Inspired by the Erasmus+ strategic goals, the current project idea has been developed with the aim to ease transitions and contribute in reducing the gap between the labor market and education systems. EAfA continues to identify major problems related to lack of broker actors, able to bridge the education and employment sectors, and offering support in the implementation of apprenticeship schemes. This role could be best handled by youth organizations, since the youth sector has a great potential for leading such networking, due to already well-established expertise in this field, and direct contact with youth.As committed bodies within the education and youth fields, the consortium members have decided to provide their quality contribution for bringing some relevant answers to the above stated situation. Therefore, after implementing a very successful project in the same field for the past 2 years, the current Pan-European partnership seeks to provoke a larger long term impact for enhancing youth empowerment, through the provision of a rich offer of WBL opportunities for young people. “Work Based learning – Pathway to youth empowerment” aims at facilitating the creation of WBL solutions for enabling more youngsters to enrol in. It promotes a deep holistic approach for fostering youth empowerment and employability by bridging non-formal, formal education and labor market sectors, contributing to the creation of a long term multilevel cross-sectorial cooperation. Such follow up initiative is meant to upgrade the already achieved results and to further stimulate quality and excellence within the education, training and youth systems across Europe in the future. The project objectives are described as follows: •To provide youth organizations with further guidance for bridging sectors, in view of operating sustainable strategies that promote WBL paths as complementary educational patterns for boosting youth empowerment•To foster the effective use of EU funding instruments, support the implementation of initiatives and dissemination of relevant EU tools in the field of education, training and youth systems•To strengthen cooperation among youth NGOs and WBL providers, by engaging them in mutual learning and peer counselling, aimed at raising the quality and attractiveness of WBL provision•To reach-out and involve new WBL providers that do not yet contribute or benefit from European cooperation•To launch the development of a multilevel networking system that concretely stimulates learning through other than formal educational means and especially through direct involvement in practical assignments•To support the development of internationalisation strategies at institutional level that increase cooperative work in this directionThe project addresses youth NGOs and educational institutions from 8 EU countries.The overall project idea relates to the creation of bottom up partnerships that will encourage the work in network for transnational apprenticeship providers, in view of further improving youth professional competences at EU level. The created network and partnerships will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of WBL and traineeship schemes across Europe, enhance the impact and relevance of vocational education for the youth, as well for employers. The strategic actions undertaken shall be seen as a prerequisite for building cross-border cooperation that offers greater attractiveness of such educational options. The main final outcome of this strategic cooperation consists of the establishment of cooperative network that will support the quality implementation of WBL schemes and will facilitate the creation of such environments across Europe. Also, sustainable promotion of WBL strategies will be achieved, thanks to new transnational projects and capacity building actions among youth organisations and other types of educational providers, in particular for countries that have limited representation arrangements within the chain of apprenticeship actors. The network of stakeholders, interested to work further for fostering youth employability through WBL, represents a positive long-term impact to be achieved through this project. It will indirectly work for building up professionals skills of youth, through provision of WBL opportunities, in order to allow target groups to easily gain positions in the labor market and make smooth transition from education to work. The fact that various stakeholders and institutions will cooperate together is of significant importance for the future of policy-making procedures regarding WBL and youth employability on national and EU level. The project is a step towards a cooperation which on a long term basis shall impact the EU society on a larger scale and shall become a way to deal efficiently with the youth unemployment, educational difficulties, economic crisis, as well with other relevant EU issues such as social exclusion or school dropout, etc.

