Falling voter turnout is a common trend and young voters abstain more than the general population in all European democracies. The democratic deficit and low electoral turnout is not faced by specific countries, but it is a phenomenon happening at the EU level. The gap between the democratic institutions in Europe, their representatives and Europe’s young generation is growing/increasing. Although young people are more likely to be present in other forms of political participation (protests, strikes, joining pressure groups, etc), their overall election turnout is dramatically falling. In 2014 only 28% of those under the age of 25 were voting, compared to the general election turnout rate which was 42.6 %.This overall trend is doubled also by another worrying and growing phenomenon: disinformation, fake news and trolling which are most visible during the electoral campaigns, in an attempt to hamper with EU elections, undermine pro-European values and promote nationalistic and xenophobic messages. In addition, ease of access to relevant and adequate information on the elections is not only a country specific problem, but it happens widely in the EU. Fears about influencing elections have become more and more prominent in the EU especially after the allegiances that Russia tried to hamper with elections in France, the Netherlands or during BREXIT. This scenario is damaging for the EU 2019 elections that may record another all - time low voter turnout.A new and engaging narrative for Europe is strongly and urgently needed. This project aims to raise awareness and the know-how among youth on the importance of the 2019 EU elections and empowering youths and youth workers with the necessary tools to gain momentum and influence over EU’s direction through interactive and user friendly methods.The project considers two main outputs, in addition to a learning activity designed to provide the participants with the necessary methods and tools to further sustain the results of this project:i)One interactive online platform that allows user friendly methods of engaging youths and students and increases their critical thinking and argumentative capacities. These are done through quiz and e-debate competitions on narratives and counter narratives of the EU. The topics range from better understanding both the general aspect of elections (ranging from why are they important to whom is participating and what are they supporting) to spotting fake news, dissemination of anti EU discourse. About 550 youths, students and youth workers participated in the quiz competition. Among them, 32 youth workers from Romania and Greece were selected to participate in the e-debate competition (out of which 7 were selected for the Learning Activity in Brussels).ii)ii) 6 days Learning Activity in Brussels with 14 participants from Romania and Greece with specifically designed training sessions, meetings with EU representatives and study visits to the EU institutions.iii)A guidelines with lessons learnt youth participation and how to empower them on the importance of the EU elections and combating online disinformation campaigns based on the findings and inputs from the participants during the project activities, data analysis and also policy recommendations disseminated at the EU level.The project targets youths, students, youth workers, young University teachers with an interest in EU affairs and willing to expand their knowledge on both the EU elections and narratives and counter narratives during the election campaign. The project envisages youth participants interacting via the platform (Quiz and E-debate competitions) and youth participation in the learning activity in which they learned and debated about EU related topics, were engaged in practical activities, in addition to meetings with EU representatives and study visits that helped them deeper their knowledge.Such a project architecture that correlates the needs of youths in terms of knowledge and awareness with a practical side, that includes their involvement in the activities during the training in Brussels, creates the incentives of further dissemination and sustainability of the project, replication of the methods and tools deployed. Adding up the guideline with lessons learnt from the EU 2019 elections and the involvement of partners with excellent track record on working with youths and the participation of a University, we have all the premises of future use and replication of the outputs. Therefore, the potential long term benefits transcend the current phase of the project. Although we apply the pilot project in only two countries, we have set ambitious goals for engaging youths and students and, through its activities, we aim to raise awareness on the positive impact that specific interactive tools can have not only the direct participants targeted by a project, but especially through the snowball effect that it may produce.

Youth entrepreneurship is regarded as an important factor for employment creation and for addressing social inequalities. Young people have to face several barriers to become entrepreneurs: social attitudes, lack of skills and of work experience, reduced social capital, lack of financial resources. Beyond fiscal considerations and the availability of financial resources, one of the highest obstacles to entrepreneurial activities is the lack of entrepreneurial education at primary and secondary level. In line with Education and Training 2020, the project has contributed to covering the gap in the educational system, giving to young people the opportunity to develop their entrepreneurial skills and to understand the role of social entrepreneurship and its benefits both for personal and social development. The goal was to strengthen competences for social entrepreneurship of the youth workers and youth in order to facilitate social inclusion, work integration and the development of social enterprises. The project has familiarized participants with social entrepreneurship through interactive training methods and will facilitate the exchange of ideas, experiences and good practice models between young people, youth workers and professionals in the field of social entrepreneurship. Specific objectives of the project: (1) To design and develop innovative learning materials/instruments for youth focused on social enterprises start-up and management; (2) To promote the future youth generation of change makers and; (3) To design and develop innovative learning materials/instruments to strengthen the social responsibility of young social entrepreneurs. The first target group consisted of youth workers who have been involved in learning activities in order to strengthen their competences in social entrepreneurship and in using virtual social enterprises as they can became multiplier agents for young people who are interested in developing social enterprises. The second target group was formed by young people who have been involved in learning activities and multiplier events. The main results of the project were: a young social entrepreneur profile, a KIT for start-up and manage social enterprises, a virtual social enterprise platform and in the end, 7 business plans developed through the Virtual Social Enterprises Platform. The learning/teaching/training activities have been held virtually in the form of short-term joint training for staff members and youth workers and blended mobility for youths in order to combine online training with e-learning activities. Each participant at the learning mobility has covered all the lessons from the project platform in start-up and management of social enterprises, and have formed groups to work on peer education methods to create a successful social enterprise. Through the blended mobility activity, the project's participants have obtained a better understanding of social entrepreneurship in different EU context and will be able to apply this information in their national context.

