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Hello, my name is Maria Chițea. I’m 23 years old and I come from Brașov, Romania. I got to be a volunteer in ESC last year and it was a nice and fun experience. I volunteered in a Sports oriented Kindergarten in a town in Germany, called Potsdam. At first, I didn’t really know what to expect, cause it was a very new experience for me to work with kids and also in a country, away from my family and friends. The city itself, wasn’t new to me, because I visited already a few years back, and I loved it.


The kindergarten ” Schulplatz 1″, where I volunteered, was a small one, with only 57 kids. So there were only 3 groups of kids with ages 2-6 year old. I got to work at first with 4-5 year old children. Slowly, I got to know every group of kids and I enjoyed that. At first, I found it a bit difficult to connect with the kids, because I didn’t really know how to do it and what to do to get them to like me. But slowly, I became their friend and started to be seen as a play partner, whom they can trust.

Not only was I a play partner, I had a lot of other thinks to do, such as to help the teachers to organize fun activities for the kids (ex. games, reading activities, making fruit salads, doing massages with massage balls/ tools etc.). Another task of mine was to support the kids during lunch and snack time and also during nap time.

In a year, I got really close to my group of kids and I learned so much about them. I also got to attend a sport event made especially for kids, where they could show their abilities (how fast they are, how responsive they are, to show up for their teammates…). This event made me think, that I actually enjoy being surrounded by them and would like to start a career as a kindergarten teacher. So I decided to do exactly that and I’m happy about that.

So, I can totally say, that this project was eye-opening for me and showed me that I needed to work with kids to be truly happy. I’m very thankful for everyone I met during this amazing project, including my teachers, the other volunteers ( who I met at the seminars along the way and also my roommates), and my mentors. I recommend to everyone to do such a project.
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Projects

Enhancing youth voice for diversity and inclusion

Youth INC



Call: Erasmus-Youth-2023-CB — Capacity Building in the field of Youth 

Reference number: 101130662 

Duration: 24 months 

In the YOUTH INC. project 6 partners (NGOs and youth led organisations) from Hungary, Romania, Germany, Kosovo, Albania and Israel will work together to increase the quality, perception and capacity of youth workers, and young people through learning for diversity and inclusion.

Through the NGOs and youth workers involved in the project, young people will learn about critical thinking, exploring topics of anti-racism, minorities, diversity and inclusion. Using this method and with the help of experts, young people will identify cultural and ethnic minority heroes who have played a significant historical, economical and/or cultural role in the life of the community without recognition, who have represented important universal values.

At the end of the process, virtual monuments will be inaugurated, bringing the heroes who had been invisible before to light.

 

Project coordinator:

Anthropolis Antropológiai Közhasznú Egyesület, Hungary

 

Project partners:

Youth Agency from Germany

Interfaith Encounter Association from Israel

Act for Society Center from Albania

Center for Counseling, Social Services and Research from Kosovo

Youth Association from Transylvania

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Projects

Call: 2023 Round 3 SPR ESC30-SOL – Solidarity projects 
Project Number: 2023-3-RO01-ESC30-SOL-000184494 
Duration: 12 months 

Objectives:
• To raise environmental awareness and educate members of the community about the importance of local biodiversity;
upcycling and composting; selective trash collection and recycling; and reduction of water and air pollution – The organizer
team expects at least 120 people to attend the organized workshops. The aim is to have at least 30 participants during each
workshop organized throughout the year.
• To encourage people to adopt small, easily maintainable habits in their everyday lives that can reduce their ecological
footprint and help develop a more environmentally conscious and sustainable community for future generations – The
organizer team expects at least 160 people to attend the organized practical events. The aim is to have at least 40
participants on average at all events throughout the year.
• To improve the health of the local ecosystem and reduce waste and pollution – The organizers aim to plant at least 20
trees and 50 other flowers or plants, build at least one bee hotel and five bird feeders and organize at least one common
trash collecting action.