<< Background >>The gap between the education and employment widens, and the magnitude of change in the unemployment rates varies by youth educational attainment. While bound up with the legacy of the economic crisis, the spill-over costs of the social failure in providing quality education, decent employment and social protection, could cause serious burden on the European society. The increased number of graduating students with formally recognized qualifications but poor opportunities for professional realization in their field of competences has created a high percentage of unemployed young people.Nowadays, skills deficit and mismatch is perhaps one of the most popular explanations towards debates on problems of youth professional development and their integration as active society members. This is why, the project “League for Youth Entrepreneurship” aims at building competitive knowledge-based societies, through the development of young people’s entrepreneurial potential and creativity competencies. The project intends to offer a valuable solution against youth unemployment by creating specific paths for enhancing such abilities and building up youths’ entrepreneurial mindsets and capacities<< Objectives >>The project will encourage cross-sectorial partnership and cooperation at international level, by linking the institutional environment of NGOs with educational institutions and other types of educational providers, in view of operating quality improvements in the fields of education, training and youth.The following project objectives have been specified in view of bringing positive solutions to the described situation:• To promote entrepreneurial ideas through extra-curricular activities and courses in view of increasing innovation capacity and opportunistic mindset of potential youth entrepreneurs• To embed innovative approach towards entrepreneurship in the field of education through mainstreaming the development of entrepreneurial awareness and behavior• To encourage youth to take part in entrepreneurial education in view of developing such mindsets and stimulate them to better engage in entrepreneurial actions• To enhance innovative and market-oriented entrepreneurial spirit among young people• To demonstrate the benefits of multidisciplinary and multi-professional educational approaches by the development of “Training guide on entrepreneurial leadership, management and youth entrepreneurship”• To encourage the development of a multilevel cross-sectorial system that concretely fosters entrepreneurial learning through other than formal educational means and especially through direct involvement in entrepreneurial activities<< Implementation >>The 24 months project will combine various local activities with international learning mobility opportunities for youth workers, staff members and youth as direct target groups. It will involve 6 partner institutions from 6 European countries. In addition the project will create 3 tangible deliverables which are:- Training Module on entrepreneurial leadership and management- Training Guide on entrepreneurial leadership, management and youth entrepreneurship- THE ONLINE GUILD ENTREPRENEURSHIP platformThe project will organize as well 3 transnational partners meetings and 5 local dissemination events in the partner countries. Also, at the end of the project a Final Dissemination conference in Poland will be done and it will also invite international guests from all partner organizations.Among the local activities the project has planned the cooperation with local young entrepreneurs whom will share best practices with the partner entities in view of their use for the output creation and further on within the learning mobility activities with youth. Also, associated partners will be engaged in the cooperation through various presentations and further in follow up actions. Local youth with fewer opportunities will also be stimulated to participate and support where needed to them will be provided by the partners.By aggregating their experience, knowledge and competencies, a powerful insight and constellation of resources will be procured, since the project will work on a trans-national issue, which needs to be addressed not only on national but also at European level.<< Results >>As a result, the project is expected to contribute to the development of a wider knowledge-based youth societies in the partner countries, will help to overcome the skill mismatch, thanks to the creation of tailored entrepreneurship education opportunities and will stimulate the insertion of youth in labor market by the engagement in alternative learning paths, creative thinking, exploration of entrepreneurial insights, etc.The project will operate a steady multi-stakeholder partnership and will deliver added value at European level at three performance areas:- network building- fostering mutual learning and harmonization in and beyond Europe- pooling international resources to provide for greater scope and outreach of the results achieved. The project proposal represents as well the next phase of development of youth support and institutions capability to meet the need of youth community for quality knowledge and career pathway opportunities. It will support reciprocal relationships and cros-ssectoral collaboration, so as to bring focused range of educational and training services and relevant career development opportunities.It is as well an opportunity for the partners to collaborate by merging own priorities and those of the involved regions, accelerating the link with institutions and businesses, implementing new educational strategies. Additionally, sharing the knowledge will allow partners to translate the results into new models and guidelines appropriate for their local conditions. Partners consider that the project results on a long run will achieve strong and visible positive impact across Europe and beyond, therefore will be a pre-requisite to combat youth employment, early school leaving and other issues that tend to occupy high positions within the EU Agenda.

We believe that is necessary that the European Youth Goals (EYG) start to permeate across many levels and areas of EU and Partner Countries, especially to follow the line of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and ensure, for young people, a sustainable, peaceful, prosperous and equitable life now and in the near future. Undoubtedly, youth themselves play a relevant role to achieve this profound transformation. The above context made us focus on the priority of “A stronger Europe in the world”. This is because the EU must take a more active role in developing new models of development cooperation and be a bridge of knowledge between different regions of the world, so the EU (in general) and their organisation and citizens (in particular) can be relevant actors in promoting more inclusive societies through the construction of social dialogue and developing participation spaces for youth. Young people are critical thinkers, with the ability to identify and challenge existing power structures, to demonstrate prejudices and expose contradictions. The result of the EYG is proof of this. In this regard, Gamifying European Youth Goals (GEYG) seeks to promote a strategic cooperation between youth and social organisations between the EU (Poland, Spain) and Partner Countries (Algeria, Egypt and Jordan), in order to: • Contribute to encouraging cooperation, networking and exchanges of practices regarding EGY in the filed of youth, education and training. • Develop digital and non-formal learning methods to promote the EGY among young people through a digital game. • Provide to the youth workers engaging tools and methods that allows them to work the EGY among young people.

