2017: Gathering Europe Together 2017 was a turning point for Youth Express Network and its Vision 2020 that foresaw this year as the time to advocate and confront decisionmakers. The focus was set on lobbying and advocating for the inclusion of young people in Europe among local, national and European authorities, by giving the tools to young people, youth/social workers and our member organisations to work towards this goal. In order to achieve this goal, Y-E-N implemented the Work Plan « TOG(AE)THER EUROPE: Living, Working and Shaping Europe together » composed of 3 international activities: 2 youth seminars and a networking activity that gathered a total of 110 young people, youth workers, project managers and local decision-makers. Y-E-N also organised a joint Study Session with Youth Social Rights Network (YSRN) at the end of the year at the European Youth Centre of Strasbourg, and was a partner of Nevo Parudimos (member organisation) for a long-term project on youth work with Roma young people. The Network continued its French-German cross-border activities for the employability of young people through a partnership with Arbeit und Leben. At local level, Y-E-N went on with the coordination of the regional platform “Alsace Mobility Crossroads” on youth mobility with 19 local partners, which ended in October 2017. The end of the year was also marked by the start of 2 Strategic Partnership projects: one on social and cultural entrepreneurship with 7 international partners, and the other on digital storytelling in youth work with 5 European partners (member organisations) that will go on until 2019. This year again, the Network grew bigger and welcomed 3 new member organisations at the General Assembly (GA) that took place in Timisoara, Romania in June 2017: United Societies of Balkans (Greece), Youropia (Spain) and Youth Vision (Romania). The GA also elected a new Board of 6 members.
Last but not least, the Coordination Office in Strasbourg, France, welcomed a new employee at the position of Communication Officer. Margaux DOS SANTOS joined the team at the beginning of the year 2017. 2017 was about making things move and evolve towards the inclusion of all young people but, of course, the work of Y-E-N would not be possible without the involvement of all. We would like to thank and congratulate all of you for your hard work: young people, youth/social workers, Board members, volunteers, staff, partners, funders, supporters and friends.
Table of contents
p.1 About Youth Express Network p.1 Executive Board Members p.1 Coordination Office p.2 Vision 2020 p.3 Activity Plan 2017 P.4 Work Plan 2017 P.5 « Living in Europe together: Our Challenge! » P.6 « Working together for an inclusive Europe » P.7 « Shaping Europe together » p.8 Partnership Activities P.9 « ADV-ENT-ure: Joint venture for ENTER ADVocacy » P.10 « Roma Youth, European Youth 4 » (RYEY4) P.11 Other Partnership Activities 2017 p.12 Local Activities P.13 Local activities 2017 : « Alsace Mobility Crossroads » P.14 Other Local Activities 2017 P.15 Communication in 2017 P.16 Participations and political representations in 2017 P.17 Statutory Meetings 2017 P.18 Work Plan 2018
Executive Board Members About Youth Express Network
Youth Express Network (Y-E-N) is an European network of grass-root youth organisations and social initiatives that all work at local, regional and European level on social inclusion of young people. Y-E-N has 30 member organisations in 22 different countries. The Board is pan-European (6 volunteers) and the Coordination Office is based in Strasbourg, France (4 paid-staff). Y-E-N organises, since 25 years, training courses, seminars, cross-border projects, mobile activities for youth/social workers and young people with fewer opportunities. Y-E-N also does researches and studies on youth and social related issues and tries to be the voice of young people with fewer opportunities in local, regional and international institutions, either by representing them or by supporting them to create and be part of youth councils and local youth policies. Y-E-N is a member of the European Youth Forum (YFJ) and the Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) of the Council of Europe.
