<< Background >>In our times of increased multiculturalism and multilingualism though, there is a need for a way to build empathy, teach and understand, and communicate ideas through universal languages. While the number of migrants in the EU is rising (according to Eurostat, more than 5% of the population of the EU is non-EU citizens) and mobility within the EU has been on the rise (COVID-19 crisis), tensions are rising as well. These divides can be mended to a large extent through change of attitude, understanding and increase both of quality and quantity of communication between different groups. Inclusion and integration within the EU must be based not just on common interests, but also on shared values and insight into the differences, which make cultures richer. Not in the last place, diversity has many faces, through which we can see the need for flexibility and adaptability - accommodating people with various specific needs, like dyslexia (which is observed in between 9 and 12% of the population in the EU according to the European Dyslexia Association) or autism disorders (which affects around 1 in 100, according to Autism Europe) just to give an example. According to the European Council (2013) youth work plays an important role in preventing social exclusion and enhancing social inclusion. Social inclusion in its turn encompasses various aspects of one’s life, including mental health and control over levels of anxiety, ability to participate in discourse and decision-making, as well as ability to communicate effectively, share stories and express opinions. Comic books and graphic novels on the other hand, provide a method of work, which lowers barriers to entry for young people, and invites them in not only as consumers, but as creators of content, which may be crucial to integration into their communities. Studies of using comic creation as a tool, have shown a lot of promise in this idea. When used with Native American youth in 2012 shows that comic creation can lead to improved knowledge and behaviour, as well as healthier decision-making. The small-scale Comics Youth initiative in the UK has also shown promise in supporting young people express and discover themselves. It is also important to consider that consuming and creating comics promotes media literacy education, as well as learning and growth overall. Creating a bond between youth workers and young people; getting the interest of the recipient in order to intervene and provide support - those are some of the most important aspects of youth work. As a result, any approach that can be used to increase the connection between the youth worker and the young people has the potential to increase the impact of youth work and can be included in youth work. Regarding the target group of young people, CO-MIX intends to equip them with a tool that they can express themselves safely and freely. Nevertheless, the overall experience in comic book creating calls for a mix of various soft and hard skills. For instance, the creation of a comic book that focuses on a story, requires the “author” to organize thoughts, decide on what elements to use, perhaps communicate in the case of extra collaborators and as well lead them. For young people that face learning difficulties, the vibrant motifs, the ability to freely design their own visuals, will bridge gaps and eliminate constraints in communication. There is an ever-growing need for competencies and skills that are not necessarily taught in a formal educational environment. Just to be included in the process of creating a comic book (regardless of topic, length,) the author gains the experience and skills of communicating, organizing, delegating, creative thinking, sensitivity, and content creation. These skills are transferable to many industries and can lead to employment in fields such as digital design, directing, animating, graphic design, acting.<< Objectives >>CO-MIX aims to support cooperative learning in an inclusive and flexible way - by using comic creation in youth work. Through a specific focus on inclusion work and tackling difficult subjects in an approachable way, the project is going to address its overarching objectives: - to support young people and youth workers in integration, understanding, empathy-building and promotion of common EU values; - to build capacities in the field of youth by promoting the practice of creating comics as a methodology in youth work; - to expand the impact of youth workers even in limiting situations (such as the one of Covid-19) and in more situations that require versatility and flexibility; - through broad consultation and cooperation with many local actors, to create not only useful learning materials, but a means of useful connectivity and interaction in the field of youth; - through further local activities and international cooperation within and after this project, contributing to Sustainable Development Goals #3, #4 and #16.<< Implementation >>The CO-MIX methodology for implementation will unfold in 5 distinct activity groups (A), structured in a manner to complement each other with the purpose to achieve the set by the current proposal objectives. The execution of these Activities will be coordinated by efforts, grouped under A1 Management and Coordination, which will be executed through the whole project lifetime. Each activity group will aim at a number of results to be achieved, linked to respective qualitative and quantitative indicators. A2 is concentrated towards the development of PR1 - Creating the CO-MIX online platform, which will be led by TFN. The tasks envisaged under this work stream aim to design and create the online platform, put it through rigorous tests, involving stakeholders, and adding to it useful materials (including templates) and information. Part of the activities in A2 will also contribute to the development of the methodology to be worked on in A3, but mostly the work done in this Activity group will address the objectives of:-to support young people and youth workers in integration, understanding, empathy-building and promotion of common EU values; -to expand the impact of youth workers even in limiting