Young Communities within the (re)cycle of matter Erasmus Project

Project Title

Young Communities within the (re)cycle of matter

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 ACP countries, Latin America and Asia

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Environment and climate change

Project Summary

YOU.COM is a project that aims at enhancing the skills and the international dimension of youth organizations through a process of exchange and debate on ideas, competences, practices and experience. The purpose is to develop a new model of non-formal learning in the field of creative recycling as well as to increase youth knowledge and creative abilities to envisage opportunities of growth and innovative social entrepreneurship.

The project involves 6 European organizations from Europe (Italy, Belgium, Romania, Poland, Turkey) and 4 Partner Countries from Africa (Tanzania, Uganda, Togo) and Asia (Nepal). On the one hand, taking into consideration the project’s main topic to the context of the EU Countries involved, we need to remember that recent EU policies are promoting the action of recycling to create a model of “circular economy” in which the waste materials are re-used and new job opportunities can be created from this process. On the other hand, as far as concerns the Partner Countries, the project aims at finding solution for the re-use of waste materials in a completely different context, where the practice of recycling is nearly ignored from governments and policy makers. The project aims to meet and understand the opportunities offered by the two contexts (the european and the extra-european)and to understand the needs of the local communities involved. One of the main objective is that one of the involvement of motivated and proactive organizations and young people that will promote and support the process of finding answers and solutions in a cooperative way.

The main activities proposed by You.Com project are: online meetings among the partners; one kick-off meeting in Italy to promote a face-to-face exchange of views among the partners on techniques and methodologies of educational/social activities for young people; the OER (Open Educational Resources) aiming at the dissemination of results and materials through an online platform. One of the mainstones is the testing phase of the OER contents on 32 young people (16 form Europe, 4 from Asia and 12 from Africa) aged from 18 to 26: they will carry out workshops, reports and will participate to EVS mobilities. The methodology will be that one of the participatory planning and peer education. The main results are: the creation of OER and the platform for their communication to the target groups and stakeholders (this will ensure the sharing and dissemination in all countries of the world); 10 researches about policies about waste in the countries involved and in the EU; 4 products of “creative recycling”; a promotional event. The project will have an impact on youth organizations through the exchange of knowledge on policies, recycling practices and practices of social enterprise in Europe and in the Partner Countries, through the sharing of needs, issues, challenges and possible solutions.The impact on young people will be the change in their personal skills (initiative and personal enterprise, which may lead to entrepreneurship and employment opportunities), the improvement of personal well-being and social inclusion of young with lower opportunities. YOU.COM has a detailed outputs dissemination plans through the creation of communication tools and promotional activities during the project implementation. The experience of cooperation between the partners will strengthen peer-to-peer relationships and synergies among the organizations themselves, enabling young people to develop social entrepreneurship initiatives and a dialogue with relevant stakeholders. The project aims at enhancing a future collaboration among the participating organizations that will continue to promote the results achieved, to involve the participating young people in future collaborations and activities, to promote with the same partners other projects, with different topics but with the same tested and enhanced methodologies.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 149936 Eur

Project Coordinator

ASSOCIAZIONE DI COOPERANTI TULIME ONLUS & Country: IT

Project Partners