"<< Background >>Over the last few years we have witnessed continuous digitization processes in various contexts (education, work, sociality, communication, consumption, participation and citizenship, etc.) which have contributed to the improvement of some practices making them more dynamic and innovative, but developing in parallel also new social challenges linked to the careless- not accurate use of new digital technologies and the cyber space within which they exists.From debates that have arisen in institutional and educational settings but also through discussions between third sector experts, it clearly emerges that children, teenagers and adults are equally exposed, albeit with different results, to the same risks; it is also evident that more and more people are victims of addiction, abuse or distorted use of digital tools and resources.In this context, the project ""Safety Awareness in Digital Era"" aims to contribute to increasing the digital skills of young people and youth workers in a specific thematic area (security, well-being and digital privacy) which, although of considerable importance for a conscious and appropriate use of digital tools, it is often addressed in an incomplete way or with an inaccessible language.Aware that in raising awareness on these issues, a fundamental role must be taken by the direct involvement of young people, through the project we intend to trigger dynamics of active participation that see young people as messengers and promoters towards their peers of the addressed issues in a logic of peer education and enhancement of civic commitment for collective well-being.<< Objectives >>The project ""Safety Awareness in Digital Era"" has the following objectives:- Increase the participants' digital skills in relation to security, well-being, privacy, enhance critical thinking towards the cyber environment and its potential risks, build skills for online self-defense of oneself and others;- Increase the sense of initiative and creativity of young people by involving them in the creation of escape rooms aimed at their peers on the issues of security, digital well-being, and privacy;- Actively contribute to the construction of social well-being and secure digital communities;- Emphasize the appropriate use of online and offline multimedia technologies among participants;- Develop new digital skills in youth workers to become a model for their target audience and build together more engaging and participatory initiatives on the issues of digital security, privacy, and well-being;- Increase the knowledge of youth workers on online / offline digital safety and wellbeing practices.<< Implementation >>The project will involve 5 non-profit organisations in 5 countries (Italy, Spain, Latvia, Poland and Hungary) over a period of 24 months.During the project, 4 transnational meetings will be held (including a kick-off meeting and a final evaluation meeting), two conference calls to evaluate the ongoing progress of the project, two training activities (a seminar for 10 youth workers; a blended-mobility aimed at 25 young people aged between 18 and 30), an online dissemination event (120 participants - youth workers, educators, teachers, professionals in the media and communication sector) and 5 dissemination events (which will involve at least 225 young people). Furthermore, during the project, information and awareness-raising initiatives will be carried out at local level on the issues of online security, well-being and privacy.<< Results >>The project foresees the realization of two tangible results:- Training modules for the creation of media literacy courses on the issues of security, well-being and digital privacy- Escape room on the themes of online security and privacy and digital well-being.In addition, intangible results are expected, such as:- greater awareness and greater digital skills on issues of digital security, well-being and privacy- greater methodological skills of youth workers in the building of digital and non-participatory educational paths based on gamification methodologies, with particular regard to the Escape Room method- greater skills of young people in terms of media literacy, use of language, risks and opportunities of digital tools- greater sense of initiative, creativity and greater civic activism and participation in online and offline community life"

The project has reached the end (after a period of extension of 6 months, necessary because of the pandemic conditions) and has reached its objectives:1. We have built a functional consortium, with partners responding to the coordinators' requests and working professionally.We strongly believe that our management has proved to be efficient throughout the entire period of the project (especially in the context of COVID-19 and als taking into account the fact that no transnational meetings had been budgeted in the project). We managed to build an environment of trust and confidence and this is a good premise for a smooth implementation process.2. We have good communication dynamics in the consortium. Due to the fact that our transnational meetings were not funded in the project, we had to find solutions to compensate and therefore we have set up an internal communication dynamics that works very well. We communicated via email the specific aspects of our activities, we organized Google Meets or we talked on the phone or on Facebook messenger for details that are unclear perhaps.3. We have produced solid intellectual outputs: IO2- the Manual for learning to learn. We are proud to say that the results are those of common work and contributions from all partners. Moreover, given the fact that C1 had a testing function, we used this activity as an opportunity to get even more input from youth workers to this training material. This manual is a theoretical introduction to the conceptual and methodological approaches of the competency-based OSU-LL model and also includes guidance information for facilitators who wish to apply the OSU-LL methodologyIO3- is a collection of exercises, workbooks and learning diaries that are aimed to be used by young people individually in the learning process, as well as in accompanied learning experiencesIO4- a platform on which we have made available online tutorials on topics that are related to the learning to learn process (such as mind mapping), as well as testimonials of young people and youth workers about the learning process as well as self-assessment tests for young people. 4. We have organized a successful C1, a learning and training activity that was highly valued by the participants, who have stayed in close contact with the beneficiary and the trainers of the C1. The training had good results because we were able to test the methods of the manual and to ask for contributions from youth workers. Also,we successfully organized a C2- Virtual for young people in times of difficulties, this youth exchange bringing together young people from disadvantaged categories, from the 5 countries of the consortium. 5. We have managed to disseminate the project results, through multiplier events that have brought together a number of 60 participants from each of the partner countries and through constant dissemination activities, throughout the project (conferences, other projects, promotional materials that were available at the premises of each of the organizations).In terms of the objectives of the project, we have been able, even if the conditions were complicates, to attain all the project objectives:The general aim of the project was to ensure better chances for young people in rural areas and urban periphery areas to become aware of the learning process and to develop the transversallearning to learn competence. Through the intellectual products and the activities we have conducted (training course for youth workers and virtual mobility for young people), we have managed to reach young people that most needed these activities and contents. The only problem of the project was the timing, we were unable to finish the project în 24 months, because of the pandemic, so we extended the project to 30 months of implementation.