situations (such as the one of Covid-19) and in more situations that require versatility and flexibility; -through broad consultation and cooperation with many local actors, to create not only useful learning materials, but a means of useful connectivity and interaction in the field of youth. A3, the development of PR2 - Methodology on inclusive work through comics, will be led by HIGGS. As will be presented in further detail below, the methodology is aimed at youth workers,and will contribute to the same objectives as A2 but will build up on that by specifying approaches, examples and guidelines on implementation of comic creation in youth work, thus working to the objective of “to build capacities in the field of youth by promoting the practice of creating comics as a methodology in youth work”. It is extremely important for the project consortium that the created outputs are immediately useful and that value can be found in them throughout multiple uses.A4, which will work for the creation of PR3: Comic books for inclusive youth work, is led by MCC. This PR is aimed both at youth workers, and at young people, inviting them to explore the subject of comic creation through the lenses of the finished comics. This activity will lean on the practical expertise of MCC and will build on it with good practices, theory and engagement with interested stakeholders and of course, the cooperation of all partners. Through engagement of youth and youth workers and attention to connectivity, relationship-building, effective engagement and tools for capacity building, all activities of CO-MIX will contribute to the objective of the project to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals #3, #4 and #16.Simultaneously with the implementation of the aforementioned activities, a wide dissemination campaign will be undertaken to ensure on time update of the project progress and promotion of project results. Led by OFCI, Activity 5 will involve face-to-face meetings, online and offline dissemination of information related to the project, as well as maintenance of social media. The MEs play essential role for the achievement of the project results and objectives, as they will be attracting and engaging target groups in the project outputs; raising awareness on the issues targeted by the project and give the floor for discussion; and extending the potential to reach out to national and EU policy- and decision-makers and focus their attention and understanding of the needs in the youth sector. The dissemination efforts will contribute to the achievement of all objectives of the CO-MIX project and partnership.<< Results >>The CO-MIX project aims to enhance the experience of youth workers and the service they provide to young people by equipping them with a methodology, an online platform, and a series of pre-made comics on sensitive issues. During the creation of all these results we will be engaging youth workers in informal meetings and involving them at every step, gaining feedback and adjusting the outcomes in order to tailor to the needs of both the youth workers and young people.In depth, the project aims to create an online platform (available in 5 languages: the 4 partner languages and English) that will host a proprietary comic book creating application. The aforementioned application will be designed in such a way that the target group demographic will feel comfortable to use. In addition, the application will be equipped with text, character models, environments and a large volume of customizability. The platform will be available and free to use by anyone. Furthemore, on the platform, the methodology on “Inclusive youth work through comics” will be uploaded and available for anyone who wishes to use it. It will be created by organizations that host youth workers and will be including them on all relevant steps of the project such as brainstorming, testing, and use with young people. The purpose is to complement youth workers with a methodology that is aimed to be more inclusive. Given that youth workers have already a large repertoire of activities to use, the methodology will keep that in consideration and strive to provide the final reader with all possible explanations, templates and guidance in order to make it easier for them to start the comic book activity and make the learning curve less steep. Moreover, continuing from the second project result , the methodology, the CO-MIX project will produce a series of comics (created using the abovementioned platform) that will cover a series of sensitive topics with the ultimate purpose of being used for inclusive youth work. It is generally expected that taboo topics as well as topics of sensitive nature are not always easy to portray or begin exploring with a group of youngsters, therefore these comics will be already curated by experts of the relative fields and available on the main website-platform.Additionally, the project during its course will include Joint Staff Trainings where in total 8 youth workers from the partner countries will join. In 4 multiplier events it is expected that around 150 participants will be acquainted with the finalized products of the project. Also, at least 6,000 partners, target audiences, national and European stakeholders will be updated about the results of the project via the dissemination channels and events.Upon choosing the proper graphical art for the project CO-MIX, social media accounts (Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram for the general public) will be created providing to the public, updated regarding the project as well as opportunities for them to add their inputs if requested. For the group of professionals, LinkedIn will be used. This mix of social networks will ensure that a wide group of individuals can be addressed.Lastly, just as comic books have influenced the imagination of many young people, the ability for those same young people to create comic books, expanding their imagination, feeling included regardless of the demographic they belong in, and creating art that can be shared to their social circle, will influence their perception on inclusive and social matters.

