In the EU, the growing political polarisation has encouraged the growth of partisan agendas online which together with clickbait, fake news and various forms of misinformation is helping to further undermine trust in media – raising new questions about how to deliver balanced and fair reporting in the digital mass media age. The youth is especially vulnerable to this polarisation. This poses a threat to democracy. Active citizenship by and among European youth is an important way of empowering the youth to desist from this polarisation. An important aspect of active citizenship is the role of the media. However, it has long been established that there is a wide gap between the youth and the media. Research shows the youth have less trust in the media. How can this project empower youths, through youth work and make them active and critical citizens, media-savvy and democracy conscious? Empower youths and youth work to be able to detect and appropriately act upon fake news? Youth work plays an important role in the transformation process of youths into active citizens. The voice of the youths is not represented in the media and when it does it is mostly in a negative way. Youth work can play a key role in making the youth better understand the importance of actively engaging with the media and empower youths in voicing their opinions, make their own media. This project aims at building a network, based on equal partnerships, in which 5 youth organisations from 5 countries work together to develop an easily accessible toolbox filled with thoroughly tested how-to-manuals for smartphone storytelling focusing on active (European)citizenship. This 24-month strategic partnership project aims at developing the quality of support systems for youth activities and the capabilities of civil society organisations in the youth field using digital radio as the main tool for active citizenship and democracy (age group 18-30 years old). The project intends to strengthen and build – through training and exchange of good practices - competences of young people in digital media as a medium to practice their democratic right for freedom of expression. Community/digital radio has the potential of providing space for youngsters from different backgrounds to jointly partake in a learning activity that will enhance their digital skills, knowledge and capacities, their understanding of democracy and active citizenship. The participants will explore the power of community digital radio and its ability to significantly advance the position of the youth. Radio is a medium which is not yet being used to its full potential in youth work as a facilitator of active citizenship and democracy. The radio reaches a wide range of people and addresses the realities of local life. It is still the second most popular medium accessed at least once a week by Europeans. Community radio often speaks in languages ignored by mainstream media and shares vital information with hard-to-reach audiences. This justifies the need for the transnational aspect of this project as the participants will get an insight into the extent to which the potential of community radio is and has been used in both member and non-member EU states to promote active citizenship and democracy.
The project aims to explore the concept of community radio as a medium which is the voice of the voiceless, the mouthpiece of oppressed people and generally as a tool for active citizenship suited for use in the youth sector. This project will empower 15 young people and 5 youth workers from 5 countries through training and workshops on different topics eg. setting up community radio, smart-phone storytelling, interview techniques, active citizenship through journalism and democracy. Extra focus will be on how these can be facilitated by and within youth work. IO2 addresses this by facilitating youth work with the necessary tools. Why smartphone? In order to lower thresholds, connect and exchange good practices, we need to have a level playing field. Smartphones are highly accessible to European youths and a cheap alternative tot he expensive audio-visual camera’s/equipment which they can not access anyway. The idea behind the project is developing a tool-box (how-to-manuals) for using community radio as a tool for promoting democracy and active citizenship within youth work. The tool-box will improve the quality of youth work, promote synergies and transnational non- formal learning mobility.The objectives of the project are:
-Showcasing the power of community radio as a medium for enhancing active citizenship and democratic participation in the society by youths-Innovatively empowering youth workers and youth work on how to work on active citizenship -Building radio skills for youth radio production through cross-sectoral and transnational cooperation-Promoting European cooperation in the youth work field

The main idea of ​​this project arises from the need to generate tools to support young people in the job search. The context prior to the crisis generated by the coronavirus, already painted a complicated landscape in terms of youth unemployment, 32.7% in Spain, according to Eurostat data, 29% in Italy, 19% in France and a crisis about to explode that is expected to shoot up those numbers.It is in this uncertain and hopeless context, is in which we propose a strategic partnership that allows the creation of useful and innovative tools, based on gamification, for working with young people in search of employment. Tools that allow youth workers, job counselors, educators, social workers ... to reach out unemployed young people so that they can develop their transversal skills and face the job search with guarantees of success. Thus, the final recipients are the young people who are unemployed and at risk of social exclusion. In short, the project contemplates the creation of 5 educational games, and a platform that will constitute a toolbox for youth workers. In addition, the staff of the different organisations involved will be trained on game development, as well as a team of local youth workers.The objectives of the project are: 1. Provide youth workers, counselors, educators ... gamification-based tools to fight youth unemployment and encourage the development of soft skills in youth.2. Provide a space for the exchange of knowledge, ideas, contacts and experiences between organizations that work to combat youth unemployment.3. Share useful knowledge for the training of young people, enhancing their individual skills and characteristics that facilitate access to the labor market.4. Promote creativity and innovation in concrete actions to promote youth employment.5. Create a set of educational games that promote the development of soft skills in young people and facilitate their future incorporation into the world of work.6. Put into practice the tools and games created so that the target youth can expand their capacities and opportunities in the job search through experimentation and experiential methodology.The expected impact of the project would be:For participants (educators and youth workers):- The increase of competences, skills and tools of educators and youth workers to guide NEET through experiential methodology.- The expansion of their knowledge of specific content of the European dimension and transversal content of gamification and employability.- The specialization in gamification: creation, development and application of games as an educational method.- The integration of ideas, methods and innovative material for employability and job search.- Membership in a network of trainers at a European level that promotes mobility and can promote youth employment.- Developing key skills by working with an international team and incorporating creative problem solutions. For organizations:- The expansion and comparison of existing theories, ideas, practices, methods and materials in order to better support our target groups in local and European projects.- The integration of knowledge and specialization in the fields of employability and gamification. Expansion in the methods and kits of educational material adapted to the context of each organization.- The ability to reach new audiences- Belonging to a network of organizations linked to employability and gamification and the consequent potential for lasting collaboration For the target group (NEET youth): Personal development of key competencies and other skills essential for employability.- Increased self-confidence.- The expansion of tools and strategies to face job search processes.- The development of your professional itinerary.- The improvement of their ability to communicate and teamwork, their linguistic and intercultural skills, their empathy and their ability to live with diversity.- The increase in their ability to identify prejudices and cultural stereotypes related to the workplace and their ability to disarm them.- Expanding knowledge about situations and experiences of other young workers in Europe, as well as the Erasmus + program and its opportunities.