Ramiz ALIYEV
Romania
Azerbaijan
President
Vice-President
Mariam SAHAKYAN
Iasmin SCUNDEA
Armenia
Romania
Treasurer
Secretary
Vasil TANEV
Gaia CICCONE
Bulgaria
Italy
Board Member
Board Member
Coordination office
In 2017, Y-E-N was financed by: • • • • • •
Mirela LUPU
European Commission (Erasmus+ programme) Council of Europe (European Youth Foundation) Municipality of Strasbourg Local Council of Bas-Rhin Région Grand Est French Ministry of Sports, Youth, Popular Education and Community Life
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Véronique BERTHOLLE
Emmeline KUHN
Secretary General
Network Coordinator
Margaux DOS SANTOS
Brigitte LUDMANN
Communication Officer
Mobility Project Coordinator
Goals When establishing the goals to our vision we decided to work on 3 different levels that we identified in our strategy: young people with fewer opportunities, society and our network. We turned the 3 levels into 3 different goals, each of them having different objectives focusing on reaching the needs identified by our member organisations. Every goal has specific activities through which we will reach the goal and fulfill our vision.
Vision 2020
Goal 1. Social inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities
Steps that we made to develop the Vision 2020
Through this goal and the objectives that subsides it, we wanted to continue to involve in our activities young people with fewer opportunities, youth workers and social workers and to keep the focus on creating opportunities for young people with fewer opportunities to participate in international youth work activities. • Objective 1. Creation of a definition of social inclusion and young people with fewer opportunities inside Y-E-N • Objective 2. Direct work with young people with fewer opportunities on local and international level • Objective 3. Direct work with social workers and youth workers who work with young people with fewer opportunities • Objective 4. Cooperation with other institutions and organisations who work on social inclusion of young people
Following the decision of the General Assembly of Youth Express Network held in Ostia, Italy in June 2013 to research the needs of our member organisations and the young people they work with, the Board decided to create a questionnaire. In September 2013, we asked our members to complete this questionnaire, assess the needs of the youth of their country, and propose topics that Y-E-N should focus on tackling in the future. During Youth Express Network’s Board meetings in Strasbourg in November 2013 and in Gdansk in March 2014, the Board members compiled and worked on all the input from member organisations, the results from the General Assembly working groups and past strategic documents and produced a paper called “Vision 2020”. This strategic document sets our goals for the 3 years to come. It is updated each year at the General Assembly and approved by vote by the attending members.
Goal 2. Active societies towards social inclusion Through this goal and the objectives that subsides it, we wanted to focus our attention to the outside, towards the communities that we live in, towards our societies. We want them to be aware of the disadvantaged young people and to react towards social inclusion. • Objective 1. Raising awareness about the issue of socially excluded young people • Objective 2. Advocacy and lobbying for social inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities at local and European levels • Objective 3. Advocacy and lobbying for recognition of youth work and non-formal learning • Objective 4. Communities take action
The “Vision 2020” paper is founded on the values of human and social rights and the principles of non-formal education, active participation and interculturality. It helps us bring more impact and quality to our work while maintaining the focus on social inclusion of young people. The following version was approved by member’s vote during the General Assembly of 2016, in Strasbourg, France. It was implemented through the activities and initiatives of Y-E-N and our member organisations in 2017.