<< Background >>Understanding economics means understanding the world around us. Ceteris paribus - all other remaining equal. This term, popular in economics, is used to explain dependencies and laws - most of the time, something will occur as a result of something else, if nothing else changes. Economic rules in real life are often complicated to consider, as life itself intertwines so many factors, which, converging, lead to ambiguous results. People need to be equipped with better knowledge of what economists, similar to biologists or mathematicians, have theorized and discovered to be true of the societies humanity has constructed. To really understand the world around us and our agency, we need to look into topics as broad as opportunity costs related to using our personal time and money, debt or inflation rates of countries, personal and governmental savings, the effects of policies on our lives and the meaning behind policy changes, among others. Education instead often focuses on how to manage personal finances (in subjects like home economics) or, alternatively, on how to earn more and become rich (usually with the term “fast” following). Even the majority of games, educational or not, when related to the topic, focus on wealth management, trade, and commerce, without paying attention to the surrounding reality of the laws of economics. Economic education is related instead to a better understanding of the world, as well as a clearer understanding of our roles and responsibilities as parts of society. Terms such as Global Citizenship, Education for Sustainable Development, Development Education, and the Sustainable Development Goals, are strongly linked to economics education’s importance for young people and their interaction with democracy (Penner and Sanderse, 2017). Global citizens have an obligation to understand how the world works and to contribute to social and economic sustainability through active community engagement from local to global levels (UNESCO, 2014: 14). Global Citizenship places greater responsibility for the world in the hands of ordinary citizens to ensure it becomes central to the political and economic development of society.What CETERIS Paribus outlines as a project, is a push to put the needed emphasis on understanding economic theory and the impact of economics on our perception of the world around us and our place in it as active citizens. Through the development of interactive educational materials, a manual for youth workers on how to approach economic education, as well as a very modern, replayable engaging educational video game, the project is going to engage young people and youth workers from around Europe in a quest for comprehending, knowing and acting on important economic terms and laws, in order to boost civic participation in all democratic processes. The project will create space and opportunity for important conversations, related to modern democracy, learning, active citizenship, and individual roles in the future of our societies.<< Objectives >>CETERIS Paribus project aims to unite the youth workers, educators, and other professionals working with young people from the participating countries, equip them with educational materials, a manual on economics education, and a modern, fun tool in the face of a video game, through which to continue their efforts in supporting young people in their development. The implementation of this project helps to realize policy strategies of European Commission by strengthening and reinforcing EU and partner countries relations in cooperation to educating young people, empowering them to be active and engaged citizens, fight discrimination and economic disparities by giving better opportunities for growth, and to build capacities in the field of working with youth by equipping youth workers/educators with needed knowledge, skills, and attitudes to support and develop youth.The specific objectives of CETERIS are to: increase of the capacity, skills, knowledge, reach, motivation for youth work in the partner organizations;increase access to understanding, knowledge, and skills in the field of economics among young people; support the work of organizations, working to promote active citizenship among young people, through providing materials and tools for economics education (and increasing awareness of the link between the two); create an engaging, entertaining, contemporary educational video game, with which to raise awareness and educate young people on micro and macroeconomic questions; expand the impact of existing efforts in active citizenship promotion among young people; through further local activities and international cooperation within and after this project, take part in achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals #4, #8, #10, #11, #12 and #16.<< Implementation >>The implementation of the CETERIS project will unfold in 5 distinct activity groups (A), structured in a manner to complement each other with the purpose to achieve the set by the current proposal objectives. The execution of these activities will be coordinated by efforts, grouped under A1 Management and Coordination, which will be executed through the whole project lifetime. Each activity group will aim at a number of results to be achieved, linked to respective qualitative and quantitative indicators.A2 is concentrated on the development of PR1 - CETERIS Hub & Interactive Educational Materials, which will be led by ED. The tasks envisaged under this workstream aim to design and create the online platform and its many different content structures and sections and add to it useful interactive educational materials and information, which can be used either directly by young people, or by youth workers in their activities. The work done in this Activity group will focus on addressing the objectives of the project, related to increasing the capacity, quality, and work of youth organizations and youth workers, specifically in the field of economics education, in order to support active citizenship. A3, the development