“Let´s Make the Invisible Visible” is planned to be a three-year long project implemented by five organisations in the form of a strategic partnership, namely by GIC NORA (Czech Republic), Peregrina (Austria), TRANSFER Slovensko (Slovakia), Fundacja Kobieca (Poland) and Romanian Center for European Policies (Romania). Organisations dealing with women's issues and gender equality from the Central European region and Balkans have come together to tackle a very topical issue of women facing multiple discrimination in our European society.The project is composed of three parts that are inseparably connected. In the first phase partner organisations are to learn from one another. The staff of participating organisations will increase their competences as they learn about best practices the other partner organisations have been using in their work with multiple discriminated women (such as Roma, migrant or old women). This exchange of best practices is to contribute to capacity building of the involved organisations, it will make their educational offer more differentiated, interesting and qualified.As all partners involved know from their everyday practice, formal education methods are not sufficient and adequate tools when working with women facing multiple discrimination. Instead, means of empowerment of vulnerable groups of women have to be applied. Thus participatory coaching methods and drama techniques will be looked into and tested with the target group in all the countries involved with the aim to identify methods empowering and enabling women who are discriminated against on multiple grounds. One handbook on innovative techniques to be used in adult education and counselling of marginalised women will be prepared together with 5 webinars dealing with selected innovative techniques and methods.In the closing phase of the project examples of role models among marginalised groups of women will be identified and new social media tools will be used to present them not only to their peers, but also to the general public. Video portraits of 5 women representing all participating countries will serve as well as a tool for distorting stereotypes connected to migrant, Roma or old women.

For the E-UNITE project, a competent consortium was established consisting of a University, three NGOs and two Research Institutes that combined efforts to deliver the E-UNITE network – an international youth network, that promotes community-led initiatives in the fields of tolerance, inclusivity, and diversity. The consortium addressed challenges effectively through concise project management approaches, appropriate risk mitigation techniques, and an excellent team spirit. For the successful completion of the projects, partners formed a Steering Committee based on the following rule: every partner (except the coordinating partner) appointed a representative, and UNIC (in its capacity as the coordinating partner) contributed two representative, namely, the project manager and the financial officer.The Steering Committee was responsible for examining any project-related issue and facilitating collective decision-making. The main enabling factors entailed mutual understanding, collaborative efforts, and frequent communication using a variety of channels with an emphasis on electronic means.The main output of this project is the E-UNITE Hub that allows the convergence of young minds, exchange of ideas, and a showcase of various initiatives. This output has been tested, and the results are comparable to the high specifications initially sought. This platform, the E-UNITE Hub, was pilot-tested in two phases. Initially, tests were performed by the project partners with the support of selected youth; the outcome of such tests consisted of suggested changes and improvements. The second phase took place during the E1 activity, i.e., the youth workers workshop held on the 16th of May 2019 in Sofia Bulgaria, with the participation of 34 youth workers.The E-UNITE Manual is an electronic book targeted at youth workers promoting tolerance and diversity in community-led actions. The E-UNITE Manual is designed to encompass practical advice and guidelines, highlighting good practices and business models aiming to develop networks of stakeholders and facilitate the implementation of grassroots initiatives.Finally, the E-UNITE Sustainability Roadmap has been developed. This output supports the E-UNITE HUB sustainability through the development of an online community and a series of activities for its members that will yield the necessary resources (financial and others) for its future growth, visibility, and acceptance. All Intellectual Outputs were developed according to high-quality specifications; the Intellectual Outputs of E-UNITE were translated in partner languages as it was outlined in the application form and the Amendment; Intellectual outputs O1 and O2 were translated in all partner languages while the O3 was developed in English. A short term Learning/Teaching/Training Activity – the Joint Staff Training was held between the18th and the 20th of June 2019 in Athens, Greece. Participants came from the targeted groups described in the application form and were extensively involved in the project activities. At the same time, transnational partner meetings and all other events were implemented as in the approved Amendment.The project carried out extensive dissemination using the primary means youth frequently undertakes: the internet and social media.