The ENRYP II project builds on the findings and outcomes of the Erasmus+ ENRYP project led by Umbria Youth Forum in Italy and developed between 2017 and 2019. A key finding was the need for establishing a different kind of network, more flexible and including several stakeholders. The concept of the network should overcome the existing traditional ones, such as umbrella organisations composed only of youth organisations or youth representative structures; instead, it should have a multi-stakeholder approach by including, besides youth organisations, also municipalities, CSO, youth workers, youth academics and informal groups of young people. On youth participation, current debates and developments include the growing importance of self-expression, diversity and social inclusion, how young people learn about participation, understanding the concept of new and innovative forms of participation (Crowley, Moxon 2017). The last SWD (169, 2018) “Situation of young people in the European Union” states that while young people are described as being more disenchanted with politics, especially regarding traditional modes of participation (i.e. those related to the representative democracy), increasing numbers of young Europeans are exploring new routes to political engagement and expression, in particular, those made available by the Internet and the social media. The document also shows how youth participation has become more individualised, ad-hoc and issue-specific. Young people have come to favour more flexible and issue-based forms of participation, being more active in non-governmental organisations rather than in political parties.The main goal of the ENRYP II is to increase youth social and political participation in Portugal, Italy, UK, Hungary and Romania in order to achieve positive changes in young people’s lives and to build better societies.The specific objectives of the project are:- to establish a European network as a common space where young people but also relevant stakeholders exchange practices and explore together topics such as youth participation, active citizenship and EU awareness and identity- to broaden and deepen political and social participation and understanding of at least 175 young people at the local and regional level in the 5 countries of the partner organisation- to enable at least 175 young people to connect with, express their opinions to and influence elected policy-makers, public administrators, interest groups and CSOs within any of the political or social processes affecting their lives TARGET GROUPSThe activities will target young people from 20 to 30 years of age, both organised and unorganisedIn addition to it, the following will be involved:- youth (representative) organisations- informal groups of young people- youth workers and experts (researchers, academics)- decision-makers at the local and regional level- public authorities and educational institutions- interest groups on issue-specific topicsThe main activities will include the realisation of 3 Intellectual Outputs namelyIO1 – European Network of Regional and local Youth Platforms – to offer young people a concrete space where they can express themselves and engage in meaningful dialogue with elected policy-makers, public administrators, interest groups, CSOs or individual citizens within any of the political or social processes affecting their livesIO2 – Good practices Compendium - a collection of practices that were developed at the local and regional level with a two-fold aim: to increase an active participatory culture among young people and to explore new forms of political and social participation at the local and regional level.IO3 – Youth Activist Kit – to support young people in acquiring knowledge and understanding of their position in a certain community, develop social and civic competences, active listening, learning to learn, a more positive attitude towards active participation, as well as skills to motivate and empower other young people to take meaningful part in the life of their communities1 short-term staff training, 3 blended mobility activities and 6 multiplier events.The overall impact and expected results during and especially after the project lifetime are:- increased understanding of youngsters of the importance of participation in its various forms and of the diversity of contexts in Europe- more connected young people with their peers at local and transnational level and with policy-makers, public administrators, interest groups within any of the political or social processes affecting their lives- increased capacity of stakeholders to engage in meaningful dialogue with young people- more responsible and autonomous youngsters that are able to take the lead in a process and empower their peers.