Goal 3. Strong network Through this goal and the objectives that subsides it, we wanted to focus our attention towards the inside of our network. In order to be able to reach all of our goals and objectives we need to be a stronger network, a network where the quality of our activities is high, where we share experience and competences and where we can collaborate with each other. • Objective 1. Increasing the sense of belonging of our member organisations in Y-E-N • Objective 2. Expending the network geographically in order to reach more young people • Objective 3. Building the capacity building of our member organisations • Objective 4. Improving the quality of Y-E-N services • Objective 5. Improving the visibility of the network • Objective 6. Improving the sustainability and financial stability of the network
Y-E-N Vision 2020 Inclusive society for young people « Youth Express Network considers inclusive a society where young people, their needs and participation are recognised, valued and appreciated. »
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Activity Plan 2017 GOALS AND FIELDS
ACTIVITIES ❖ ❖
SOCIAL INCLUSION
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ACTIVE SOCIETY
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STRONG NETWORK
COMMUNICATION
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“TOG(AE)THER Europe” Work Plan “ADV-ENT-ure” joint Study Session with Youth Social Rights Network, November 2017 “RYEY4” partnership project with Nevo Parudimos (member organisation) French-German cross-border activities for employability of young people (study visits and work placements) “Alsace Mobility Crossroads” regional platform on youth mobility “TOG(AE)THER Europe” Work Plan “ADV-ENT-ure” joint Study Session with Youth Social Rights Network, November 2017 “Alsace Mobility Crossroads” regional platform on youth mobility Local partnership activities Participation in the European Youth Forum (YFJ) and the Council of Europe activities 2017 Participations and political representations of the Network in local and European events “TOG(AE)THER Europe” Work Plan “ADV-ENT-ure” joint Study Session with Youth Social Rights Network, November 2017 “RYEY4” partnership project with Nevo Parudimos (member organisation) Newsletters: 4 “Y-E-N News” (external) and 6 “INSIDERS” (internal) 6 Board Meetings and 1 General Assembly hosted by our member organisations in different countries Communication Officer in the Coordination Office since February 2017 Updates & creation of communication means Working groups on communication Newsletters: 4 “Y-E-N News” (external) and 6 “INSIDERS” (internal)
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Countries
Work Plan 2017 The international activities of Youth Express Network in 2017 were mainly organised within the long-term project “TOG(AE)THER EUROPE: Living, Working and Shaping Europe together” (Work Plan). The Work Plan focused on the future of young people in three different but connected areas: living, working and shaping Europe together. Our aim was to gather Europe under a common goal: build an inclusive society for youth. In order to reach this goal, the activities brought the advocacy to the next step through a Structured Dialogue between young people, youth/social workers and decision-makers at local and European level.
Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Russian Federation, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey
The Work Plan was composed of 3 activities: • “Living in Europe together: Our Challenge” youth seminar hosted by United Societies of Balkans (U.S.B.) in Thessaloniki (Greece), May 2017 • “Working together for an inclusive Europe” networking activity hosted by FITT in Timisoara (Romania), June 2017 • “Shaping Europe together” youth seminar hosted by Y-E-N Coordination Office & L’Etage in Strasbourg (France), October 2017 In total, the Work Plan activities gathered 110 people, coming from 19 different countries and 22 youth organisations.
Library
Vidéos
https://youtu.be/d59U1WuJAWg
This long-term project was financially supported by the European Youth Foundation (EYF) of the Council of Europe and by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Commission.
Graphic Reports
http://youthexpressnetwork.org/
Support
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Blog diaries
http://youthexpressnetwork.org/
Living in Europe Together: Our Challenge!
WORK PLAN ACTIVITY
Hosted by:
YOUTH SEMINAR 8th - 12th of May 2017 - Thessaloniki, GREECE
45 participants -
13 countries -
15 youth organisations
Opportunities
About
✓
The youth seminar “Living in Europe together: Our Challenge!” brought together 45 people coming from 13 different countries and 15 youth organisations. The group was composed of 37 participants (young people with fewer opportunities and youth workers), 5 facilitators, 2 staff persons and 1 graphic reporter. It was the first activity of Y-E-N Work Plan 2017 “TOG(AE)THER EUROPE”.
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The aim of this activity was to find a way of living together, as human beings sharing the same space and giving young people a new role in society. The results of this seminar include: - 9 Action Plans to implement at local level developed by the participants; - 1 video to celebrate Europe Day created by the participants https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=WFtkeiilkOg&t=2s
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Get to know Y-E-N Work Plan 2017, the CoE & EYF and get to work together; Recognise the different faces of Europe but also the similarities between young Europeans; Learn and debate on Human and Social Rights; Improve their intercultural skills by working with people from different countries and deconstructing stereotypes; Enter into dialogue with politicians and young decision makers from the Municipality of Neapolis-Sikies and Thessaloniki; Visit the Cultural Neighbourhood of Sikies, a local and social initiative for unemployed people; Learn about youth policies and youth initiatives in Greece and Thessaloniki; Develop an action plan for an initiative to implement at local level.