of PR2 - CETERIS economics educational game, will be led by TFN. As will be presented in further detail below, the game is mostly aimed at young people and while it will contribute to all project objectives, it will work mostly towards the goal of creating a modern tool for engagement and learning in the field of economics, as well as increasing access to knowledge and skills in the field of economics for young people. Activity 4, which will work for the creation of PR3: Manual for economic literacy education for youngsters, is led by UoP. This PR is aimed mostly at youth workers, inviting them to explore the subject of economics, to learn a new methodology and appropriately use it in their everyday activities, as well as to explore the CETERIS Hub and all its outcomes as a means to support the young people they can, and engage them in the educational activities, which lead to a more active democratic life.Through engagement of both youth and youth workers and attention to education, interconnectedness, as well as tools for capacity building, all activities of CETERIS will contribute to the objective of the project to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.Simultaneously with the implementation of the aforementioned activities, a wide dissemination campaign will be undertaken to ensure on time update of the project progress and promotion of project results. Led by CYC, Activity 5 will involve face-to-face meetings, online and offline dissemination of information related to the project, as well as maintenance of social media. The MEs play an essential role in the achievement of the project results and objectives, as they will be attracting and engaging local target groups in the project outputs; raising awareness on the issues targeted by the project and giving the floor for discussion; extending the potential to reach out to national and EU policy- and decision-makers and focus their attention and understanding of the needs in the youth sector and specifically to needs in education.The dissemination efforts will contribute to the achievement of all objectives of the CETERIS Paribus project and partnership.<< Results >>The expected outcomes during the project implementation and in the conclusive stage can be outlined in two main categories, highlighting both quantitative and qualitative aspects, as follows:Tangible results:1. CETERIS Hub & Interactive Educational Materials in four partner languages and in English (SK, BG, EL, Sl)2. CETERIS economics educational game (EN)3. Manual for economic literacy education for youngsters in four partner languages and in English (SK, BG, EL, Sl)4. 15 youth trainers from partner organizations trained to provide economic non-formal education based on gamification (3 from each partner)5. 180 stakeholders and policy-makers from partner countries and across Europe informed of project results and invited to sustain the hub through 5 MEs6. 4200 partner staff members, target groups and stakeholders on both national and European levels informed of project results through dissemination activities carried out during the whole project lifecycle7. Project social media profiles – Facebook and Instagram accounts for young people and other relevant youth practitioners; YouTube and Twitch specifically for promoting the game to young people; 8. 30 info items related to project goals and results, published on the project platform and social media profiles within the project lifetime9. Project management documents - Implementation plan, Quality Assurance plan, Risk management strategy, Dissemination and exploitation plan, Interim progress reports, and Final report.10. Other documents - research synthesis reports, visual identity guidelines, events agenda templates, feedback forms, online statistic reports.Intangible results:1. Young people will improve their:- awareness of their active citizenship, democracy, economic literacy. - engagement in the political and social life of their local communities;- recognition of youth work means to increase the engagement of other young citizens and facilitate their participation;- knowledge and skills on important topics such as sustainability, global citizenship, global perspective and climate change, etc.2. Youth workers and youth organizations staff will improve their:- knowledge and skills in delivering youth work in a format of gamified economic non-formal education as innovative practice through the use of digital technology and media to actually engage young people from different communities with the aim of active citizenship and civic responsibility;- skills in planning, designing, and evaluating digital youth work; - motivation and skills to engage in international collaboration work with other youth workers in the field of civic participation and responsibility;- different skills in the field of community-building and maintaining a diverse and inclusive youth network or youth project.3. Other partners’ staff will improve their: - awareness on planning, designing, and implementing youth work for economic education, citizen engagement, and civic responsibility;- motivation to use the Project results and engage in the planned activities.4. Other stakeholders (youth training providers, youth work platforms, mentoring communities) will improve their:- awareness as to the methodological aspects of engagement of young people from different communities;- understanding of the benefits of economic non-formal education for enhancing and facilitating the environment for sustainable youth organizations across Europe; - cooperation prospects with peer organizations from different countries and sectors.5. National and EU policymakers will improve their:- evidence base to promote, multiply, and mainstream economic literacy, responsibility, and youth engagement.- understanding of the needs for strategic investment in youth participation in social and political life. Resources should be allocated to training, development of innovative digital youth work methodology, working time, infrastructure, and devices/technologies.