Expected outcomes:
• Increased Awareness – Through the education of the local community on important topics, such as the importance of the
local biodiversity, upcycling, composting, selective trash collection, and reduction of water and air pollution; people will
become more aware of their actions and the impact they have on the environment.
• Improved Environmental Health – The aim of the project is to promote sustainable practices that will help reduce waste,
pollution, and improve the health of the local ecosystem. This will be beneficial for the health of the local community since it
will result in cleaner air, water, and soil.
• Strengthen Community – By organizing events and activities for the community, people will have an opportunity to interact
with each other, work together, and bond over a common goal. This will promote a sense of belonging and social
connectedness.
• Economic Benefits – Since the project promotes upcycling, recycling, and composting, it also encourages people to reuse,
or find alternative utilization for their resources, for example, use an empty jar as a container for rice. This should also help
reduce the need for new materials and ultimately lower people’s expenses. On a broader scale, by promoting selective trash
collection, the community will be able to reduce waste management costs. This is important since, unfortunately, we, as a
global population, are facing an energy crisis, inflation, and uncertainty. Being able to adapt any habits that might bring an
additional layer of safety and stability into their lives would be beneficial.

Project team:
Natalija Atanackovic
• Gabriella Orosz
• Dániel Kacsó
Timea Böjte
• 
Mihály Fazakas
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Projects

Youth Power in Motion – Empowering Students for Advocacy and Change

Call: European Youth Foundation – Pilot activity

Reference number: 7995.1.PA.2023

Duration: 12 months

Objectives

Our main objective with this project is to support young people in Cristuru Secuiesc in forming and operating the local city student council by selecting and training the members of this council, also by organising workshops for them in the topic of advocacy.

Objective 1 – Supporting the existing school councils.

During the project one of our objectives is to examine the existing student councils in the 3 high school, recruit new members if it is necessary and select members who can take part in the training sessions organized by our association, then share the knowledge with their peers and implement activities at school level.

Objective 2 – Strengthening communication and collaboration between young people and the local municipality.

Another important objective is to create a link between the local youth and municipality by forming the student council of the town, also by teaching student council members to effectively communicate their ideas and proposals to the local decision-makers.

Objective 3 – Empowering young people to take an active role in decision-making processes

During the project we would like to provide training and resources to help young people develop the skills and knowledge needed to participate in local decision-making processes, such as community development initiatives.

Expected outcomes

Among the results and expected outcomes of the project we can mention:

  • Improved civic engagement: Through lobbying at the municipality and designing a strategy for civic participation, students can learn how to engage more effectively with local government and promote positive change in their community.
  • Enhanced critical thinking and problem-solving abilities: The project can encourage students to think critically about complex issues and develop creative solutions to address them.
  • Improved communication skills: Students can practice and develop their communication skills through the lobbying and negotiation components of the project.
  • Concrete policy changes: students will conduct research and analyze the needs of the community, then they will design a strategy for those issues and needs. Depending on the topic that the students choose to lobby on, there may be specific policy changes that could be achieved through their efforts.
  • Young voices at the municipality: during the project students will have meetings with the members of the municipality, they will participate the monthly council meetings, where they can share their concerns, ideas and strategies. The project could help local decision-makers to see young people’s needs and issues more clearly and to be more receptive to discussing young people’s ideas.
  • More quality events at town level: Our association plans to reach out to these young people and support them in organizing events that are aimed at the community of the town, because based on our research, there is a demand for this as well. We believe the project will also help these young people learn how to provide quality recreation opportunities for the community.

Project coordinator: Ungvári Borbála

Related articles:

https://www.ata-ro.eu/hu/hirek/utjara-indult-legujabb-fiatalokat-osszefogo-projektunk.html

https://www.ata-ro.eu/en/news/we-have-started-our-newest-youth-project.html

https://www.ata-ro.eu/en/news/the-student-council-is-working-on-implementing-their-ideas.html

https://www.ata-ro.eu/hu/hirek/otleteik-megvalositasan-munkalkodik-a-varosi-diaktanacs.html

https://www.ata-ro.eu/hu/hirek/lezarultak-a-projekttevekenysegek-a-varosi-diaktanacsnal.html

https://www.ata-ro.eu/en/news/youth-power-in-motion-the-student-council-continues-the-activities.html

 

 

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Projects

Enhancing VET Practices and Capacities through Transformative Learning
-VET PACT-

Call: ERASMUS-EDU-2022-CB-VET – Capacity building in the field of vocational education and training
Number: 101092395
Duration: 24 months

In the VET PACT project, 6 partners and 4 affiliate partners, NGOs, Foundations and VET schools from Romania, Hungary, Spain, Argentina, Columbia and El Salvador work together to increase the quality, perception and capacity of VET providers, and empower VET learners through Transformative Learning. During the 24 months project period partners will develop a curriculum for 1800 VET learners and a training module reaching directly 180 VET teachers to reinforce the importance of improving soft skills and key competencies, including entrepreneurship and focusing on digital and green practices supporting environmental, social, economic sustainability. Mainstreaming Transformative Learning approach and applied methods, will be a tool for VET providers to endorse special skills (e.g. task-oriented problem solving, analysing cause and effect relationships, critical thinking, communication about feelings, needs, and desires) which are needed, but not acknowledged enough and additionally increase VET learners’ employability chances.

