Youth volunteering in sensitive contexts-Training course on Refugees, Migrants and IDPs in EEAC and EU countries

/in /by

Training course for youth workers on Refugees, Migrants and IDPs in EEAC and EU countries/Baku, Azerbaijan/19-25 June 2006

The project aimed at building up the capacity of EU and EEAC youth and refugee/IDP/migrant organisations by enabling a transfer of know-how in view of their engagement in current and future bi- and multilateral EVS projects. The programme included inputs by experts, transfer of know-how, discussion groups and workshops as well as project visits to refugee and IDP Centres in Baku and surroundings providing first hand information and multiple learning opportunities. The participants shared experiences about the work with refugees/IDP’s and migrants in each others countries with a particular focus on the context of IDP’s and refugee issues in the Caucasus region. They also acquired soft skills for their future tasks in hosting and sending EVS volunteers in sensitive contexts.

Youth in Action / Juventud en Accion

/in /by

EU – LA Seminar on youth participation, active citizenship and local governance/Porto Alegre, Brazil/4-10 February 2006

Final Activity Report

The seminar  brought together 25 youth leaders from 7 European and 6 Latin American countries: Austria, Germany, Italy, Lithuania Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Bolivia, Brazil Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Uruguay. The main aim of this seminar was to foster youth mobility and volunteering as a means to enhance positive youth action with emphasis on youth work models which empower young people through their active participation in local development. The activities included an exchange of experience regarding best practice in fostering youth participation and active citizenship; training on aims and procedures of the YOUTH programme (Action 1 and 2) as well as an assessment of the impact of YOUTH projects run between the present EU and LA organisations over the past years. Participants reflected upon priorities and needs of youth work in their countries and developed innovative forms of cooperation between their organisations. By doing interviews and visiting public youth-serving agencies and local youth NGO’s, participants were able to gain insight into youth work practice and the situation of young people in Porto Alegre.

South Balkan Youth Dialogue

/in /by

EU SEE Study Visit to Macedonia and Albania/Skopje, Bitola, Ohrid, Struga, Pogradec, Tirana/ 19-25 September 2005

The study visit, supported by the Youth Programme of the European Union, was an activity implemented by the International Cultural Youth Exchange (ICYE) in cooperation with the Macedonian and Albanian partner organisations: YCS, YMCA Macedonia, Youth Forum EYE Struga (Macedonia) and Albanian Society in Development (ASD). It aimed at enhancing the co-operation on youth work and youth policy between EU countries youth workers and Albanian and Macedonian representatives of youth NGOs, voluntary service organisations, public institutions and local authorities, with a particular focus on youth exchange and voluntary service opportunities provided by the EU YOUTH programme. By organising an itinerant study visit in the above mentioned countries and involving youth from different ethnic, religious and social backgrounds, the project provided participants with a safe space for dialogue as well as intercultural learning opportunities.

Training Course on fostering positive youth Action and partnership between EU and SEE countries

/in /by

Training course for youth worker in EU and SEE countries/Berlin, Germany/8-13 June  2005

Final Activity Report

The main aim of this training course was to enhance young people’s participation, leadership skills and their engagement in civil society by providing a common training and networking opportunity to representatives of voluntary organisations and NGO’s and agencies active in civic education and youth participation programmes. Given the complexity of issues affecting young people and civil society in EU and SEE countries, this training course was needed to prepare the ground for future theme-related European Voluntary Service projects between the two regions. Both the training and the exchange of young volunteers aimed at supporting the work of respective host projects in promoting youth active citizenship as well as demonstrating the need and potential for cooperation in an European context.

EU-CIS Training Course on Youth Programme Partnership Building and Project Management

/in /by

Training course for youth workers/Minsk, Belarus/3-9 March 2005

Final Activity Report

Representatives of youth organisations from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, England, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, and Ukraine, participated in a training course on partnership building and project management to further stimulate the development of theme related EU – EECA (Eastern Europe and Caucasus) volunteer and youth exchange projects under the YOUTH Programme of the European Commission. The course focused on capacity building, transfer of know-how on partnership-building and project management, and cooperation in social inclusion projects, dealing with empowerment of youth with less opportunities.

EU-SEE Training Course on Youth Programme Partnership Building and Project Management

/in /by

Training course for youth workers/Vukovar, Croatia/9-15 December 2004

This training event consisted of two training projects on the European Commission YOUTH Programme, and aimed at fostering partnership building and project management for the development of voluntary service and youth exchange projects between youth organisations in South Eastern Europe and the European Union. To ensure effectiveness as well as to stimulate development of cooperation among youth NGO’s in these two European regions, the courses were designed to address separately the needs of youth NGOs, respectively in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia and Montenegro, and in Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Kosovo. At the end of the training, participants felt that they had acquired useful practical skills to foster the development of quality exchange projects between EU and SEE countries, which resulted also in a number of collaborative agreements between participating organisations.