Employability Tools is a project that addresses the need of strengthening local work carried out by stakeholders throughout Europe in developing and promoting employability of vulnerable groups, focusing on young people (often with fewer opportunities). This need, felt at a local level, is in line with the major European guidelines. Europe 2020 strategy aims for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, creating the conditions for youth to develop their skills, fulfil their potential, work, and actively participate in society. Successful labor market integration is a key aspect in unleashing young people’s potential and achieving EU2020 objectives, equally as in our direct local & regional needs and interests. OBJECTIVES: (1) To create and develop 4 tools for employability: an App, an educational Board game, an interactive Planner and a Handbook for technical staff working with employability issues; (2) To contribute to the development of the quality of support systems for employability; (3) To increase youngsters disposition towards entrepreneurship, employability opportunities and recognition of personal and professional competences; (4) To foster the cooperation between different entities from different countries in different fields (NGOs, companies, public bodies); (5) To assist youngsters on their development of key competences towards employability using the tools developed, and with better qualified youth workers on that field.PARTNERSHIP: This project brought together NGOs, public bodies and social responsibility companies, who had already cooperated and established a trustworthy relationship in the past. Partners came from Portugal, Belgium and Italy - DNA Cascais, Câmara Municipal de Cascais, Produções Fixe, Vzw Elegast Wijkwerking, Xena and Insight. The fact that Cascais was the European Youth Capital (EYC) in 2018, title awarded by the European Youth Forum, boosted the motivation to carry out this project and deliver results during the EYC year, thus enlarging the potential for visibility, dissemination and creating long term value. ACTIVITIES: between September 2016 and August 2018, the following activities took place: » General project management.» Communication between partners.» Quality checks and evaluation: control meetings, reports, evaluations.» Financial control: expenses report, bank transfers, coordination control. » 4 transnational meetings: Cascais (PT) in December 2016 - kick-off, get to know each other, setting the vision and procedures of the project, work on the outputs; Antwerp (BE) in June 2017 – testing the outputs, evaluating and planning ahead; Padova (IT) in December 2017 – development of the outputs, assess project results and plan adjustments; Cascais (PT) in June 2018 – launching event with Cascais EYC 2018, evaluation, planning dissemination and multiplying events.» Development of the 4 intellectual outputs: concept development, technical development, first prototype / beta production, testing, feedback, improvement, producing final versions of the outputs.» Project dissemination and visibility: creating image, promotional material, online promotion, contact with other stakeholders, press releases, events within Cascais EYC 2018, local presentations. RESULTS AND IMPACT: This project generated 4 “EMPLAY” Tools, Open Educational Resources, which are useful tools for youth workers and employability workers, and are now already increasingly used by NGOs, local schools, social organisations and public organisations. For these, impacts are: increase in the knowledge about employability and entrepreneurship and strategies on how to develop young people’s competences; teamwork, self esteem, communication; a wider knowledge and visibility of E+ program; new views on the use of non formal education; positive attitude towards community building and networking. Young people (and also job seekers, people wishing to change career, etc.) are being targeted through these organisations, while others have been directly targeted by events or workshops developed by partners. Young people worldwide can also take advantage of using EMPLAY tools on their own, particularly due to the fact that some of the partners have extensive networks (e.g. Cité des Metiers or Organisation International de la Francophonie). Connecting this project with the implementation of Cascais EYC 2018 increased its impact at European level. On a LONG TERM perspective, project results will contribute to a more sustainable, socially cohesive Europe, where young people can more successfully integrate in the labour market, fulfilling their potential. There was a clear expressed wish by Portugal's Secretary of State for Employment to disseminate the tools to the wider employability structures, which can bring concrete unforeseen impact. At the moment, consortium received already a request for the production of 20 units of the boardgame Emplay, besides expressed wishes of other youth workers and institutions.

<< Background >>THE CHALLENGEHUMANS“In learning processes, as machines become better at rote tasks, humans will need to focus on the skills that remain unique to them: creativity, collaboration, communication and problem-solving” - Karen Hao (Taught by AI) CURRENT PERFORMANCEWe believe our project is closely linked to the ability of young people for critical thinking and connecting theory with practice. With its format and MO, INNOVATORY aims to tackle the reversal of this trend through creativity, collaboration and communication which develop skills of young people that allow their performance to improve in the key. Students from Romania, Portugal, Serbia, Greece and Slovenia are on a descendent trend in the PISA 2018 tests compared to both 2015 and 2012 results, Lithuania being the only exception to this scenario. Most of the countries are being classified as level 2 in all three domains.(see detailed PISA performance in the 6 partner countries attached)Complementary, data showed youth aged 15-17 wish they were also equipped with life skills and better training of their teachers in order to transversally help in developing these skills. The consulted stakeholders shared this view, along with the impression that schools are not equipped with the proper methods and tools to stimulate creativity and critical thinking. (LEAP Cluj 2020)SKILLS, TODAY AND TOMORROWDebates regarding the future of work resound through society in the light of the emerging AI or what knowledge will be valid in one or two decades. However, there is no debate on the fact that critical thinking, ability to work in teams, problem-solving skills, creativity and new ways of applied learning won’t lose their relevance and utility.CRISIS AND RESILIENCEResilience was already becoming a theme of interest for urban areas, and the COVID-19 pandemic provided an additional argument. Communities around the world need to adapt, find new ways of dealing with crises and provide solutions to capital challenges. While the focus now is on short term solutions, the long-term sustainability through resilience lies in a widespread of skills through which crises can be managed. And this perspective starts with today’s teenagers as the key decision-making generation.