Beside the creation of the educational tools, partners will conduct a mapping on the state of art in partner countries connected to VET education exploring and revealing which teaching activities contribute to transformation. Newly established expert groups involving key stakeholders with the aim of strengthening the relationship between VET and labour market will conduct the mapping and by the end of the research phase, good practices will be collected from all partner countries.

International meetings and a conference will provide opportunities for multipliers to learn about the shared methods, materials, research findings. The educational materials will be available in 4 languages (English, Spanish, Romanian, Hungarian) via the project website, EACEA and Moodle platforms reaching the minimum of 50000 people who work in the field of VET in the six partner countries and beyond, due to online and/or hybrid events.

 

Project coordinator:

Youth Association from Transylvania

Project partners:

Anthropolis Antropológiai Közhasznú Egyesület, Hungary

Jovenes Hacia La Solidaridad Y El Desarrollo, Spain

Asociacion Civil Red De Accion Climatica, Argentina

Jovesolides Hacia La Solidaridad Y El Desarrollo. Colombia, Colombia

Fundacion Salvadorena Para La Promocion Social Y El Desarrollo Economico, El Salvador

Affiliate partners:

Liceul Tehnologic Zeyk Domokos, Romania – Affiliated Partner to Youth Association from Transylvania

Váci Szc Petzelt József Szakgimnáziuma És Szakközépiskolája, Hungary – Affiliated Partner to Anthropolis

Fundación Javerianas – Escuela Profesional Xavier, Spain – Affiliated Partner to Jovensolides

Conviventia, Colombia – Affiliated Partner to Jovensolides Colombia

Related articles:
Ready! Set! VET (PACT)! – We officially started! 
VET (PACT) in action!
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Projects
The Youth Association from Transylvania is organizing this youth exchange in a little town called Cristuru Secuiesc, the name
of the project is “Let’s stop bullying!”. By participating in this mobility, young people between the ages of 14 and 18 will better understand the phenomenon of bullying, identify what types exist and what it can cause. At the same time, they will be able to identify good practices to manage this phenomenon: what the subjects of bullying should do and how those around them should act in order to support them.
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Projects

EU-WISE 

Young Citizens – Consumers

Erasmus+ KA3 project within Call EACEA/34/2019, ‘Social inclusion and common values: the contribution in the field of education and training’ of the European Commission.

                                                                                                                Project number: 621515-EPP-1-2020-1-RO-EPPKA3-IPI-SOC-IN



THE PROJECT IN ONE SENTENCE:

This long term Erasmus+ project that started in December 2020 and ends in November 2022 (2 years), coordinated by the Youth Association from Transylvania, a grassroots NGO from Romania, brings together 5 entities from Belgium, Italy, Poland and Romania, who will work together with the purpose of raising awareness and upscaling various sustainable production and consumption practices, all the while also empowering youth with fewer opportunities.

AIMS:

The main aim of the project is to build civic awareness, involve and empower 120 young people with fewer opportunities in groups of 30, from Belgium, Italy, Poland and Romania in promoting responsible consumption and the Sustainable Development Goals, focusing mainly on fair trade and the slow food movement.
Another aim is to increase the acquisition of social and civic competences, understanding of values and fundamental rights by young people. To achieve this, during the implementation, youth will take part in debates, activities, and promotion of new consumption patterns. As initiators of changes, they will also be involved in activities aimed at local communities in the role of organizers.
EU WISE also strives to collect and disseminate good practices supporting the role of young people as active partners in the change and implementation of SDG4, which supports quality education and SDG12, which ensure sustainable production and consumption patterns.

BENEFITS AND KEY FIGURES:

– Developing a common methodology for training young people in international cooperation in the promotion of responsible consumption and fair trade;
– Creating and disseminating a catalogue of good practices promoting responsible consumption and Fair Trade at the level of schools and local communities;
– At local level, 120 young people from 4 countries (indirectly 10000) will be involved in youth training and pilot projects organised by those youth we will train;
– Internationally, 200 civil society organizations, businesses and local authorities from, Belgium, Italy, Poland and Romania will receive a toolkit showing how they can involve young people in sustainable consumption and production;
– In the EU context, at least 100 EU decision-makers will receive the project’s toolkit, including policy recommendations from partners experienced in advocacy.

