Accessing youth to decision and policy making for better employability: developing and transferring innovative practice. Erasmus Project

Project Title

Accessing youth to decision and policy making for better employability: developing and transferring innovative practice.

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 : Strategic Partnerships for youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Reaching the policy level/dialogue with decision makers; Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation

Project Summary

The transitions from education to independence as well as place in the world of work are becoming longer and more precarious. One in five young people in Europe cannot find a job despite the fact that employment is officially guaranteed for every citizen in many European states.

However, the most challenging situation researched and analysed by our partnership is that in many European countries young people do not actively (if at all) participate in developing and drafting employability policies that concern them. Everything is done for them, without them. The lack of “youth proofing” practices, lack of access to decision making and democratic representation while youth policies are drafted threatens an increasing number of young people in European countries with a sense of exclusion, disbelief in democratic institutions, apathy and disenfranchisement. And those with the fewest skills or the fewest opportunities are most at risk.

With this project our partnership was focused on developing, sharing and disseminating “youth proofing” practices that influence decision and policy making for better youth employability. Understanding all vital aspects of democratic youth representation and participation enabled our consortium to become the forefront of influence and decision making, ensure the legitimacy of the processes and act as the experienced multipliers in national networks mainstreaming “youth proofing” and youth access to drafting employment policies. Partner youth and student councils from the UK, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Latvia worked on the development of youth employability policies made a research, exchanged practices, took part in the empowering activities and worked together on encouraging “youth proofing” of employment policies, youth participation in decision making / governing bodies and produced an Action Plan for local peer campaigners to ensure understanding of the important processes that go in hand with accessing youth to decision making by wider networks of youth organisations and young people. Dissemination and Follow up stage planning allowed for the emergence of new youth employability initiatives in local governments and public sector to represent youth interests.

Each partner was represented by an equal number of participants for every Transnational Meeting and Multiplier Event during the project:

1. Transnational meeting 1 in the UK (Preparatory meeting) – 6 participants from each partner country;
2. Transnational meeting 2 in Latvia (Action Plan development meeting) – 6 participants from each partner country;
3. Multiplier Events – 60 participants locally in each partner country;
4. Transnational meeting 3 in Lithuania (Evaluation meeting) – 7 participants from each partner country.

Results and impact attained:

– Fostering innovative practice exchange – “youth proofing” in the field of youth participation in drafting employment policies between participating countries from different regions of Europe using non-formal methodologies;
– Improving the quality and recognition of youth work practices and non-formal learning in participating countries and enhancing synergies and complementarities with the labour market and society;
– Accessing youth and youth councils to relevant documents and facilities;
– Outreaching to more diverse target groups of young people;
– Democratic participation of young people was complemented by increased coordination between youth NGO’s and policy makers;
– The project promoted the use of more accessible language for youth while accessing young people to decision making;
– Cross-sector approach was practiced to involve youth organisations, municipalities, and business community, thus boosting transferability, awareness raising and facilitating change on our theme.

With the intellectual output called “Youth access to policy and decision making with employability issues” we presented, publicised, and multiplied the pro-active and practice-oriented approach to support youth democratic participation in policy making for better employability that we developed throughout different activities undertaken during this project. It included key-findings from the research on best practice undertaken by our partnership on the situation with youth participation in developing and drafting employability policies as well as youth work materials, relevant non-formal methodologies, innovative practices, and Action Plan developed by the peer campaigners during the project meetings.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 88245 Eur

Project Coordinator

IVOLO LTD & Country: UK

Project Partners

• TRAKU RAJONO SOCIALINIU INICIATYVUKOALICIJA
• Profilirana gimnazia s prepodavane na angliiski ezik Geo Milev
• STUDENTNET