<< Objectives >>GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND TARGET GROUPSWe aim to create European Innovatory, a European movement of 840 high-school pupils, 70 teachers, 50 experts and decision-makers involved in a creative and collaborative learning process identifying needs and problems in society and providing creative solutions on local and European level based on the method of Design Thinking until 2024.We aim for:• involving high-school pupils (aged 14-18) and their teachers from 7 urban areas in developing their critical thinking, creative and problem-solving skills and proactive attitude in a creative and collaborative environment, in a safe space where they can try themselves out while receiving proactive feedback while also improving teacher-pupil working relationships through the creation of 210 creative teams,• developing a creative way of promoting the creative and proactive problem-solving potential of young people towards local stakeholders and decision-makers involved in urban development locally, and overall community development at European level,• creating a Europe-wide proactive scalable learning movement based on social innovation and Design Thinking as key aspects of building individual and community resilience leading to a sustainable transformation in society, involving 840 pupils, 70 teachers and additional 150 experts, mentors and stakeholders,• creating sustainable cooperation, management and decision-making platform involving 7 starting cities and 10 additional European stakeholders aiming to take care of the results of the project including its consolidation as a European programme and movement and a scalable model in Europe and the world.<< Implementation >>A1 General management – full project periodProvides the general management activities and the monitoring of the progress. It also refers to organisational costs of the coordinator and each partner (office costs, stationary, partial salaries of administrative personnel, delegations and trips for the dissemination of the project in the country and abroad).Coordinator: project coordinatorA2 Accounting – full project periodFilling and financial management, according to the clauses of the financial agreement and its annexes.C: accountant/partner, supervised by the financial coordinatorA3 Project launch communication – 1st monthA special activity focusing on announcing the start of the project (objectives, timeframe and expected results), in 7 languages for enhanced acces. C: communication coordinator with partner coordinatorsA4 Dissemination on O1 and the launch of Local Innovatory actions – 6th monthWhen concluding O1, we will conduct a detailed, mostly institutional campaign, presenting the overall framework and next steps, aiming to raise interest towards the process, including local and European action. The public call for teachers will be launched.A5 Intermediate evaluation 1 – 8th monthIntermediate evaluation is conducted before and during the 3rd project meeting and it sums up activities and performance for the first 6 months, especially concerning the creation of O1 and the selection of teachers for the second output. The intermediate evaluation is conducted by a layman involved in the project.A6 Dissemination on O2 – 11th monthE1-E7 (happening simultaneously) are concluded with the dissemination of O2. We will address a wide range of audience and will focus on the simultaneity of the processes and the 200+ generated solutions by the teams. C: communication coordinatorA7 Intermediate evaluation 2 – 12th monthIntermediate evaluation is prepared during the 4th project meeting and it sums up activities and performance, especially concerning the creation of O2. It is done jointly by all partners. C: project coordinatorA8 Dissemination on O3 – 20th monthDissemination of O3 occurs in connection with the European SpeakOut Day and comes as a completion to the third multiplier event of the project, to be held in Cluj-Napoca, city hosting the overall project coordination. The dissemination uses a set of tools and targets a wide range of audiences, as it is presented in the special section dedicated to dissemination activities. C: communication coordinatorA9 Institutional dissemination – 21-23rd monthThis dissemination activity will focus on presenting all intellectual outputs and other results of the project through institutional channels. In this process, we will use institutional e-mail communication, but the management team will also organise a dissemination tour to Brussels and Strasbourg in order to meet key stakeholders. Visits to our associated partners will also be deployed during the last three months of the project.A10 Final evaluation and sustainability planning – 23rd monthFinal evaluation is conducted during and after the last project meeting. We will use the reporting period to enable a broad debriefing among partners and to plan future action and scaling of project results. Final evaluation also sets conditions for impact monitoring and draws up a sustainability plan for the results of the project.A11 Final communication on the project and results – 23rd monthA summary communication of the project’s results is published which provides a summary of all outputs and outcomes and it also reflects on the impact, continuation of the project and the sustainability of results. This communication will be done mostly through online tools on the internet, through e-mail and social networks.<< Results >>CAUSES OF THE CHALLENGELACK OF SOFT SKILL EDUCATION IN SCHOOLSIf one takes a glance at a weekly class schedule of European pupil in the countries involved in this project, it is shocking how any soft skills curricula is missing. Although these skills can be gained through involvement in non-formal learning activities, the burden of a school programme hardly allows a real chance in acquiring these skills without impacting one’s grades. OLD WAYS OF TEACHINGTeaching knowledge is still a mostly one-way process while validation is done with grades based on reproducing memorised information. However, the growing number of teachers trying to bring additional non-formal methods into their work is an opening. OPPORTUNITY IN DIGITAL, FOCUS ON HUMAN SKILLSAs Karen Hao expresses it quite simply, no matter of advance in technology, humans will need creativity, collaboration, communication and problem-solving skills. As Internet is relatively cheap and accessible, quality is good, there is an opportunity to deploy creative learning and collaboration processes supported by up-to-date digital solutions. There is a real opening for enabling a creative and collaborative environment focusing on problem-solving and enabling communication towards stakeholders.We aim to achieve the following results:AT OUTPUT LEVEL* the creation of an overall European Innovatory Framework comprising of an overarching context, a resolution on the needs of skills development, an open