COORDINATOR:

Youth Association from Transylvania – Romania

PROJECT PARTNERS:

Equo Garantito – Italy

Fair Trade Advocacy Office – Belgium

Polish Fair-Trade Association – Poland

Project School – Italy

CONTACT:
For more information look for the #EU-WISE hashtag on social media or mail us at eu-wise@ata-ro.eu

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Projects

STEP 1 

the right step to be a volunteer

Erasmus+ programme – KA204 Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project number: 2020-1-PT02-KA205-006639




FRAMEWORK AND PROBLEM

The European Union’s effort to develop a set of strategies that promote an active role and youth participation in community and European activities is recognized. The goal is for young people to acquire and recognize their skills and the importance of adopting critical and conscious thoughts and attitudes, essential for social transformation. New generations of young people have greater access to information and opportunities, but continue to fail to filter those that fit their expectations, motivations and interests and, in two ways, can be a point of personal development and a point of social contribution.

PROBLEM

We intend to respond to the problem of social exclusion of young people from community activities (volunteering), due to the absence of key competences (mainly citizenship) and the disconnection between their interests and the activities promoted.

NEEDS

– Promote a project that allows the sharing of practices, strategies and the transfer of knowledge and experience of organizations in the intervention with young people, especially with regard to the appeal and preparation of young people for local community activities (volunteering);
– Promote the consolidation of innovative, appealing and truly inclusive projects and / or activities for young people, considering their expectations, motivations and
interests, by incorporating different social realities (and with transferability – from local to European);
– Promote solutions and conditions for the training of young people and youth workers, taking into account the potential of participatory and voluntary methodologies.

OBJECTIVES

– Identification, collection and systematization of good practices and strategies, knowledge and experiences in the intervention with young people, especially with regard to the appeal and preparation of young people for local community activities;
– Joint consolidation of a guideline oriented towards the appeal and preparation of young people for participation in local community activities;
– Training of young people with key competences for lifelong learning, especially citizenship skills;
– Training of youth workers with new key skills, practices, strategies and non-formal methods of youth intervention, boosting their capacity for local and transnational operationalization;
– Strengthening the European partnership network, forcing the transnational opening of youth workers and organizations and the recognition of their work;
– Promotion of social inclusion, namely in terms of access to opportunities, transfer of common social values, valuing European diversity and strengthening the European identity of young people, participation and citizenship.

Project coordinator: Ungvári Borbála
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RESCUE
Renewed spaces – U educate 

Erasmus+ programme – KA204 Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project number: 2020-1-FR01-KA204-080064_202010071705-1




Our project aims to rehabilitate abandoned public areas by involving local actors to take ownership of the area and create social links through innovative methods of non-formal education and citizen participation. We believe that giving a second life to these areas, by developing economic and/or
cultural activities, contributes to upgrade our territory by directly involving the inhabitants.
Within the partner local communities, there are many abandoned public spaces, especially in popular neighborhoods. Restoring life to these places in the communities helps to improve the wellbeing of the inhabitants, to feel integrated into their community and to create new opportunities for the development of the territory.
Our project is focused on the development of social enterprises that aim to combine economic efficiency and social impact in order to better exploit abandoned public spaces. In order to develop concrete methods for the involvement and effective engagement of citizens in the development of their community, we wish to develop this strategic partnership project involving 4 European partners from France, Romania, Italy and Greece. We will involve 5 participants per partner
country, educators/facilitators and territorial agents from the local communities concerned who will be trained to actively contribute in the implementation of the local activities planned. They will mentor 40 adults beneficiaries, including some with fewer opportunities, in their training and in the setting up of local initiatives for entrepreneurship, by experimenting with the pedagogical tools that will be created.

AIMS OF OUR PROJECT

The main objective of our project is to promote the adoption of innovative practices in rehabilitating abandoned areas and by developing collaborative and accessible learning approaches for adult education.
Our operational objectives are to:
– Enable adult educators and territorial staff from various European countries to exchange experiences and best practices, and to develop skills on how to mobilize the citizens of their communities in a process of positive territory change.
– Develop innovative educational methods that encourage commitment to active citizenship and
social entrepreneurship for the benefit of local communities by focusing on an efficient
development of abandoned public spaces.
– Raise awareness and mobilize local authorities and policy makers to increase their interaction with
citizens and to involve them more in a participatory development process for the benefit of the
community.
– Elaborate innovative initiatives for the management, development and exploitation of abandoned
public spaces, taken by partners and local actors at large-scale, as good practices for local,
sustainable, participatory and inclusive development.

