this, the project contributes to the first of the specific objectives pursued by the Erasmus+ Programme in the field of youth. 

The result of the project is a TOOLBOX where you can find examples of National Games from the participant’s countries, that can be used for inclusion. The toolbox includes also examples of games/activities developed by participants.

Partners:
Nouriso-ja luontomatkakailukeskus Oivanki – Finland
Armenian Youth League – Armenia
Arbeitskreis Noah – Austria
Unistudy – Azerbaijan
EUROCIRCLE – France
PECO – Italy
Academy of innovation – Russia
Matadero Lab – Spain
Vzayemopomich – Ukraine
Modern Youth Academy – Turkey 

Related articles:
Adventure in NATURE is calling me! Prepare for it well by looking at Mountains & Memories – a booklet on exploring nature and a healthy lifestyle!
European Youth Strategy 2020-27: new SALTO report on inclusion

L'articolo Find here ideas for ”Outdoor Activities for Inclusion” proviene da Youth Networks.

The main issue at stake is inclusion, in all of its shades: how to foster it in the democratic life of young Europeans, how to guarantee the participation of people with fewer opportunities in such process, which tools, activities and actions are better to implement. The main point of the dedicated report (“A sit at the table for everyone”, by Salto Youth resource center) is to propose effective actions, on the base of what has been done until now.

Engage

First of all, the main issue is to reach out to every young person. Here it plays a fundamental role the difference between youngsters with fewer opportunities and unorganised youngsters. The first group may be unorganised, or may be not; but, for sure, its members face difficult situations (due to physical disabilities, economical problems, geographical distance, lack of facilities, etc) that make harder for them to create and get involved, even after trying to organise themselves.

The second group instead may be composed by people in difficulty – or may be not. The only thing that characterizes the group is the fact that they are not properly ogranised under the umbrella of a private or semi-private body. The difference is important because it set the target of the inclusion mission: not the unorganised people that, potentially, have the possibility to stand up and fight for themselves; but rather the people with fewer opportunities, that are the ones who may not be in the practical contitions of make up a group and raise their voice.

Empower

People with fewer opportunities are the ones that need to be empowered most. The risk of marginalisation can be prevented by giving the people more at risk the right tools to be at the forefront of European policy making process. Fostering the democratic participation of young people in the political life of the community they live in can in fact be itself and instrument of social and civic development. But an interesting focus is where Europeans stakeholder can improve and the moments when it has not been done before. Where can the system be improved? How? The report tries to answer to these questions by proposing a set of services, activities, actions and awareness raising tools.

Connect

So, the strategy wants to get to a better involvement of young people by enhancing the already existing European programmes, together with the new ones – as the European Solidarity Corps intiative. The report provide four main strategies to foster inclusion:

• the combination between the three key actions of the Erasmus+ programme;
• reducing the complexity of the application process;
• more Key Actions (in order to overtake the idea of just the KA3 as the “participation Key Action”, ofr example);
• the creation of Youth Goals.

There ideas are described in more details at p. 11/12 of the report.

The report

The main goal of the report, released in the last weeks, is not only to raise awareness on the inclusion challeges that every organisation and project has to deal with – indeed, everyone is pretty aware of the situation. It focuses more on which actions and activities to enhance or implement to tackle the situation.

L'articolo European Youth Strategy 2020-27: new SALTO report on inclusion proviene da Youth Networks.