methodology for implementation at local level, an open platform supporting overall awareness, dissemination and enabling, recording and tracking of cooperation between teachers, young people, mentors and stakeholders,* the delivery of 7 Local Innovatory actions resulting in the creation of a total of 210 creative solutions developed by young people to problems and needs in their surrounding and society in general,* the delivery of 14 innovative solutions developed by young people, improved to the level of business cases ready for implementation on European level,* the formation of 210 working teams in which high-school pupils and teachers work together in developing their skills and competencies through Design Thinking,* the formation of Local Innovatory support networks involving teachers, stakeholders, decision-makers, their working ways being captured in 7 specific city-level study cases,AT OUTCOME LEVEL* 840 young people involved through 210 teams in innovative ways of developing skills and competencies regarding creativity, problem-solving, collaboration and communication,* (at least) 84 young people from fewer opportunities provided with an equal chance of developing they skills and competencies in a similar way to their peers involved in Innovatory,* 70 teachers with developed skills and competencies regarding creativity, problem-solving, collaboration, communication and facilitation involved in a pool of teachers supporting the skill development of young people, organised in local networks but also as part of a European movement,* 150 experts, mentors and coordinators are involved in supporting teachers and pupils themselves in developing new ways of collaboration in education processes aiming to develop skills and competencies of young people,* 7 local networks of stakeholders are created in support of young people’s skills development.* sustainability conditions are met for the continuation of the 7 initial Local Innovatory processes from 2024 on,* 30 more cities express their intent to adapt and deliver Local Innovatory starting from 2024.* a European Innovatory model and open movement is created for the support of skills development, able to extend and involve other cities and their local communities,* an enhanced cooperation of cities in the framework of the Network of European Youth Capitals and including a renewed commitment considering youth as a key priority in shaping the future of these cities in the long term.

Com’ON Europe connects two specific aspects, youth participation and participatory budgeting, and this way it becomes original, unique. The reason for this is that it keeps the principle of participatory budgeting (deciding on public money’s faith) but it provides a double-sided platform through the engagement with mostly unorganised young people willing to organise themselves but not in legally established organisations. This enables bringing forward untapped energies of young people in shaping community life in cities.All partners came from former European Youth Capital cities: Torino 2010, Braga 2012, Maribor 2013, Thessaloniki 2014, Cluj-Napoca 2015, Varna 2017 and Cascais 2018. The European Youth Capital is a title awarded by the European Youth Forum designed to empower young people, boost youth participation and strengthen European identity. Each year, a new European city is given the chance to showcase its innovative ideas, projects and activities that aim to raise up young voices and bring a new youth perspective to all aspects of city life.The GOAL of this project was to create an open source framework for European cities in implementing participatory budgeting processes for youth, which address young people not just as creators and initiators but also as decision makers themselves while also creating a platform for cooperation for cities which applied similar processes or are willing to apply it in the future.The GENERAL OBJECTIVE of this project was to contribute to the improvement of civic participation of young people in local life through local level participatory budgeting mechanisms. It sought to contribute to the increase young people’s spirit of creativity, associativity, entrepreneurship, and community development by providing a safe environment for planning and coming forward as informal groups with small-scale initiatives, while providing funding on behalf of the municipalities, and delegating decisions towards the local community about which initiatives to be supported.The project worked to achieve the following SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:O1: to create a clear general policy framework in order to increase civic participation of young people through dedicated participatory budgeting processes for youth in urban communities based on theory and practice which connects European policies with local level practical implementation, while also bringing up local experience to the European playfield (LOCAL-EUROPEAN),O2: to provide participatory urban environments for young people and for public authorities based on trust, assistance and easy access and with the active contribution of the civil society (DECISION, VOTE), to reach out to young people and to enable their creativity serving the quality of life and the sense of belonging and ownership in cities (IDEA, INITIATIVE),O3: to enable other cities to adopt similar participatory processes and to consolidate the cooperation of European cities (and especially cities involved in the Network of European Youth Capitals) regarding youth participation through the creation of the Citizen Y Resource Centre and an open source methodology and toolkit (NETWORK, FRAMEWORK).The project’s results in key numbers:* 1 framework in 7 European languages, available open source for scaling and multiplication,* 1 new brand for participatory budgeting for youth: Com’ON Europe, * 5 key elements of a framework for Participatory Budgeting for Youth in Europe (white paper, resource centre, toolkit for participatory budgeting processes and the European group of youth facilitators),* 7 Participatory Budgeting for Youth Action Plans in 7 cities from 6 countries for 2019, which are harmonised by methodology,* 24 tools of empowering young people at local level collected in a single toolkit,* 28 youth facilitators organised in a European network which can be deployed in an international environment in order to provide further scaling,* 2,885 young people involved in co-creating ideas and proposals for initiatives to be funded by participatory budgeting for youth,* 6,000 European level stakeholders targeted by dissemination activities and publications,* 63,550 people expressing their choice for initiatives proposed by young people,* 625,000 euro allocated for small scale initiatives of informal groups of young people through participatory budgeting for youth processes,* 1.611 million people reached altogether.The strategic project was built on 14 management activities, 4 intellectual outputs with a total of 12 activities, 2 training activities of staff (short term) and 4 multiplier events.