EXPECTED RESULTS

The quantitative results of our project will be as follows:
• The results of a research survey aimed at detecting abandoned public spaces and the proposals of local citizens for the development and operation of these spaces according to their needs.
• 3 interactive online training courses meeting the support needs of adults who wish to invest as social entrepreneurs to renew and operate abandoned public spaces.
• 4 E-tutorial videos to support and develop the inspiration of stakeholders during the planning and development of public spaces to be improved.
• A technical & educational guide in interactive and offline versions, complementary to the videos, on methods for involving citizens in the organization and management of abandoned public spaces in their community.
• A cartography (GIS – geographical information system) which locates and gives a visual overview of the developed public spaces and the entrepreneurial initiatives set up by the beneficiaries of this project.
• Creation of a resource book that presents the process, results and impacts of the public spaces that will have been developed.
The qualitative results of our project will be as follows:
• Improvement of the training offer and resources to support adult learners in the field of social entrepreneurship for the development of the territory.
• Improvement of resource persons skills (educators, facilitators, mentors, etc.): Two training courses will take place for 20 beneficiaries in order to improve their mentoring skills (face-to-face and remotely) in the relevant field.
• Promotion of cultural diversity and diverse methodological approaches for the engagement of adults in local development through transnational partnership.
• Emergence of a reinforced dialogue between citizens and political decision-makers on the development of a common territory plan and the use of abandoned places for the benefit of the local communities concerned.
• Development of certain public spaces abandoned by various forms (volunteering / taking entrepreneurial initiatives / activities, etc.), especially in popular neighborhoods of the communities involved.

Duration of the project: 24 months: From December 2020- November 2022
Project coordinator: Györgyi Réka 

 

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Learning from the Past
(so we are not condemned to repeat it)

Erasmus+ programme – KA204 Strategic Partnerships for adult education




This is an extremely interesting project at this time. It aims to promote a value of cultural heritage, educate adults and young people about the importance of understanding of their past and events, which led to the major conflicts in history of Europe and beyond. Therefore the project addresses a horizontal objective of the action, promotion of social and educational value of European cultural heritage. The needs of the target groups and need for the project to be delivered transnationally are sufficiently justified. The objectives of the project are clearly stated. The project is innovative on several levels, i.e. intergenerational learning, non-formal learning of the history, cultural heritage and ICT skills. The project is also complementary to Global Link’s project ‘Sowing the Seeds of Global Citizenship’ and to the first World War remembrance initiatives.
Most of the phases of the project are properly designed. It is good to see that the beneficiaries will be given several opportunities to evaluate their own learning and to contribute to the overall
evaluation of the intellectual outputs, training sessions and multiplier events. Some risks, related to the administrative and financial matters, are highlighted. It would also be good to
see if partners considered risks related to the development of the results or working with the target groups. The project provides value for money considering the project results, number
of the direct beneficiaries and potential impact outside of the participating organisations. The Intellectual Outputs are well developed and provide sufficient information on the time and resources needed to produce quality results. Short-term joint staff training event will add value to the project. Practical arrangements to support the participants could be described further
and include information on the travel arrangements, accommodation, learning agreements and potential outcomes. The Partners have necessary expertise to deliver the project and produce high quality results. It is useful that such organisations as museums, archives, history departments of the universities will be involved in the project at the Associated partners’ level.
The project is likely to have a substantial positive impact on the participants and partner organisations, which will have an opportunity to learn about cultural heritage, historical events, also partners will enhance their networks. All these aspects are sufficiently explained in the proposal. Evaluation activities, including evaluation methods and indicators of achievements
could be described further. The dissemination plan has to be constructed, but even so the application details, types of dissemination, types of audience. The group has a good address to the EU level as the previous work of the lead partner is well known among academics and they propose to use Youth networks as well as EPALE to disseminate. The material will be incorporated in the Mapping Dissent website, in relevant languages and will be mainstreamed and remain part of that resource for the foreseeable future. Beneficiary is reminded that more information on how the platform will be used could be provided. It is positive that the Partners will use creative commons licences to provide access to all outputs produced by the project.

 

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