The "Belive in Europe" project is made up of the University of Salamanca, Human Rights Youth Organization, Rosto Solidario, Fondation des Femmes and Biderbost, Boscan & Rochin. These partners have detected that there is a great deficit of knowledge and skills about the EU in young people at the secondary level. In this sense, this project seeks to generate a playful methodology, through traditional and virtual games, which allows young people to acquire knowledge about the EU, enhance their European citizenship and increase their civic and political participation. The partners will address the previous need through a research phase. This will consist of three main actions: (a) hold focus groups with young people and youth workers to know what this methodology should contain; (b) make an exchange of good practices in relation to play methodologies as a learning process. Based on the above, a version of traditional and virtual games will be designed for the development of knowledge about the EU, European citizenship and civic-political participation. Once the partners have the first version of the games, a mobility event will be held to train youth workers on how to use this methodology and identify the positive points and improve their design, content and use. From the feedback of the first training, the partners will develop the second version of the games (enhancing and improving those aspects that have been pointed out). Afterwards, the partners and the youth workers participating in the first training will test the second version of the games in their respective localities and with the young beneficiaries of the project. There will be a second training, where the youth workers will share the results obtained in their localities (from the perspective of the young people as well as the youth workers themselves). At the same time, they will exchange good practices and experiences both in the use of games and in the generation of EU knowledge and in the promotion of European citizenship in youth. And, as in the first training, the positive points and those that need to be improve in its design, content and use will be identified. With all the above, the partners will finish designing the third and final version of the "Belive in Europe" game set.
GENERAL OBJECTIVE To generate knowledge about the EU (in general) and about the following institutions (in particular): European Commission, European Parliament, European Central Bank, European Ombudsman and European Economic and Social Committee. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES To generate a process of co-creation between the partners' staff and the youth workers and young beneficiaries. The aim was to identify the points that the three groups shared in relation to the following areas: (a) how to learn EU-related content through gamification; (b) how to enhance their European citizenship; and (c) how to increase their civic-political protagonism. Design a "Game Pack" (both offline and online versions) to learn about the EU (in general) and five of its institutions (in particular): European Commission, European Parliament, European Central Bank, European Ombudsman and European Economic and Social Committee. To increase the beneficiaries' (partner staff, youth workers and young people) sense of belonging to the EU, as well as their knowledge about the five European institutions and their motivation to be part of an Erasmus+ project again.
The partners requested this project because they detected, after the economic crisis and Brexit, a great deficit of knowledge and skills about the EU among young people. A worrying situation due to the increasing feeling of Euroscepticism that seemed to be growing among European citizens (in general) and among the youngest (in particular). Based on the above, the partners decided to create this project, "Believe in Europe", to develop a gamification and non-formal education methodology, both offline and online, for young people to acquire knowledge about the EU, enhance their European citizenship and increase their civic-political participation.