The total budget for 2019 accounts for EUR 142,274,568. There will be public procurements – calls for tenders and framework contacts – and grants – financed by “lump sums, reimbursement on the basis of unit costs and flat rate financing” (see p. 16).

The total allocation of the budget can be seen at p. 35 of the work programme. What is remarkable is the amount reserved to the insurance, higher than ever (over 6 million) and, the one reserved to trainings (over 20 billion), both for “general online training” and “specific training for participants in cross-border activities”.

The breakdown by country for the allocation of funds for grant support (indirectly managed by the National Agencies) was laid down according to the following criteria:

• country population (accounting for a minimum of 20%, the final value depends on the cost of living);
• cost of living (accounting for 25%);
• distance between capitals (accounting for 25%);
• performance (accounting for 25%, depends on the outputs “realised in 2014 and 2015 in the mobility activities in the field of youth adjusted to take into account population, cost of living and distance between capitals”).

Here in the tab below, the breakdown in more detail.

L'articolo ESC, the strange breakdown per country of the budget proviene da Youth Networks.

That became clear after the conclusion of the project. It took two years (from March 2016 to February 2018) and many experiences into working, educational and family contexts, it came out that using methods of community mediation really help in solving critical situations. Besides, what has to be reminded is that Community Mediation is first of all a way of life than merely a method.

The participants started their work from the analysis of the needs and the necessities of the communities they went to visit. Then, after building a strong connection and acquiring a direct knowledge of the surrounding context, they set their goals and objectives.

A complete toolkit is available on the CoMedY website. Here below the working methods.

Development of local projects:

“The participants could be roughly divided into two groups: youth workers and coordinators of the partner organizations, and young volunteers. The first explored the Community Mediation methodology and tried to understand how to apply it in the different local contexts, both during the Training Courses and through study visits in Latin America. Volunteers of the European Voluntary Service underwent a preliminary period of volunteering in their respective sending organizations and local communities. At the same time, they received baseline training on the Community Mediation approach in order to contribute to the implementation of a Community Mediation-inspired local project (…) The Portuguese representative went to Mexico, the Italian one to Argentina and the Spanish referent went to Peru.”

This way, it was possible for all the participants to acquire the right working method, adjusting it to the specific needs and necessities of the locals. That was crucial for the whole Community Mediation concept: to understand the social parts involved in the critical situation and to make them main actors of the decision making process is in fact the pivotal part of the mediation.

Training courses:

Then there was the involvement of stakeholders, plus two representatives for every participant organization. For the European, the training courses took part before the departure, in order to get familiar with the concept and the methods of Community Mediation and to be able to put them properly in place, being already familiar with the approach.

Final evaluation:

Eventually, the final evaluation represented a great tool to get an overall idea of the results of the project, the efficiency of the methods, the impact either on the participants and on the EVS volunteers that took place to the exchange and, in the end, to reflect upon what was left after the project had ended.

For a more specific description of the project and its tools, here you will find the complete toolkit, with a complete overview of the main notions and concepts for a correct approach to the Community Mediation.

L'articolo CoMedY: Community Mediation as a tool proviene da Youth Networks.

These projects aim to recognize and improve youth work, non-formal learning and volunteering and link them to education systems and the labour market. Even more, KA2 also support regional and transnational non-formal learning mobility schemes to encourage the participation of youth in society.

Examples of capacity building activities
* Conferences, workshops and meetings
* Similarly large-scale youth events
* Information and awareness campaigns
* Communication and media tools
* Even more, development of methods, curricula, training and documentation such as Youthpass
* Open and flexible learning materials, virtual cooperation, open educational resources (OER)

What does Erasmus+ KA2 supports – Capacity Building

* Promote cooperation between:
* youth organisations and public authorities in Partner Countries
* youth organisations in education and training and the business and labour market
* Even more, strengthen youth councils, youth platforms and authorities in Partner Countries (local, regional, national)
* Furthermore, support the overall operation of youth organisations in Partner Countries
* Also help implement youth work practices which include:
* tools for the development of youth works and trainers,
* non-formal learning methods to improve skills,
* new training schemes, flexible learning, virtual mobility and better ICT
* peer learning activities to improve the leadership of youth organisations

Profile of applicants
First of all, a participating organisation can be any public or private organisation based in a Programme Country or an eligible Partner Country.

This includes the following:
* a non-profit organisation, association, NGO (including European Youth NGOs)
* Similarly a national Youth Council
* a public body at local, regional or national level
* a school/institute/educational centre (at any level, from pre-school to upper secondary education, and including vocational education and adult education);
* a public or private, a small, medium or large enterprise (including social enterprises)
* a social partner or other representative of working life, including chambers of commerce
* craft/professional associations and trade unions
* a higher education institution
* a research institute
* a foundation
* an inter-company training centre
* a cultural organisation, library, museum
* a body providing professional counselling and information services.

Deadline for submission
8 March 2018 at 12pm (CET – midday) while projects must start between: 1 July 2018 and 31 December 2018

The maximum grant that can be awarded is 150 000 EUR.

L'articolo Capacity building in the field of Youth proviene da Youth Networks.