EU-SEE Training Course on Youth Programme Partnership Building and Project Management (Montenegro)

/in /by

Training course for youth workers/Sutomore, Montenegro/10-16 November 2004

This training event consisted of two training projects on the European Commission YOUTH Programme, and aimed at fostering partnership building and project management for the development of voluntary service and youth exchange projects between youth organisations in South Eastern Europe and the European Union. To ensure effectiveness as well as to stimulate development of cooperation among youth NGO’s in these two European regions, the courses were designed to address separately the needs of youth NGOs, respectively in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia and Montenegro, and in Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Kosovo. At the end of the training, participants felt that they had acquired useful practical skills to foster the development of quality exchange projects between EU and SEE countries, which resulted also in a number of collaborative agreements between participating organisations.

YOUTH IN ACTION – EURO-LATIN AMERICAN Seminar on Youth Leadership and active Citizenship

/in /by

EURO-LATIN AMERICAN Seminar on Youth Leadership and active Citizenship/Sambo Creek, Honduras/26 June to 2 July 2004

Final Activity Report

This seminar held in the Caribbean environment of SAMBO CREEK, Honduras from June 26th to July 2nd, 2004 brought together one youth worker/youth leader and one local authority / policy makers from distinct European and Latin American countries, to discuss policy and practice related to youth participation. Participants reflected upon and learnt about the situation of youth participation in each others’ countries, increased their knowledge on different ways to enhance youth leadership and active citizenship, including youth mobility and non-formal learning experiences. The European Commission’s White Paper on Youth and the resources provided by the Youth programme were presented and discussed as ways to encourage young people to make an active contribution to the development of society. Particular emphasis was placed on the ways and means to enhance youth participation by young people who do not have access to associative life and non-formal learning experiences.

Training Course on Youth Volunteering in HIV/AIDS prevention projects in EU and Central and Eastern European Countries

/in /by

Training course for youth workers/Heiligensee, Berlin, Germany/ 5-11 June 2004

The group of 25 participants consisted of both former EVS volunteers and representatives of host organisations working in the area of sexual health promotion and the prevention of HIV/Aids with a focus on youth volunteering. The training course aimed at fostering bi- and multilateral cooperation in EU and Central and Eastern European Countries through capacity building, focusing on the practical aspects of developing and managing international voluntary exchange projects suited to the particularities of the HIV/AIDS prevention sector. This was done by a transfer of know-how on how to develop and manage International Voluntary Service projects combined with HIV/AIDS prevention peer education campaigns, considering more in-depth the variety of prevention strategies related to the respective risk groups. Networking and Fundraising for programme opportunities in East – West voluntary exchanges was another focal point along with the development of innovative forms of cooperation among HIV/AIDS and Youth NGOs in EU and CEE countries considering the differences of HIV/AIDS prevention work in both parts of Europe.

Eastlinks & ICYE: Volunteers and Local Communities beyond the East-West European Divide

/in /by

Training course for youth workers/Eastern-Western Europe/Started in February 2001 and ended in March 2003

As result of a two year long and very fruitful co-operation, ICYE and Eastlinks deemed it necessary to consolidate and articulate their transnational partnership to promote and further develop youth mobility and international voluntary service activities between EU and pre-accession countries in Central and Eastern Europe in the form of a Large Scale YOUTH project. In order to meet the emerging needs of young people in relation to intercultural learning, volunteering and informal education opportunities in both, EU- and future member countries, ICYE and Eastlinks are intending to strengthen their operational and networking capacity at regional and sub-regional level. In particular, a plan of action was adopted to: organise two major networks’ meetings and a series of sub-regional meeting in the Baltic countries, South Eastern Europe and the EU; enhance the exchange of good practice between relevant community projects and youth NGOs across Eastern and Western Europe; build on ICYE and Eastlinks’ expertise so as to act as resource for community project, and promote and document examples of successful experiences to influence practice and policies around youth mobility and voluntary service activities.

Training courses for sending/host organizations’ responsible persons and volunteers, to support the implementation of the ICYE-Eastlinks pilot project “EVS multilateral Project on HIV/ AIDS Prevention in EU and CEEC”

Training course for organizations/23 to 28 July 2002/Kijv, Ukraine

Training course for volunteers/Berlin, Germany/15-21 September 2002

According to WHO recent statistics the rate of HIV infections in CEE countries is one of the highest in the world. To illustrate this it suffices to mention that in the Ukraine, for example, every month there are about 2000 new infections, being the average age of the infected population between 15 to 25. Similar scenarios can be found also in other countries such as Estonia and the Russian Federation. This project, which follows on the UNESCO supported Regional Conference on AIDS Prevention and Voluntary Service Organisation organised in September 2001 in Tallinn, Estonia, was an integral part of the ICYE-EASTLINKS Large Scale Project, adding to its scope one urgent and important issue facing young people across the EU and CEE countries. The training events aimed at supporting the implementation of a long-term European Voluntary Service exchange of volunteers – supported by the European Commission – whereby for the first time HIV/AIDS prevention projects in EU countries and Estonia, the Russian Federation and Ukraine were working together. Both the training and the exchange of motivated young volunteers supported the work of respective host projects, as well as demonstrated to the wider society the importance of contributing to the fight against AIDS beyond mental and national borders.