<< Objectives >>This cooperation partnership gathers a consortium of 4 organizations coming from Spain, Germany, Croatia and Slovakia (as newcomers to the action). All organizations are related to youth work and to entrepreneurship in different ways. The main aim of the project is to increase the quality of the Youth Work activities we are developing in the partner organizations and in the European Youth Field when promoting Civic participation of young people through Youth Social Entrepreneurship.<< Implementation >>-4 TPM-2 International mobility activities , training course C1 and seminar C2-Development of 2 Deliverables (D1. All you need to know to promote Youth Social Entrepreneurship for Educators and the work and D2. Curricula on inclusive learning of youth social entrepreneurship).-Different activities of Local implementation in the 4 countries with different formats (short term or long term learning activities) and target groups (youth workers and/or youngsters).-4 multiplier events<< Results >>-4 organizations with increased quality in their work-Trained teams in the partner organizations in supporting and promoting youth social entrepreneurship-Reinforced cooperation between partners, associated partners and networking -Encouraged and supported young people in competences related to entrepreneurship-2 Deliverables: D1. All you need to know to promote Youth Social Entrepreneurship for Educators and the work and D2. Curricula on inclusive learning of youth social entrepreneurship

"The ""InterArts - Youth Communities for Social Inclusion"" project aims at empowering young people to fight against discrimination and social exclusion through the use of artistic activities. By deploying an innovative non-formal methodology based on a set of art-related disciplines (i.e. dance, theatre, music, street-art, photography, literature, cinema, painting & sculpture), InterArts will produce practical knowledge to reduce social exclusion and improve the level of key competences and skills of young people living in marginalised conditions.InterArts will gather 8 EU organisations with longstanding expertise in the field of youth, culture and social inclusion. These 8 organisations will work for the creation of a multifaceted methodology that will be run in each involved territory. The methodological activities are essentially conceived to enable young people living in marginalised condition to play an active role in the fight against social exclusion, launching with arts a strong message against racism, bullying and discrimination. InterArts will help participants to build a culture of peace against racism, discrimination and violence. Furthermore, InterArts wants to create a virtual space in which local stakeholders can discuss and compare trends, initiatives and policies carried out all around Europe, aiming at building up a new framework for reflection and improvement of social-based initiatives through the use of art.More specifically, the 8 partners will contribute to the achievement of three specific objectives:- Identifying and mapping European areas where young population in marginalised condition is more widespread, trying to understand main aspects, possible reasons and causes;- Developing an innovative non-formal methodology focused on the role of art for improving social inclusion of young population;- Creating a stable network of stakeholders (cultural institutions, youth NGOs, associations and local authorities) aimed at tackling social exclusion of young people by means of a continuous and integrated strategy at EU level.Each of these objectives will be strongly connected to the the accomplishment of the following expected results:- Finalisation of a comprehensive analysis on young people conditions in terms of social inclusion and community integration;- Publication of an Interactive Map on young people providing information on statistics and data concerning youth social inclusion;- Realisation of a complete review of good practices and lessons learned on the topic of art for social inclusion- Development of an innovative non-formal methodology aimed at involving young people living in marginalised conditions through the use of art; - Experimentation of the methodology through an 8 months-length training course. The whole module will give room to 8 art-related disciplines: theatre, dance, photography, street art, music, cinema, painting&sculpture, literature. All the partners will be required to engage with young people in needs and ask them to reflect on their condition through the use of art.- Official creation of a network gathering cultural institutions, art schools, cultural associations (music schools, conservatories, theatrical companies, etc.), youth NGOs and public institutions that will set up a common strategy for tackling social exclusion through an integrated framework of initiatives and policies;- Creation of an online open forum where stakeholders and beneficiaries may exchange opinions and experiences on the topic of “art for social inclusion”, as well as promoting initiatives and launching surveys."