Objectives ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣
Understand what it means to be a young person in Europe nowadays by deconstructing prejudices and stereotypes; Define concepts such as “living together” and citizenship; Promote an intercultural dialogue within young people; Empower young people in giving them the chance to redefine their identity and role in society; Identify and recognise in the European history resources and potentials for living in dignity and diversity; Foster young people’s sense of European citizenship and help them feel like they belong to society; Support youth participation and valorise youth initiatives at local level.
Vidéo
https://youtu.be/d59U1WuJAWg
Graphic Report
https://issuu.com/colinerobin/
Blog diaries
http://youthexpressnetwork.org/
Photos https://www.facebook.com/pg/youthexpressnetwork/
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Working Together for an Inclusive Europe
WORK PLAN ACTIVITY
Hosted by:
NETWORKING ACTIVITY 26th - 30th of June 2017 - Timisoara, ROMANIA
21 participants -
13 countries -
17 youth organisations
About
Opportunities ✓
The networking activity “Working together for an inclusive Europe” brought together 21 people coming from 13 different countries and 17 youth organisations. The group was composed by 15 participants (youth workers and project managers), 3 facilitators, 2 staff persons and 1 graphic reporter. It was the second activity of Y-E-N Work Plan 2017 “TOG(AE)THER EUROPE”.
✓ ✓ ✓
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The aim of this activity was to raise the capacity of the network by working together for a diverse and inclusive Europe. The results of this seminar include: - 7 partnership projects developed by the participants; - 1 Toolkit “Inclusive European Youth Projects” created by the participants https://issuu.com/ colinerobin/docs/ toolkit_194dd5785fe9db
✓ ✓
Get acquainted with Y-E-N Work Plan 2017, with the CoE & EYF and get to work together; Exchange views and best practices on concepts such as youth work, social inclusion, social rights and advocacy; Network and work together on common future partnership projects; Meet with local organisations in Timisoara and create links: Basca, Butterfly Dreamer Network, Ambasada and Intercultural Institute of Timisoara; Learn about the “ENTER Recommendation”; Create guidelines compiled in the toolkit “Inclusive European Youth Projects”; Improve their intercultural skills, their communication skills and their project management skills.
Objectives ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣
Recognise the impact of local and international youth work for social inclusion; Encourage our member organisations to engage a follow-up strategy for young people who attended Activity 1; Develop networking and new partnerships among our member organisations; Raise the capacity of our network to claim for a better access to social rights for all young people; Share good and innovative practices on social inclusion of young people at local and European level; Build intercultural strategies at local level using the “Community based Accountability Approach” (from Intercultural Cities Network).
Vidéo
https://youtu.be/rNxZb2XhP38
Graphic Report
https://issuu.com/colinerobin/
Blog diaries
http://youthexpressnetwork.org/
Photos https://www.facebook.com/pg/youthexpressnetwork/
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Shaping Europe Together
WORK PLAN ACTIVITY
Hosted by:
YOUTH SEMINAR 2nd - 5th of October 2017 - Strasbourg, FRANCE
44 participants -
15 countries -
17 youth organisations
About
Opportunities ✓
The youth seminar “Shaping Europe Together” brought together 44 people coming from 15 different countries and 17 youth organisations. The group was composed of 37 participants (young people with fewer opportunities, youth workers and local decisionmakers), 4 facilitators, 2 staff persons and 1 graphic reporter. It was the third and last activity of YE-N Work Plan 2017 “TOG(AE)THER EUROPE”.
✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓
The aim of this activity was to “shape Europe together” by boosting youth participation in policy-making and to advocate for a life in dignity for every young person in Europe. The results of this seminar include: - 5 concrete examples of action to take at local level implementing a recommendation from the “ENTER Recommendation”; - 37 multipliers for the “ENTER Recommendation”.
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Get acknowledge with Y-E-N Work Plan 2017, with the CoE & EYF and get to work together; Experience decision-making processes; Acquire competences in claiming for Social Rights, advocacy & lobbying; Learn about the ENTER project & Recommendation with a representative of the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe & with European NGOs (European Youth Forum and JEF France) about advocacy; Visit the European Parliament and the local event “Weeks for Equality” from the Municipality of Strasbourg in collaboration with local NGOs; Develop a concrete example of action to take at local level implementing the “ENTER Recommendation”; Enter into dialogue with 4 decisionmakers at local and European level ; Evaluate the Work Plan 2017.
Objectives
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Evaluate the impact of the whole Work Plan 2017 on participants and organisations involved; Give advocacy and lobbying tools for young people to claim for their rights; Encourage youth participation at local, national and European level; Raise awareness, among decision-makers, on access to Social Rights of young people; Promote the role of young people and youth/social workers to participate to policy-making fostering social inclusion for youth; Present and disseminate the “ENTER Recommendation”.
Vidéo
https://youtu.be/kWCHHfN1k8k
Graphic Report
https://issuu.com/colinerobin/
Blog diaries
http://youthexpressnetwork.org/
Photos https://www.facebook.com/pg/youthexpressnetwork/
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Partnership Activities
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Adv-Ent-ure: Joint Venture for Enter Advocacy
PARTNERSHIP ACTIVITY
In collaboration with:
JOINT STUDY SESSION 13th - 17th of November 2017 - Strasbourg, FRANCE 35 participants
19 countries
27 youth councils AND Organisations
About
Opportunities ✓ Getting to know each other, the
“ADV-ENT-ure” was a joint Study Session from Youth Express Network and Youth Social Rights Network, organised in cooperation with the European Youth Centre of Strasbourg from the Council of Europe. It brought together 35 people coming from 19 different countries. The group was composed of 28 participants (young representatives of youth NGOs and National Youth Councils), 4 facilitators, 1 course director, 1 pedagogical advisor and 1 expert in graphic recording. The aim of this Study Session was to reach Youth Councils and youth organisations working closely with authorities at local and national level, and to increase their capacities to improve the access on Social Rights of young people and the implementation of the “ENTER Recommendation”. The results of the Study Session include different tools to advocate for Social Rights and for the implementation of the “ENTER Recommendation”: • An open letter • A youth friendly version of the “ENTER Recommendation” • An online assessment tool destined to youth organisations and Youth Councils.
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Youth Department of the Council of Europe and other youth NGOs and Youth Councils; Getting familiar with Social Rights, the decision-making process, the ENTER project and the No Hate Speech Movement; Share and exchange good practices on youth participation; Meet with the Youth Council of the Municipality of Strasbourg; Reflect on the role of Youth Councils at local and national level; Learn about advocacy and how to take action; Develop and create tools to support youth NGOs and Youth Councils to advocate for Social Rights and for the implementation of the “ENTER Recommendation”.
Objectives
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To deepen their knowledge and understanding of social rights and map ways of addressing social rights challenges in different realities; To introduce CM/REC (2015)3 Recommendation to youth councils; To map what is already being done, what needs to be improved, what needs to be started in relation to Recommendation in different realities; To increase competences for advocating and draft plans and tools for improvement of access to social rights and implementation of the CM/ REC (2015)3 Recommendation at local level.