<< Background >>According to the EU Commission's 2020-2025 Gender Equality Strategy, Gender-based violence – or violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately – remains one of our societies’ biggest challenges and is deeply rooted in gender inequality. An emerging form of violence is cyber violence which is especially prevalent due to COVID-19 lockdowns. Cyber violence is a gender-based issue, as it affects women disproportionately (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2017). In the European Union, 1 in 10 women reports having experienced cyber violence since the age of 15 as reported in Fundamental Rights’ Agency (FRA) 2014 survey. Responses, however, have yet to fully address the many degrees and impact of violence, trauma and loss that women and girls are routinely exposed to due to cyber violence and that go unreported (UN Women, 2015). Cyber violence is not a separate phenomenon, but rather a continuum of offline violence (EIGE, 2017). Studies have shown that survivors of online sexual violence suffer from a number of mental health issues following their assault. They have trouble trusting, show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder and suffer from anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. These findings reveal the seriousness of online sexual violence, as well as the similarities between sexual assault and online sexual violence (Bates, 2016). The project will have two main target groups. The first target group includes youth in the 18-29 age group, as younger women are more active on the internet and therefore more exposed to cyber harassment, with that particular age group being the highest risk one (FRA, 2014). It will offer trainings in order for the victims to be able to protect themselves effectively online, strengthen the awareness and capacity of women advocates, educators, and Internet users to identify and report violence facilitated online and by other forms of ICTs, as well as provide tips, tools and resources on how to identify, document and report on-line harassment and other forms of ICT facilitated violence against women and girls. A best practices mapping will also contribute through that goal.The second target group includes the youth workers and professionals of victim support and social care services, through the creation of a training curriculum of which will be able to utilize the training material and the methodology created through the project in order to be able to recognize, effectively support and guide the victims to legal services if needed. Consequently, those services will be able to provide adequate support to the youth that need it. While the material will be tailored for the specific target groups, it will be open and available to everyone, and through its utilization by professionals it will also have a multiplier effect. In addition, the volunteers of these services will also be able to benefit from the project’s results. According to the European Commission’s Victims’ Rights Support Strategy, the victims support services importance is recognized, as it is one of the Key Actions of the Strategy to declare them as essential<< Objectives >>The project has the following concrete objectives:1. To contribute to the prevention, recognition and early intervention against Cyber GBV2. Raise the capacity of youth workers and victim support services to be able to respond to the specific needs of victims of cyber GBV, through an innovative and transferrable training curriculum3. To enhance the digital skills of the target groups in order to be able to protect themselves online, as well as empower them to seek assistance and take other action to break the cycle of online and offline violence4. To raise awareness on the phenomenon5. Engage professionals of different countries in combating cyber GBV6. To provide knowledge of best practices and effective actions implemented on preventing and providing support for Cyber Gender-Based Violence7. Contribute to a more inclusive cyberspace<< Implementation >>The project will lead to the creation of:1. An Online Hub against cyber GBV2. Best practices mapping on an EU level3. Digital Handbook on cyber GBV for youth4. A Training Curriculum for Victim Support Services and Youth Workers5. A Self Evaluation in the form of an interactive quiz6. A Final Research PaperIn addition, 4 transnational meetings are going to be held, with 2 of them taking place in person and 2 of them online. 3 Multiplier Events will take place in Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece in order to share the projects results and contribtute in raising awareness on the phenomenon.<< Results >>Upon the completion of the 23 month project the participants of both target groups are going to be able to:•Have accurate knowledge of cyber GBV: definition, detection, prevention & intervention, through the training curriculum and the handbook designed.•Develop their digital skills in order to be able to protect themselves and their identities online•Recognize abusive behaviors they are being subject to•Be aware which instances of online harassment constitute a crime, how to report it and where they can seek assistance•Self-evaluate their online competences, through the online evaluation system hosted on the platform•Be aware of best practices in the field of cyber GBV, by utilizing the mapping that will be completed during the project•Recognize the real-life ramifications and implications that cyber GBV causes.Specific outcomes for the professionals of victim support services and youth workers:•Capacity to provide adequate and targeted support to victims of cyber GBV•Ability to recognize whether women that come in contact with them are also victims of cyber GBV apart from offline violence•Ability to respond appropriately to cyber violence in intimate relationships – differentiate between cyber violence by unknowns•Be able to guide victims through the necessary (legal) steps.