The rationale of this project is based on the need to increase effectiveness of direct communication in order to exchange best practices among youth platforms (be they forums, councils, parliaments or other similar youth structures) that operate at regional or local level in various EU countries. It is true that youth organisations operating at EU level or at national level are struggling to create better politics, better opportunities for young people to allow their voice to be heard. But very often the challenge is at the grassroot level, where the contact with young people is more personal. Therefore, the aim of this project is to create a space where young people operating in local youth platforms in various EU countries are able to share and exchange good practices on common topics of interest such as youth participation, active citizenship, EU awareness and social inclusion without other intermediary youth structures. This ideas has received good feedback during the EU Youth Conference in Luxembourg 2015 and indicated as possible solution for empowering young people at local level and for giving an international perspective and strengthening the role of R/L youth platforms, as according to the Revised Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life. The main goals of the project, in accordance with the Erasmus+ Programme objectives are: - to support the development, transfer and/or implementation of innovative practices as well as the implementation of joint initiatives promoting cooperation, peer learning and exchanges of experience at European level; - to allow organisations to develop and reinforce networks, increase their capacity to operate at transnational level, share and confront ideas, practices and methods. The specific objectives of the project are: - to share and exchange best practices related to the youth field, namely youth participation, active citizenship, EU awareness and social innovation in various EU countries; - to establish a European network of Regional and/or Local Youth Platforms (i.e., youth forums, councils, parliaments or other similar youth structures) in legal terms with an appropriate governance structure; - to strengthen the international cooperation among youth platforms operating at regional and local levels in various EU countries; - to formulate a set of minimum standards for the establishment and the functioning of youth platforms at regional and local level and how to meet principles - to develop a shared medium and long term strategy related to the common topics, namely youth participation, active citizenship, EU awareness and social inclusion and equity - to increase youth participation and to foster empowerment of young people at local level. The partnership of the project is wide in terms of geographical area and very diverse as type of organisations. As already experienced by some of the partners, the project can take advantage from the partners’ heterogeneity, through a “thinking out of the box” approach in terms of working methods and ideas and solutions for the platform. The lead applicant FRGU - Umbria Youth Forum and Associazione Forma.Azione, a training center from Perugia (IT), the Manchester Youth Council (UK), Municipio de Cascais (PT), Future of Europe Association form Kecskemét (HU), Fundatia Judeteana pentru Tineret Timis (RO) and the Finnish Youth Research Society, Helsinki (FI). The project is also supported by FNG-Italian Youth Council (IT), Student Youth Council from Ozurgeti (GE). There will be four main activities to be carried out by partners: Activity N1. Good practices & R/L Youth Platforms. Objective: to acknowledge the various existing forms of R/L Youth Platforms in each P's country and to individuate and to create a collection of good practices. Activity N2. Basics for new R/L Youth Platforms. Objective: to create a set of minimum requirements for the establishment of R/L Youth Platforms. Activity N3. Validation4 Share. Objective: to validate the content produced by partners and integrated with the feedback and ideas emerged after the 2 blended mobility. Activity N4. ENRYP - European Network of R/L Youth Platforms. Objective: to formally establish the ENRYP and to design a work plan and strategy for its sustainability beyond the project. The blended mobility activities addressing 70 youngsters will take place in EYC2017 and in EYC2018 (Varna & Cascais), aiming at increasing mobility of young people and allowing them to exchange ideas and give feedbacks on the achievements of partners' work. Among the long term results it is worth mentioning the publication that will collect the good practices and the minimum requirements and steps to be made in order to establish a R/L youth platform. The long term legacy will be the European network of R/L youth platforms that aims to support and advocate for young people and their grassroot needs.
At local and regional level, the 7 partners of the ENRYP project have identified the need to increase direct communication among young people, especially the ones active in youth platforms (be they councils, forums or parliaments), in order to share ideas and exchange good practices related to topics such as youth participation, active citizenship, EU awareness and identity. ENRYP project started from a situation where young people were described in the EU Youth Report 2015 as having low interest in participatory processes. However, the last SWD “Situation of young people in the European Union” (2018) states that while young people are described as being more disenchanted with politics, “this might be true for traditional modes of participation (i.e. those related to the representative democracy), increasing numbers of young Europeans are exploring new routes to political engagement and expression, in particular those made available by the Internet and the social media. Remarkably, young people seem to have found renewed interest in political issues and identify themselves as European citizens to a greater extent than older generations.” It highlights the shift towards new models of political engagement and communication such as using the internet to interact with public authorities and the use of websites and social media to post opinions on civic and political issues. In this context, the ENRYP project has worked to develop a space for young people to share ideas and exchange practices, so to increase youth participation at local level and to strengthen capacities and skills. This has also led to an increased international dimension of the partner organisations involved and the request from young people for organising more mobility activities. Through the implemented activities, young people involved as well as partner staff members were able to: - exchange good practices on youth participation, active citizenship, EU awareness and identity, and social inclusion, including country-based strategies on how to approach them - discuss about values and principles that should lie at the foundations of regional and local youth platforms - establish the ENRYP as a multi-stakeholder network and virtual space for young people, public authorities, youth workers and academics - register an increased participation of young people at local level, in their communities, and interest in strengthening the international dimension of organisations. ENRYP was carried out by 8 partners with different profiles: two youth forums operating at regional level from Italy and Romania (Forum Regionale dei Giovani dell’Umbria and Fundatia pentru Tineret Timis), 2 municipalities from UK and Portugal (Manchester City Council and Camara Municipal de Cascais), a CSO – Europa Jovove Egyesule in Hungary, FORMA.Azione srl VET and AL training centre from Italy and a youth research centre from Finland – Finnish Youth Research Network. The main activities involved: - collecting good practices related to the topics of the project, of which 21 on paper and more than 40 learned, shared and discussed by young people at local level, during the blended mobility activities and online - 5 transnational project meetings held in Perugia (IT), Manchester (UK), Helsinki (FI) and in Timisoara (RO); - 12 staff members during the short term training held in Kecskemet (HU), that was preparatory for the two blended mobility activities with young people - 33 participants during the blended mobility in Cascais (PT) and 32 during the one in Timisoara (RO), including young people, group leaders and trainers/facilitators - a validation process related to the key concepts of the ENRYP project (youth participation, active citizenship, social inclusion and European awareness) applied by countries involved in the project and support for the realisation of the European network in the long run - communication and dissemination towards over 5.000 people. Results: - country-based strategies on how to raise awareness of young people about the functioning of youth platforms in other countries, to inform on good practices and the need to build a functional European wide network as a space for sharing ideas on issues that are concrete and meaningful for young people - elaboration of a long-term strategy related to the European network with a vision and goals to be pursued in the following 5 years together with the identification of its members and stakeholders - raised awareness about the importance to approach the network from an online and offline perspective, identified by participants as crucial aspect in order to maintain connections and continuity - a collection of good practices that allowed young people to reflect about the diversity of the contexts; - a validation document that guarantees the quality of the results - commitment of partners in order to further support the network in strategic actions to guarantee its sustainability. - application for a new project.