Boosting HEARts and MInds of youth with Service Learning Erasmus Project

Project Title

Boosting HEARts and MInds of youth with Service Learning

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Capacity Building for youth in neighbouring and enlargement countries

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics:

Project Summary

The goal of the project is to develop the capacities of our organisations to improve the effectiveness of civic engagement of youth and youth’s capacity to champion social inclusion in service-learning (SL) projects. Our specific objectives are to:O1. enhance the skills of 191 youth workers to use SL with youth. O2. boost leadership skills of 104 youth aged 13-17 years old to do SL projects in their communities.O3. improve the toolkits of 4 partner organisations to effectively support civic engagement of youth in SL with a focus on championing social inclusion in their communities; Our countries share common challenges with youth’s civic engagement, participation in non-formal learning and social inclusion. Results of the ‘Youth Study Southeast Europe’ showed similar trends accross the region: 79 % of young people in the region, on average, have not engaged in any unpaid voluntary activity in the last year; furthermore, compared to the FES 2015 survey, the trend is in decline (Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), Youth Study Southeast Europe, 2018-9). FES concludes ‘these results are upsetting considering the importance of civic engagement for building social trust, reproducing civic values or contributing to a society’s democratic fabric.’ Other international organisations (World Bank, UNICEF) also call for creating opportunities to enhance adolescents’ participation and meaningful contributions (BiH, UNICEF), increasing the percentage of time youth spend in civic activities (KS, World Bank), the need to change the value system of young people to enhance their civic engagement (MN, UNICEF). The project objectives are aligned with European policies in the field of Youth, especially with EU Council recommendations for actions that ‘maintain and acquire skills that allow full participation in society and successful transitions in the labor market…[where] entrepreneurial, social and civic competences [are] becoming more relevant in order to ensure resilience and ability to adapt to change. From our direct experience with youth, we know their need to be engaged in meaningful actions whereby they not only develop their competences, but also contribute to making their community a better place. This gives them a feeling of accomplishment and boosts their self-worth and sense of belonging to their local communities. Service Learning (SL) is the approach that we intend to employ to support the development of these competences and attitudes in youth. Such type of involvement calls for highly skilled youth workers and effective toolkits. We will therefore increase our organisations’ capacities to address civic engagement of youth more effectively and to support the youth in championing social inclusion.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 130228,38 Eur

Project Coordinator

ORGANIZATA KOSOVARE PER TALENT DHE ARSIM & Country: XK

Project Partners

• MEDUNARODNO UDRUZENJE INTERAKTIVNEOTVORENE SKOLE
• FORUM MLADI I NEFORMALNA EDUKACIJA
• FUNDATIA NOI ORIZONTURI LUPENI