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We know Euroscepticism is recognized as a principled opposition to the EU and European integration and therefore can be seen in parties who think that their countries should withdraw from membership, and who are gaining more power. Citienzs and young people in EU are being influenced more by Euroscepticism, with this project we want to combat ignorance and take a concrete step in making young people (and the citizens affected by the project) understand what are the real opportunities and positive life standards provided by EU. We want to carry out this project as a consequence and follow-up activity result of the previous Erasmus+ Project "E.U. and Us", realized in 2017. The focus and the key action of the project was a Youth Exchange that took place in Orta Nova, Italy, in May. The topic of the previous project was European Citizenship, Youth Participation as an answer to Euroscepticism. For these reasons, we thought of planning a second project on the same topic but with a focus on the second step of just seeing the advantages of European Unity and Fosterity. This second step on the topic will move to the concrete aspects of what EU does for Citizens and what are Citizens supposed to do for EU. We would like to implement a project which aims to: Make participants understand a concrete point of view of what EU is doing for citizens; Support young people in finding their role in society, by giving them instruments and and a clear understanding of their opportunities; Encourage young people to take concrete actions in the defense of their rights, duties, and role in the present and future of Europe; Foster active youth participation, helping young people to become agents of positive change in their society and in Europe; Develop a better understanding of the concepts of democracy, citizenship and participation; Fight ignorance on European Union, Euroscepticism and sharing a positive attitude towards EU and Europeanism; Increase the awareness among young people on social issues the EU is facing;
This project is highly linked with the Erasmus+ Programme specific actions since it is referring to improve the level of key competences and skills of young people, including those with fewer opportunities, as well as to promote participation in democratic life in Europe and active citizenship, intercultural dialogue, social inclusion and solidarity, in particular through increased learning mobility opportunities for young people, those active in youth work or youth organisations and youth leaders, and through strengthened links between the youth field; Learning outcomes of participants will be, indeed: They will understand what are the opportunities for young people and citizens provided by EU; They will be more able to discuss political and social topics seriously; They will be more receptive to Europe's multiculturalism; They will be more committed to work against discrimination, intolerance, xenophobia or racism; They will be more willing to take action to change the things that do not work in their surroundings; They will be more aware of the fact that some people in our society are disadvantaged; They will be more willing to express their opinions to the others and stand for them; As one of the issues in EU is nowadays the promoting the diversity and intercultural dialogue as the project focuses on development of attitude on social issues the EU is facing, the project covers the priority of increasing the critical thinking and sense of initiative of young people.
Each partner organization will send 4 participants & 1 group leader Participants & Leaders who are motivated to work on project topic, to develop their skills on project/campaign organizing, who are willing to be challenged by non formal education methods should be advantaged by this priority selection criteria. After the selection of participant by partner organizations, participants and leaders are required to fill in the form at the following link by March 1 st : https://goo.gl/forms/jn4h4y98h4g1 Nzg22 Participants and Leaders must agre to take part in the whole duration of the Youth Exchange (from April 3 rd to 10 th ); Ideal profile & background of Participants is: - Aged between 18 and 25 years old; - Interested in social issues and civil rights. Basic level of English Language; - Preferably half of the group should belong to minority groups, economical or geographical obstacles (young people with fewer opportunities); Ideal profile & background of Group Leaders is: - Aged 18+, with capacity to support his/her group in all the duration of the activities and processes. - Leaders will be preferably people active in partner organizations, that have previously participated as participant and/or leader to any youth project national or international levels, or facilitated a Youth Exchange/Training. - Fluent level of English Language (they will also need to translate and support communications for those participants in their national groups who have a poor level of English language);
The best way to get to the venue for the Youth Exchange is to fly to Bari Airport. Wizzair and Ryanair have cheap connections to Bari so we recommend you to check on their websites. If you cannot find a connection to Bari Airport, you can choose another airport in Italy and then come to our region by train or bus. For flights to Bari: www.ryanair.com & https://wizzair.com Italian Railways: www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en Flixbus: www.flixbus.com Before buying your tickets contact us so we can support you in findind your best way to reach the venue! IMPORTANT: We still don t have a more precise information about the venue of the project, but it will be surely in Bari area, in the north of Puglia Region! So start organizing your travel but please wait for our confirmation before booking!