At local and regional level, the 7 partners of the ENRYP project have identified the need to increase direct communication among young people, especially the ones active in youth platforms (be they councils, forums or parliaments), in order to share ideas and exchange good practices related to topics such as youth participation, active citizenship, EU awareness and identity. ENRYP project started from a situation where young people were described in the EU Youth Report 2015 as having low interest in participatory processes. However, the last SWD “Situation of young people in the European Union” (2018) states that while young people are described as being more disenchanted with politics, “this might be true for traditional modes of participation (i.e. those related to the representative democracy), increasing numbers of young Europeans are exploring new routes to political engagement and expression, in particular those made available by the Internet and the social media. Remarkably, young people seem to have found renewed interest in political issues and identify themselves as European citizens to a greater extent than older generations.” It highlights the shift towards new models of political engagement and communication such as using the internet to interact with public authorities and the use of websites and social media to post opinions on civic and political issues.In this context, the ENRYP project has worked to develop a space for young people to share ideas and exchange practices, so to increase youth participation at local level and to strengthen capacities and skills. This has also led to an increased international dimension of the partner organisations involved and the request from young people for organising more mobility activities. Through the implemented activities, young people involved as well as partner staff members were able to:- exchange good practices on youth participation, active citizenship, EU awareness and identity, and social inclusion, including country-based strategies on how to approach them- discuss about values and principles that should lie at the foundations of regional and local youth platforms- establish the ENRYP as a multi-stakeholder network and virtual space for young people, public authorities, youth workers and academics- register an increased participation of young people at local level, in their communities, and interest in strengthening the international dimension of organisations.ENRYP was carried out by 8 partners with different profiles: two youth forums operating at regional level from Italy and Romania (Forum Regionale dei Giovani dell’Umbria and Fundatia pentru Tineret Timis), 2 municipalities from UK and Portugal (Manchester City Council and Camara Municipal de Cascais), a CSO – Europa Jovove Egyesule in Hungary, FORMA.Azione srl VET and AL training centre from Italy and a youth research centre from Finland – Finnish Youth Research Network.The main activities involved:- collecting good practices related to the topics of the project, of which 21 on paper and more than 40 learned, shared and discussed by young people at local level, during the blended mobility activities and online- 5 transnational project meetings held in Perugia (IT), Manchester (UK), Helsinki (FI) and in Timisoara (RO);- 12 staff members during the short term training held in Kecskemet (HU), that was preparatory for the two blended mobility activities with young people- 33 participants during the blended mobility in Cascais (PT) and 32 during the one in Timisoara (RO), including young people, group leaders and trainers/facilitators- a validation process related to the key concepts of the ENRYP project (youth participation, active citizenship, social inclusion and European awareness) applied by countries involved in the project and support for the realisation of the European network in the long run- communication and dissemination towards over 5.000 people.Results:- country-based strategies on how to raise awareness of young people about the functioning of youth platforms in other countries, to inform on good practices and the need to build a functional European wide network as a space for sharing ideas on issues that are concrete and meaningful for young people- elaboration of a long-term strategy related to the European network with a vision and goals to be pursued in the following 5 years together with the identification of its members and stakeholders- raised awareness about the importance to approach the network from an online and offline perspective, identified by participants as crucial aspect in order to maintain connections and continuity- a collection of good practices that allowed young people to reflect about the diversity of the contexts;- a validation document that guarantees the quality of the results- commitment of partners in order to further support the network in strategic actions to guarantee its sustainability.- application for a new project.