•Increased motivation for professional training and skills development•Better teamwork among professionals•Awareness of best practices and ability to adopt those deemed appropriate in their own work.In addition, the final research paper that will provide data on the effectiveness of the project’s interventions. Through the involvement of the victim support services, the project will be able to gather bodies of data that include the profiles of perpetrators, their relationship with the victim, the means of perpetrations, the number of reported cases, which will be able to inform future projects, research and policy making.The project’s outcomes will also expand beyond the direct target groups by increasing awareness of the phenomenon in local communities and stakeholders. In addition to the intellectual outputs, the project will hold an awareness campaign that will take place online and inform the wider audience about the forms cyber gender-based violence can take, with a special focus on the perpetrators and those that manifest abusive behaviors online, which often happens due to insufficient The aforementioned outcomes are directly connected to the concrete objectives of the project going to be achieved through the creation of an innovative training curriculum for the professionals of victim support services and youth workers, an online handbook for the general population and the online platform which will host the material as well as the self evaluation quiz.Furthermore, the accessible online platform, in combination with the dissemination activities will contribute to cyber GBV brought into the public debate.

In the recent decades, there is a decline in the level of civic and political engagement of young people across Europe and all over the world. Youth who are eligible to vote in local and European elections tend to do it less frequently than the representatives of the older generation. These trends have been used to argue that the future of democracy is in jeopardy, because political engagement in later life is rooted in the habits developed in youth, and the youth of today will eventually become the adults of tomorrow.To reverse these worrisome trends, EURvoice partnership created the concept of an ambitious 22-month project set to improve the skills of youth workers and youth organisations staff to encourage civic engagement, responsibility and participation among young people. Early participation in decision-making processes affecting the lives of young people is essential to their development into active citizens aware of their rights and duties and capable of exercising them responsibly. In this context, youth organisations can and should play a major role as practice spaces where young people can acquire knowledge and experiences of citizenship in a learning-by-doing way.The EURvoice project aims to increase the awareness of young EU citizens regarding active citizenship and civic responsibility, as well as to stimulate their participation in political and social activities in their local communities. The project objectives could be summarised as follows:- Reduce barriers which hinder young citizens in active participation in local governance, EU democratic and electoral processes, voting both at the local, regional and national levels; dis-enfranchisement and causes exclusion of youths with fewer opportunities and social obstacles;- Promote young people’s active citizenship and social responsibility in their local communities via the EURvoice online hub with integrated virtual classroom;- Foster mutual understanding between young people in different communities through inclusivity, constructive engagement and networking, resulting into reduction in prejudices, stereotying, racism, xenophobia, islamophobia, conflict situations among participants and citizens of their respective communities – all of these will be integrated in the EURvoice open-educational materials and videos;- Encourage youth participation and advocacy via practical application of digital youth work strategies, summarised as EURvoice interactive toolkit.- Raise awareness of active citizenship and civic responsibility within the youth work sector and to policy makers and funders nationally and EU wide.The target groups for the project are: - Young people – the project will promote civic engagement and responsibility among young people who can benefit from its advantages via the planned multiplier events to showcase innovative practice and launch the elaborated project outputs – EURvoice online hub, virtual classroom, open-educational materials and videos.- Youth workers – as they are expected to lead, inspire and deliver digital youth work, most activities are aimed at training and preparing youth workers for those activities via innovative approaches based on open education and innovative practices – the EURvoice online hub, open-educational materials, and interactive toolkit.- Youth organisations staff – the project will increase the awareness of this target group of ethical and organisational considerations and requirements of youth participation and advocacy, as well as provide best practices for practical application of digital youth work, summarised and shared as EURvoice interactive toolkit.The project necessitates a joint international effort since it addresses a transnational issue, related to participation, civic engagement and responsibility. Each partner possesses original perspective and approach to challenges described, which will enrich the overall understanding of the matter at hand and build solid solutions.