Arrival and departure day of the Youth Exchange are: April 3 rd and 10 th. You are strongly recommend to arrive to the venue before 5pm on the 3 rd and to plan your departure after 9am on the 10 th. Eligible days accepted from the National Agency for extending your stay in Italy and be fully reimbursed by our organization are up to 2 days more. (Examples of traveling days are: April 1 st -10 th, April 2 nd -11 th, April 3 rd -12 th.) Travel route must be approved by us, so before booking your flights inform us and wait for our approval. Deadline for reserving flight tickets is: March 10 th. Don t forget to keep all your tickets, receipts, reservations and boarding passes! In case of missing documentation we will NOT be able to reimburse you! Needed travel documents for the reimboursement: Flight tickets choose second class, cheaper flights. For flight tickets you will have to provide: Ticket Reservation (you receive it online after you buy your flight, on which you find the cost of the ticket) & Boarding pass (for both ways, printed in original). Train, Bus and Shuttle tickets - make sure the date, the itinerary and the price are visible on the ticket, if you can get an invoice is better; Transport by taxi or Rent-a-Car reimbursement is allowed only if public transport is not available; a personal written declaration will be needed. (Before using it you can speak with us in order to arrange a cheaper solution if possible); Please avoid app or mobile tickets since it makes it difficult to save the proof.
Following costs will be covered by project budget: 100% costs for accommodation, 100% costs for 3 meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) & 2 coffee-break per day; Travel costs (from your house to the venue) will be reimbursed according to distance (please check table below). Reimbursement of travel costs will be done after all travel documents and payment proofs will be collected. Reimbursement will be transferred on the organization bank account. Organization Country N of Participants Max sum per participant Max sum per group Beyond Borders Italy 7 0 0 ICDET Bulgaria 5 275 1375 Pozitiva Samobor Croatia 5 275 1375 SYTEV Slovakia 5 275 1375 ATDD Romania 5 275 1375 Zmiana Tematu Poland 5 275 1375 Leaders must collect all travel document for their group in this Drive Folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fjisdqotlkj5heclg92kdwenl_z-0kc7?usp=sharing After having collected all printed original forms, they will have to take pictures/scans and put them together with the digital version of tickets. Please find in the Drive Folder also an Excel file as Reimbursement guide to fill in. Reimbursement will be completed only when all documents are correctly collected.
Work in progress
After you have been selected to take part in the Youth Exchange, remember to follow these few steps: Prepare topic Fill in the following form by March 1 st : https://goo.gl/forms/jn4h4y98h4g1nzg22 Reserve your tickets by March 10 th. Join the official Facebook group, where we will share more info and updates about the project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/141163109920515 Cultural Night: Every national group of participants from one country will need to present their culture on the intercultural evening. You can bring some traditional food, show traditional dances and tell interesting facts about your Country. Safety and Insurance: the project budget will not cover a travel insurance, by the way we highly recommend to get an European Insurance Card; Last but not least: BRING YOUR SMILE AND ALL YOUR POSITIVE ENERGY, ITALY IS WAITING FOR YOU!
Our email where you can get in contact with us for any information or support: associazionebeyondborders@gmail.com Our phone numbers & FB contact: (we are using Whatsapp & Facetime!) Rocco Di Corato +39 327 00 96 476 www.facebook.com/rockdik Elena Torelli +39 349 42 79 135 www.facebook.com/elenatorelli.91 Facebook Beyond Borders Italy (www.facebook.com/beyondbordersitaly) Twitter @BeyondBordersIt Instagram @beyondbordersitaly Youtube Beyond Borders Italy (www.youtube.com/channel/ucq4xtftmk157elo UG3k-7iQ) Website http://associazionebeyondborders.blogspot.it
Beyond Borders is a cultural association legally founded in July 2014 in Corato, Apulia, a region in Southern Italy. The aim of the organization is to spread culture and foreign cultures among youngsters, allowing them to go beyond their cultural, mental, and geographical limits. The team of the organization is composed only by young people, who are the decision maker of the objectives and activities of the organization. Beyond Borders rose from collecting ideas, experiences and dreams of a group of friends who care about their environment and love the idea of mobility as tool for exploring and learning about foreign cultures and Countries. Culture is a Key Word for Beyond Borders, we concern about every shade it contains, and we strongly believe in our own place, from where everything started and took shape in our minds and feelings. From the beginning, Beyond Borders defined several objectives as association such as spreading mobility for young people, social inclusion, active citizenship and the development of a European culture among youngsters. The main goal of Beyond Borders is the mobility of young people. In these first few years of activity several youngsters and youth-workers from our local community and other regions in Italy travelled by taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the Erasmus+ programme.