Vidéo
https://youtu.be/kpmOyu02mQU
Blog diaries
http://youthexpressnetwork.org/
Photos
https://www.facebook.com/pg/youthexpressnetwork/
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PARTNERSHIP ACTIVITY
Roma Youth, European Youth 4 (RYEY4) PARTNERSHIP PROJECT ROMANIA
7 Countries
7 partner Organisations
About “Roma Youth, European Youth 4” was a long-term project coordinated by Nevo Parudimos (Romania, Y-E-N member organisation) and together with 6 partners: • Egyutthato Kozossegepito Egyesülete (Hungary) • Asociacion Multicultural Nakelamos (Spain) • Roma (Macedonia FYROM) • Integro Association (Bulgaria) • Stranaidea (Italy) • Youth Express Network
The project was supported by the European Commission within the Erasmus+ programme.
Activities
Objectives enable the 7 partner NGO’s to work with young Roma; ‣ To increase the use of the guide “9 steps in working with ‣ To Roma youngsters”; increase the participation of young Roma; ‣ To promote non-formal education and practical life ‣ To learning for Roma young people.
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The project was composed of 3 activities: ✓A training course (16-24 January 2017) gathering 21 young volunteers and youth workers in Herculane (Romania); ✓A practical activity to put in practice the training course at local level with a group of young people; ✓An evaluation and exchange seminar (1-9 June 2017) in Milcoveni Village, Berliste Town (Romania).
Other Partnership Activities
Activities supported by
Activities supported by
(France - Germany)
(France - Germany)
The OFAJ/DFJW
In collaboration with Arbeit und Leben, Y-E-N hosted groups of young German vocational school students all throughout the year in Strasbourg for thematic visits according to their field: gastronomy, education, electrotechnics etc.
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Group of 12 apprentice childcare workers from Weiden (Germany), from 4th to 8th of March 2017, partner school: IFCAAD in Schiltigheim (France) Group of 12 apprentices in gastronomy from Zittau (Germany), from 12th to 19th of March 2017, partner school: CEFPPA in Illkirch (France) Group of 20 apprentice electrotechnicians from Uedingen (Germany), from 19th to 24th November 2017, partner school: Lycée Couffignal in Strasbourg (France)
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Erasmus +
Some participants to the thematic visits decided to come back to the other side of the Rhine for a short- or a long-term work placement in Strasbourg. This opportunity offers them the chance to practice different techniques related to their future jobs in an intercultural frame.
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4 trainees in childcare work (French-German kindergartens: Flick Flack, Les Tout Petits d’Alsace, La Souris Verte & Schnipp-Schnapp in Strasbourg) from 29th of October to 18th of November 2017 (3 weeks)
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1 trainee in pastry cooking (Pâtisserie Heiligenstein in Strasbourg) from 27th of November 2017 to 4th of February 2018 (10 weeks)
Local Activities
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Alsace Mobility Crossroads SEPTEMBER 2015 - OCTOBER 2017
50 activities in 2017 - 2453 people REACHED 1411 young people / 1042 adults Alsace Mobility Crossroads is a regional platform bringing together actors from the youth cross-border, European and international mobility: structures specialised in orientation, guidance and information as well as major federations of non-formal education organisations and institutions (Municipalities, counties and region). This platform supported and implemented a programme to inform and support young people in their mobility project. The programme included: Europe Month (May 2017), European Youth Mobility Month (February), training courses, partnership building activities, info days and info sessions, sensitisation workshops, radio and local TV interviews… The project ended in October 2017 under this format, but the partnership will go on. The objectives were to: Inform young people about mobility opportunities and help them access these opportunities; Inform and train youth practitioners to promote actively youth mobility; Inform youth leaders, local decision-makers about cross-border, European and international mobility of young people; Communicate about the added value of cross-border, European and international mobility of young people.