When children move into early adolescence, they begin to take on new gender roles, often reinforcing socially and culturally conventional gender norms related to being women or men. These roles have an impact on the decisions that people in early adolescence make in relation to sexual and interpersonal relationships, which can affect their health and well-being throughout the rest of their lives. Gender norms and beliefs have significant implications for both girls and boys in terms of child marriage, early school leaving, pregnancy, HIV and sexually transmitted infection risk, violence exposure, depression, physical violence, substance abuse and suicide. Such differences are socially, not biologically determined. Mental health issues need to be addressed as part of adolescent well-being and in order to ensure health throughout people’s lives, it is crucial that countries address gender inequality, violence and healthy relationships in early adolescence. To answer these identified needs, through the adaptation and piloting of the Youth Group Methodology (YGM), developed by MARTA Center, as well as through qualitative and quantitative research in the field of youth well-being and violence, the project Re-GROUP has set as objectives to: - reduce risk factors for youth (ages 12-18) to become a victim or a perpetrator of violence;- build capacities in the field of youth work by adding to relevant research and adapting a culturally specific methodology thus prevent violence toward and among youth;- expand the size and impact of youth violence-preventing actors through training, popularization and multiplication of the methodology;- through broad consultation and cooperation with many local actors, create data-backed policy recommendations for each reality;- through further local activities and international cooperation within and after this project, take part in achieving Sustainable Development Goals #4, #5 and #16.The project, comprised of four project partners from EU countries (Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania and Spain) during its 22 months of implementation will engage youth workers, educators, young people, decision- and policy makers in the project countries and the EU. This will be done through the following activities: - Adapting and piloting the YGM in several communities in each partner country; - Conducting two international youth worker trainings, which will improve competences and support research efforts for the project; - National youth worker workshops in every country, with which to engage an even bigger number of youth workers and educators with the YGM; - Conductive an extensive qualitative and quantitative research on the well-being and violence in youth in the partner countries; - Creating Policy Recommendations together with a wide network of actors in the field of youth, with which to address the policy framework, as it relates to youth and their well-being (including violence prevention); - Promote the topic and the project results across youth and youth workers’ communities across Europe (via 4 National Multiplier events, an International conference and many informal meetings with stakeholders, as well as with a broad online campaign).The impact of Re-GROUP will span across the following target groups: - Youth workers, who will be participants in the Re-GROUP activities will increase their capacity for working in relation to gender equality, violence issues and youth sexual education. Participants will improve awareness of all forms of violence, experienced among and towards youth, and gain concrete methodologies, to prevent and combat it. - Youth (as direct beneficiaries) will gain competencies of building healthy interpersonal relationships through experiencing YGM; gain understanding and knowledge when, how and where to ask for help and search for support mechanisms for victims, perpetrators and/or bystanders of violence among and towards youth. The application of YGM also leads to numerous other positive results in youth. - Intervention sites of YGM implementation will raise awareness and increase sensitivity towards violence, acquire methods and educational tools on how to address a variety of topics, important for youth, and support them in creating and maintaining healthy relationships. - Policy makers engaged through dissemination activities and presentation of national policy recommendations will be invited and advised to critically analyze existing situations in local and national level and take needed steps towards combating violence among and towards youth. The Re-GROUP project partners are highly motivated to create worthwhile products and activities for this topic and will work to provide the best possible assistance to youth workers and educators, as well as the best strategically-aimed guidelines for policy makers and for the future of Europe.