EKO is happy to announce that one more training course has been successfully completed. The project took place in Madrid, Spain. In this medieval environment 33 youth workers from different countries gathered to learn about Erasmus+, how to apply for KA1 projects and share their experiences about NEETs. The project was implemented from 5th till 10th of June 2022 by the host organization YouthProAktiv and participants from 10 more countries including: Spain, Greece, Georgia, North Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey, Serbia and Belgium. The training is based on how to apply a project proposal and learning about NEETs. A working week of active learning, discussions, exchange of best practises, presentations, working in teams and using creative thinking to deepen into the subject. 

The main objectives of the project:

• Increase the professional competencies of youth workers on Erasmus+ and the different opportunities that it provides for the empowerment of the NEETs youngsters they work with.
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• Deepen youth workers’ knowledge of the Erasmus+ program and KA1 mobility projects, and improve their understanding of European values (such as equality and inclusion).
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• Teaching youth workers how to write a Key Action 1 mobility project & how to better engage, support, and empower NEETs through them.
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• Developing partnerships among national organizations and building transnational networks, increasing the level of exchange of best practices and level of capacities of national youth organizations.
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Activities of the project:

The first day of the training was meant to introduce each of the other organizations and get in touch and reflect on the Erasmus+ core values, key priorities and discuss NEETs. 

On the second day, participants learned a lot about other countries: their best practices regarding NEETs and also many differences and shared aspects of the national contexts in which they work. Their shared experiences teach us to value our opportunities and to fight for the ones we can create. They had a wonderful speaker Adelina Florescu from AIDE who taught participants how much they have fought and how bold they are when they want something.

On the third day, they had an incredibly inspiring presentation by Lina Trebiene from Jaunuoliu dienos centras who showed them their work and inspired the participants with their many actions and the opportunities that they create! Furthermore, they extensively worked on the points of submitting a KA1 project and on how to build a successful Consortium. 

On the fourth day, participants worked in multicultural teams, developing the activity program for three very promising projects that could be funded by Erasmus+. The teams worked together and also presented their ideas to their peers. 

The fifth day of the training marked the end of the week in which participants had the opportunity to deeply reflect on the learning outcomes gained over the four previous days. At the same time, they filled out the post-evaluation feedback survey which provided a lot of useful insights on the work done during the week. Lastly, participants attended the YouthPass Award Ceremony whose diploma certifies the full participation of participants in all the activities. This was followed by an emotional goodbye. 

The project was an unforgettable experience that enabled Greek participants to develop themselves, both individually and collectively, and helped them to establish themselves as active participants in public life. Maria Sofia, Iason, and Vivien were the members of the Greek team whom we really wanna thank for all their contribution and collaboration throughout the project!

As EKO, we are also very grateful for that amazing opportunity given to the Greek team and we thank our partner Paloma Cantero, as well as Elena de la Fuente and all the rest members of the hosting organization YouthProActiv, for all their hard work and for creating such an impactful project!