From the beginning, one of the major priorities of the EVS programme is the integration of young people with fewer opportunities. However throughout the different project periods the number of participants belonging to this target group has only slightly increased and with new formats changing eligibility conditions which implemented the intermediate evaluation of Erasmus+ Youth in Action to show that the target group is still underrepresented especially in the field of EVS. The Strategic partnership wants to make a contribution towards a more inclusive EVS program strand. The Strategic Partnership is a cooperation project with organisations from Scotland (A&M Scotland), Italy (Porta Nuova Europa Pavia), Bulgaria (Associaction “Inspiration” Ruse) and Germany (Jugendakademie Walberberg). During this project organisations who are active in the sector of European and national voluntary services and who work with young people with fewer opportunities want to explore the conditions under which an EVS for this target group can be implemented. Needs addressed by this project: By way of taking their long-year experience in the field of EVS for young people with fewer opportunities into consideration the consortium assumes if young people with fewer opportunities should sustainably integrated into the EVS and gain from the projects a regional approach is crucial. Regional organisations (youth welfare organisations, vocational schools, schools for children with learning difficulties, vocational training centres, centres for extracurricular education etc.) who work with the target group should be won in order to implement EVS-activities in their organisations. In addition, they should form networks for further cooperation and for utilizing synergies. The project reaches out for the following objectives: 1. Exploring the conditions for tailor-made EVS-Projects for a regionally/nationally diverse target group on the basis of 15 EVS-projects (short term and long term EVS and two short term group EVS projects 2. Offering training measures for the regional networking organisations in the field of peer education, project monitoring in EVS-projects for young people with fewer opportunities, independent application for European youth mobility projects after the Strategic partnership 3. Participation of the regional politicians working in the field of youth policy in the regions which take part in the project. The cooperations aim to improve the regional conditions for international mobility measures (visibility, ressources etc.) 4. Preparation and supply of the project result for other regional/national organisations who work in the field of international voluntary services plus present recommendations for a changed program implementation of the ESC/successor program. The research unit “ nonformal education” of the University of Applied Science Cologne will participate in the project as well. They will conduct scientific research of the project and evaluate it. At the end of the project they will present the results on a national and European level and, therefore, ensure the dialogue between research and practical application of the results. The following activities will take place in order to achieve the objectives: 1.) Setup of regional networks who take part in the regional training activites in order to implement EVS activities by themselves and to offer peer education/blended learning activities in their organization. 2.) Realization of 15 EVS projects within the regional networks for young people with fewer opportunities in two phases. An interim evaluation after phase one/one year might lead to an adjustment of the formats/blended learning activites/different appoaches. 3.) Meetings of the consortium, the regional networks, young people with fewer opportunities and regional politicians who are responsible for youth policy in order to initiate structural changes in regional youth policy 4.) Dissemination of the project results on a multipliers event/on several national meetings in the field of international voluntary services and presentation on regional events (for example charity events, cultural events, talk rounds etc.) The concept of the project is based on mixing both formal and non-formal learning approaches encouraging the active involvement of participants, giving them space to take an active role, express themselves and share their own experience. The following methods will be used: project management methods, presentations, field visits, team building methods, methods from the field of diversity management, systemic consulting and conflict resolution and creative methods. Additionally, as the project works with young people with fewer opportunities methods from the field of peer education and blended learning will be used.
The Strategic Partnership “Europe for all” made a contribution towards a more diverse conscious and inclusive EVS/ESC and thus implement one of the major priorities of the program strand. The Strategic Partnership is a cooperation project with organisations from Scotland (A&M Scotland), Italy (Porta Nuova Europa Pavia), Bulgaria (Associaction “Inspiration” Ruse) and Germany (Jugendakademie Walberberg). The research unit “nonformal education” of the TH Köln -University of Applied Sciences participated in the project as well. They conducted scientific research of the project and evaluated it. The project reaches out for the following objectives: 1. Exploring the conditions for tailor-made EVS-Projects for the diverse target group of young people with fewer opportunities 2. Setting up and offering training measures for the regional networking organisations in the field of peer education, project monitoring andapplying for European youth mobility projects 3. Participation of the regional politicians working in the field of youth policy: The cooperations aim to improve the regional conditions for international mobility measures 4. Preparation and supply of the project result for organisations who work in the field of international voluntary services plus presenting recommendations for a changed program implementation of the ESC The following activities took place in order to achieve the objectives: 1.) Setup of regional networks (4-6 organisations from the field of youth work) who took part in training activites in order to implement high-quality EVS activities by themselves and to cooperate in the field of youth participation, Peer Education and Blended Learning 2.) Realization of 15 volunteering activities for about 100 young people with fewer opportunities (volunteering teams, long term services and short term services in pairs) and multiplier events in the field of Peer Learning/Blended Learning 3.) Implementation of 4 international team meetings of the consortium, the regional networks, young people with fewer opportunities and regional politicians who are responsible for youth policy in order to reflect on success factors, exchange Best Practise and initiate structural changes in regional youth policy 4.) Dissemination of the project results within the framework of a multiplier event/on meetings in the field of international voluntary services and presentation on regional events The following conclusions can be drawn: -Most young people are highly motivated in taking part in an international voluntary service. They and also the multipliers often lack knowledge about short term services and volunteering teams. Also, many organisations do not offer these formats due to financial reasons because they are too expensive. Research has shown that adequate funding for these formats is necessary. In addition, more information events are needed as well as a subject oriented funding system: the young people should be able to develop their own voluntary project according to their needs and should take the necessary financial resources for the specific projects for granted (for an assistance, for a wheelchair friendly apartment or counselling). A paradigm shift is necessary within the funding logic. This means it should be made possible to apply for a funding sum in a specific height and then use it according to requirements of the individual voluntary services. Then, it would no longer be necessary to label young people as “young people with fewer opportunities” in order to fit them into a funding system. -The project “Europe for all” has also shown that establishing networks and cooperation among local and international partners can open doors to low-threshold access for young people with fewer opportunities towards international youth mobility measures who did not have access before. From the participants´perspective, we should ask how the European political actors can continue to support exchange, consultation and networking between local and international civil society actors. -In this respect, it is very important to strengthen the position of young people as spokespersons: creating an international network of experts and youth participation was another special feature of the network. We should not only approach the creation of a specific youth network and the adjacent idea of peer education pragmatically to acquire new volunteers but also to give ex-volunteers the chance to become involved politically (e.g. stronger participation at an organizational and programme level). -There are major differences among the various national agencies concerning processing applications. The staff of the national agencies have an important supporting role in supervising projects where they should show a high degree of transparency, good communication with the organisations and active support when needed. Thus, actions of the national agencies can help or limit some inclusion strategies followed by the organisations.