There are a number of overarching aims that WSTCYS has as a Youth Organization working with young people in Ireland - our focus was to integrate European Youth Work (Mobilities, Trainings and Dialogues) into our operations across Waterford City and County, and South Tipperary, as part of our plans to achieve the following aims in all of these areas: A. Strengthening the personal and professional development of young people and youth workers through youth work. Developing quality youth work through developing the skills, experience and competencies of our staff, volunteers and participants. B. Connecting, engaging and empowering young people - ensuring that they have space, voice, audience and influence in and on their lives and societies. C. Developing the participation and critical social education of young people in society, and therefore improving democratic life. D. Improving social inclusion, solidarity and social cohesion through a focus on equity and human rights. The EU Youth Strategy of 'Engage, Connect and Empower' aligns really well with the aims of WSTCYS. Underpinning these specific WSTCYS aims, are a number the Youth Goals from the 6th cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue process, namely: Goal 1 - Connecting EU with Youth Goal 2 - Equality of all Genders Goal 3 - Inclusive Societies Goal 5 - Mental Health and Wellbeing Goal 6 - Moving Rural Youth Forward Goal 7 - Quality Employment for all Goal 8 - Quality Learning Goal 9 - Space and Participation for All Goal 11 - Youth Organizations and Youth Programmes. In effect, WSTCYS is using the Erasmus+ Programme to support delivery of our aims, which are closely aligned with the EU Youth Goals. WSTCYS had 3 clear objectives when we applied for Accreditation, designed to support these aims: 1. Improve Youth Employability Skills with young people through integrating Youth Exchanges with the PATHWAYS Youth Employability Programme. WSTCYS developed a model of work based on Youth Work, Coaching, and relationship-building; and then we used Erasmus+ to support this through bringing these very hard-to-reach young people on Youth Exchanges, which opened minds and hearts. The linking of different funding streams to leverage the resources to improve the impact of the TYESI (Targeted Youth Employability Support Initiative) to outstanding results between 2021 and 23. However the DCEDIY withdrew the national funding last year for the TYESI , meaning that we simply couldn’t keep Pathways going in spite of a long waiting list of participants. This objective will now be changed in the Activity Plan from 2024 onwards. The young people who participated in the Programme have integrated into other Programmes and Groups within the Youth service, and have become volunteers, role models, and indeed two have become staff members within the overall Youth Service, spreading the word about Erasmus+ opportunities. 2. Core skills development across a wide range of Youth Projects. Of central importance in Youth Work is the development of core skills - what have previously been called soft or social skills. These core skills underpin and enable the development of more targeted skills which can support young people to grow and develop and become participants in civic society. Our experiences tell us that participants develop skills such as working in small groups, teamwork, planning and problem-solving, interpersonal skills and relationship-building, through working with youth workers to put on Youth Exchanges. Youth Exchanges also allow an element of travel and adventure and risk and excitement through the process of 'entering the unknown'. We have found that young people want stories and adventures that give meaning and purpose to their lives, and that Youth Exchanges are fabulous at enriching the fabric of young people's lives. 3. Staff and Volunteer Development, especially in the areas of Training and Continuing Professional Development. WSTCYS has been running a Training Course about Social Inclusion and Authentic Leadership over the past few years, and the success of much of our European Youth Work can be traced back to these Courses (as I write this, 18 Youth Workers from 10 countries are participating in this year's iteration).We have built capabilities and contacts through this Course, especially in our younger staff, who have found the Course particularly beneficial. Our objective was to build on this strength and put on more Training Courses at our base in Woodstown. In our world there are statutory Trainings (e.g., First Aid etc.) and necessary Trainings (e.g., Anxiety workshops etc.), but our aim for the Trainings that we are running at Woodstown is to put on residential, thematic Trainings that allow participants to explore areas of interest in a deeper way, with colleagues from Ireland but also from across Europe. For example, in the areas of Social Inclusion, Creative Methodologies, Nature, the Green Agenda and Employability.