"""Fight the beast don't become obese"" was a strategic partnership between Ireland, Malta and Latvia - three countries that the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated to become the fattest countries in Europe by 2030 if no urgent action regarding the obesity crisis is taken. According to a comprehensive global study of obesity published in 2014 it was stated that Ireland's population has overweight and obesity levels in excess of the European level. On the other side, Maltese kids and youth are amongst the most overweight in the world with obesity levels reaching frightening proportions. But obesity is not just a unique problem to Malta or Ireland. The European statistics shows that Latvian women rank third in the European obesity rate. The partners acknowledged that obesity is a serious public health issue and this project could be a good start for young people to stop ignoring serious consequences of the obesity and have a closer look at foods that they consume. The project addressed two major factors/needs necessary to start fighting the obesity crisis . Firstly, the need of understanding food labels and nutritional values of foods and secondly the need of cooking skills using organic/local and healthy products.People involved in the project were young disadvantaged people who left school early and as a result were facing educational difficulties and social obstacles and were finding difficult to engage with their local communities. Lack of social skills, law self -esteem and no confidence prevent them from becoming valuable members of society. The project addressed their needs and equipped them with new experiences and skills necessary for starting making changes in their lives. In order to achieve the best outcomes the project activities and tasks were very practical, interactive and group based. The methodology used involved brainstorming, discussions, visits to local farms and hands-on experience, cooking, teamworking, problem solving and decision making.The partners involved in the project were carefully selected based on their experience of working with young disadvantaged people. Blanchardstown Community Training Centre (Ireland) provides training, work experience and support to meet the needs of early school leavers and help them to achieve their full potential. Baltic Regional Fund (Latvia) provides support for youth at risk, early school leavers, unemployed people and migrants to equip them with necessary tools to become valuable members of the Latvian society. Agenzija Zghazagh (Malta) provides platform for young people where they can express themselves and become aware of their full potential. This is done through a non -formal learning methods. All three organisations are very experienced at working with young disadvantaged people and aware of their needs.On completion of this project young people were able to read and understand nutritional values of foods and were aware of what foods are high in fats, saturated fats, sugar and salt. They were able to prepare basic healthy meals using organic ingredients sourced from the local farms. By using their cooking skills they were able to see a difference between home made food and pre-packed, ready to eat food. Their learning, practical experiences and knowledge has been presented in the cook book created during the project. It consists a guideline on reading and understanding food labels, information about local/organic farms visited during the project and a collection of healthy and simple recipes prepared by young people. It has been anticipated that the cook book will start a food revolution at the local level. Young people directly and indirectly involved in the project will become local healthy food promoters. With their new skills, experiences and knowledge they will promote a healthy eating but also will raise awareness of harmful and serious consequences of the obesity crisis. It is hoped that this will start reversing the raising trend in obesity."

The project: Youth work and learning for life and work, had partners with already established educational programmes for young people who are no longer in the education system and who are not working or being trained for work. The project was carried out trans-nationally since the aim is to develop a non-formal curriculum that can be replicated and refined on a pan-European basis. The project involved 3 partners from the public, private and educational sectors. The objectives of this project are premised on the young people's journey from not being engaged in any form of education, training or employment to being engaged in one, by way of non-formal/relational approaches to learning. The project looked to innovate responses that can be deployed and/or adapted across Europe within a non-formal curriculum. In the process of the development of such non-formal youth work curriculum, the project also initiated training in non-managerial supervision. This energized the generation of a dialogical ethos (the examination, analysis and sharing of practice) that can provide the scaffold on which a learning organization can be established. The project undertook research into outcomes, including looking at the impact of referral routes. Research also investigated learner destinations/progression. The project addressed the requirements of the youth-pass in order that they can be met via non-formal means. The above should make it apparent that the target groups are young people categorized as NEET but also those who are involved in their journey to full and active participation in society.There are various target groups that were involved in this project but the main were the young people over the age of 16 which are not participating in an educational programme, training or work. The other target group is the trainers providing vocational training to the young people and also the youth workers that are providing life skills within the respective programmes. Overall the project established the necessary considerations and means to sustain continuous learning within teaching and learning organizations. It looked to identify and establish innovative ways that will allow organizations to maintain ongoing dialogue and learning in order to adapt and change according to contextual demands and the needs of changing client groups. The publication 'Step back and make room' sums up the project and its outputs.