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Other Activities:
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Activities supported by
The Upper Rhine Conference Cooperation Fund
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Information meeting for youth workers about youth mobilities at the Maison des Associations (House of organisations) of Strasbourg, 28th February 2017 & 9th May 2017
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Workshop on international youth mobility Lycée Camille Sée (high school) in • Colmar, 30th May 2017
Video interviews of 4 local deputies, all throughout the year
(France - Germany - Switzerland)
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Project Market
Hosted at the European Youth Center, in Strasbourg, FRANCE, on 6th March 2017
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Project Market
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Hosted by Pamina in Bad Bergzabern, GERMANY, on 23th March 2017
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Information meeting on the EVS and youth mobility PIJ (youth information centre) of Schiltigheim, 14th June 2017
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Information booth on the platform and youth mobilities at the “Fête des associations” (organisations’ fair) of Mulhouse, 17th June 2017 & at the “Rentrée des associations” (organisations’ fair) of Strasbourg, 23-24 September 2017 Evaluation meeting and workshop on the future of the platform at the Maison des Associations (House of organisations) of Strasbourg, 25th October 2017
Other Local Activities - IPA - Hosting & organising meetings for the mobile initiative by bike “No Walls, More Words” in Strasbourg (France), 3-4th May 2017 - Foyer Notre-Dame - Intervention on youth and volunteering for the “Fête de la Jeunesse” (youth fest) in Strasbourg (France), 24th May 2017 - CEMEA - Workshop on interculturality for the DJEPS in Strasbourg (France), 26th June 2017 - Alsace Mouvement Associatif & Région Grand Est - Workshop on “How to foster the involvement of young people in organisations” for the “Matinée d’échange interassociative” (meeting between organisations) in Strasbourg (France), 2nd December 2017 (60 participants)
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Communication Between 2014 and 2017, Y-E-N Communication strategy was determined and applied by a Communication working group, composed of SAYers (members of Y-E-N Pool of Resources), Board Members and volunteer participants. Since February 2017, Y-E-N Coordination Office has welcomed a Communication Officer, Margaux DOS SANTOS, who is in charge of the external and internal communication of Y-E-N, in collaboration with several working groups. New in 2017: - Refreshing of Y-E-N website in English and French: new settings, regular articles on the Blog, updated Library. - More visible Facebook page: increased number of “likes”, photo albums, verified page. - Regular newsletters: 4 editions of “YE-N News” (external newsletter) and 4 editions of the “INSIDER” (internal newsletter) - Improvement of the YouTube channel: Video diaries (Vlogs) of each international activity of the year - More presence on social media: creation of a Twitter and Instagram account.
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Participations and Political Representations •
European Youth Convention of JEF France in Strasbourg (France), March 2017
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Training course “The Art of Dialogue” - KA3 Structured Dialogue project of the Austrian Erasmus+ National Agency- in Vienna (Austria), March 2017
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Activities of the No Hate Speech Movement of the Council of Europe: 2 local activities in Strasbourg (France), March & June 2017 and 1 regional Training Course on the “Bookmarks” in Porto (Portugal), April 2017
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Statutory Meetings of the European Youth Forum (YFJ) in Brussels (Belgium), April 2017 & in Cascais (Portugal), November 2017 - Y-EN is a candidate member
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Meetings of the project “Becoming a Part of Europe - How youth work can support migrants, refugees and asylum seekers” KA3 Networking of Erasmus+ National Agencies project- in Paris (France), May 2017 & in Braga (Portugal), September 2017
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Meetings of the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe & Participation to the 30th International Day for the Eradication of Poverty in Strasbourg (France), October 2017
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Meeting of the 6th Cycle on Structured Dialogue in Tallinn (Estonia), October 2017
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World Forum for Democracy 2017 of the Council of Europe and the Municipality of Strasbourg in Strasbourg (France), November 2017
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Brigitte LUDMANN is the Vice-President of the Maison des Associations (House of organisations) of Strasbourg since June 2014
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Statutory Meetings There were 6 Board Meetings in 2017: 25-26th of March in Thessaloniki (Greece) 3-4th of June in Blagoevgrad (Bulgaria) 24th of June in Timisoara (Romania) 26th of June in Timisoara (Romania) 2-3rd of September in Strasbourg (France) 17-18-19th November in Strasbourg (France)
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General Assembly
Y-E-N General Assembly 2017 took place on June 25th in Timisoara (Romania) and was facilitated by Ghita PETRUS, Board Member of our partner organisation Butterfly Dreamer Network.