Youth is a particular stage in a person's life course that is often defined as the transitory period between childhood and adulthood. As with all other stages in life, youth presents its own particular opportunities and challenges, through which young people have to navigate to successfully leave childhood and enter into adulthood. Youth work was developed to facilitate these transitions, with youth workers working with and for young people to ensure smooth transitions. This however requires youth workers to possess and be able to use specific sets of competencies. Such competencies in terms of Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge (A.S.K.). In this regard the overarching objective of this project is to increase the understanding of youth as a transitionary period in life between childhood and adulthood and equip youth workers with the right set of competencies to provide a quality youth work service. This project will take on an innovative approach be using artistic and cultural initiatives with an educational dimension to explore societal issues faced by young people and in turn develop the Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge needed by youth workers to provide creative and innovative youth work services. Youth researchers, youth workers and young people will be working together with the creative sector to draw up a set of competencies needed by youth workers and a training programme that will help youth workers garner these competencies as part of their arsenal. The project is divided into 3 phases. During the first phase a group of around 30 creative writers from the three participating countries, and comprised of different age groups from young people to adults and including youth workers will be engaged in creative writing process to depict their own understanding of societal issues that young people face. During the second phase youth researchers and youth workers will engage in a research analysis of all the material developed by the creative writers to produce an understanding of youth as experienced by these writers, highlighting the competencies needed to provide a quality youth work service. During the third and final phase youth researchers and youth workers from the three participating countries will work together to develop a training programme for youth workers who would want to master such competencies.

<< Objectives >>Wired Youth will empower and encourage youths to engage in active political participation with scientists and decision-makers to develop evidence-based policies. It will promote a culture for active citizenship and democratic debates in the younger generation, nurturing individuals to become tomorrow’s policy makers or researchers. Wired Youths will be a lifelong formative experience which will create effective international networks between youths, scientists and politicians.<< Implementation >>After applications close and the groups of participants are selected, they will participate in 4 training workshops: Engaging STEM researchers Public Speaking and Communication skills How to debate and think critically Engaging policy makers A two-day bootcamp will be held where the students will engage in simulated parliamentary debates and prepare their arguments for the National Youth Science Parliament (NYSP). The students will compete against each other in debates during the NYSP.<< Results >>Wired Youth will nurture a group of youths who have developed evidence-based policies and are exercising their role as active citizens. The project will show them that they have the potential to enact positive change for the socio-economic benefit of their country and the EU. Wired Youth will encourage science and policy-making career path uptake by introducing the youths to role-models and allowing them to work hand in hand towards the development of evidence-based policy papers with experts.

Project was a partnership between Agenzija Zghazagh in Malta, Asociatia Centrul pentru Dezvoltare Comunitara Durabila in Romania, Stichting JONG Rotterdam in the Netherlands and YMCA George Williams College in the UK. The Project aimed to develop and strengthen detached youth work services in the partner countries through the exchange of good practice and peer learning and support. The project looked at and learnt from existing services and evaluated the newly established services in Malta and Romania. It developed quality assurance tools that can be used in a detached youth work settings working with youth at risk of social exclusion. It drew on the experience achieved by the Dutch and UK partners to enable the Maltese and Romanian partner organisations to develop their practice in a manner consistent with best practice. This was achieved through the provision of training, supervision and mentoring to youth work managers involved in the setting up of new detached youth work services; the provision of training to youth workers that allowed for observation of existing projects and the sharing of experiences; the drawing up of polices and procedures in line with quality assurance systems; the evaluation of new and existing services through a range of methods including observation, interviews and documentation of activities; The project published an evaluation report which also includes a good practice guideline when establishing outreach and detached youth work services. A number of multiplier events were held in order to disseminate the results of the project.Outcomes include an increased capacity of the Romanian and Maltese partners to implement detached youth work services and to monitor their effectiveness as well as offer the required support to youth workers involved in service provision. The Romanian partner sought to establish links with community leaders such as local councils in order to ensure that the project could continue beyond the duration of the project. In Malta the service of detached youth work continues through national funds now that the pilot phase has been completed.