The event gathered 17 people (14 representatives of organisations and 3 staff persons) where 16 member organisations were represented, i.e. 53% of our members.
MEMBERS REPRESENTED:
Federation of Youth Clubs in Armenia, Common Sense Youth Organisation, League of Youth Voluntary Service, PRONI, Active Bulgarian Society, L’Etage, Institute for Democratic Changes, Affabulazione, Kosovo Youth Centres’ Network, Centrul de Voluntariat Resita, Intercultural Institute of Timisoara, Civic Resource Centre, Nevo Parudimos, Youropia, The Exchangeables, Youth for Understanding Turkey.
The GA welcomed 3 new organisations in the Network: United Societies of Balkans (Greece) Youth Vision (Romania) Youropia (Spain)
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The GA also elected a new Board: Mirela LUPU (re-elected), President Ramiz ALIYEV (still in mandate), Vice-President Iasmin SCUNDEA (newly elected), Secretary Mariam SAHAKYAN (still in mandate), Treasurer Vasil TANEV (still in mandate), Board Member Gaia CICCONE (newly elected), Board Member
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Work Plan 2018
Other Projects Youth Express Network is also coordinating 2 Strategic Partnership projects within the Erasmus+ programme from the end of 2017 and ongoing until 2019:
Youth Express Network General Assembly 2017 adopted the Work Plan for 2018:
“EU4YOU” on social and cultural entrepreneurship with 7 international partners from Argentina, Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania, Mexico, Peru and Vietnam: 2 seminars and job shadowing exchanges planned for 2018.
“The Art of Social Inclusion” (ArtSI) The main aim of the Work plan is to empower young people to take action towards social inclusion.
“DIGITALISE IT!” on digital storytelling in youth work with 5 European partners (member organisations) from Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands: 2 transnational meetings and 2 Training Courses planned for 2018.
The objectives of this Work Plan are to: ✓ Understand the process of social inclusion nowadays; ✓ Develop competences of youth workers, facilitators and social workers in facilitating local and European activities for social inclusion; ✓ Try out and experiment different tools and methods to work on social inclusion; ✓ Support and valorise young people’s actions at local level; ✓ Learn / become active and inclusive.
Support:
Youth Express Network is 25!
4 activities will be organised: • 1 Training of Trainers “The Art of Togetherness” for youth workers and facilitators in Strasbourg (FRANCE), May 2018 • 3 regional Youth Meetings “ALL Inclusive” for young people with fewer opportunities in Tbilisi (Georgia), July 2018 / in Zakopane (Poland), August 2018 / in Rahovec (Kosovo), September 2018
Last but not least, 2018 will also be a very special year for Youth Express Network: we will celebrate its 25th anniversary!
A lot of online and off-line activities are planned to celebrate the year: - #25Stories: video interviews of the actors from the Network since its creation - #12Actions: monthly action days on the “ENTER Recommendation” - A Facebook Challenge with testimonies from Y-E-N community - Several celebrations throughout the year!
The year will end with a 5th activity: an Advanced Training of Trainers for participants who took part in the Work Plan activities in Strasbourg (France), November 2018. Support:
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This report has been written by Emmeline KUHN and edited by Margaux DOS SANTOS from the coordination office of the Youth Express Network. It shows all the different aspects of our activities in 2017. It does not represent the official point of view of our funders.
RESEAU EXPRESS JEUNES YOUTH EXPRESS NETWORK Maison des Associations 1a Place des Orphelins 67000 Strasbourg France Tel: +33 (0)3 88 35 37 45 Email: Website:
y-e-n@wanadoo.fr
youthexpressnetwork.org