European Youth Together

European Youth Together

European Youth Together is an Action implemented under the Key Action 3 - Support to Policy Development and Cooperation of the Erasmus+ Programme.

Key Action 3 provides support to policy cooperation at European Union level, thereby contributing to the implementation of existing policies and the development of new policies, which can trigger modernisation and reforms, at European Union, and systems' level, in the fields of education, training youth and sport.

The European Youth Together action is targeting both youth organisations at grass root level and larger organisations and supporting partnerships across borders. Activities under this action should contribute to widening the outreach towards young people to ensure a diversity of voices and reach a diverse range of young people within and beyond youth organisations, including youth with fewer opportunities. They should involve a variety of traditional and digital channels and facilitate the development of partnerships and networks, enabling participation and access for grassroots NGOs and youth movements.

European Youth Together projects aim to create networks promoting regional partnerships, to be run in close cooperation with young people from across Europe (EU Member States and third countries associated to the programme). The networks should organise exchanges, promote trainings (for instance for youth leaders) and allow for young people themselves to set up joint projects, all of which can be done through both physical and online activities.

OBJECTIVES OF THE ACTION

European Youth Together projects aim to create cooperation, enabling young people across Europe to set up joint projects, organise exchanges and promote trainings (e.g. for youth leaders/ youth workers) through both physical and online activities. The action will support transnational partnerships for youth organisations from both grassroots and large-scale level, aiming to reinforce the European dimension of their activities.

Important thematic priorities are working with and promoting the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027^[1] and the European Youth Goals. The European Youth Goals are also reflected in the President von der Leyen Commission’s political guidelines^[2]. Project proposals may also treat the legacy of the European Year of Youth 2022 and the outcomes of the ‘Conference for the Future of Europe’. The European Parliament elections in 2024 are relevant in the context of this action.

Youth networks should consider ways of forging solidarity and inclusiveness in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

The action seeks to specifically support at least one of the following specific objectives:

• the promotion and development of more transnational structured cooperation, online and offline, between different youth organisations to build or strengthen partnerships focusing on solidarity and inclusive democratic participation of all against a backdrop of the backlashes on socio-economic structures and in line with the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027, the European Youth Goals, the EU Youth Dialogue and the European Year of Youth 2022.
• the promotion of the six core EU values^[3] that form the basis of our society: Respect for human dignity; Freedom; Democracy; Equality, Rule of law and Respect for human rights, including those of minorities.
• youth organisations involved in initiatives to encourage young people to participate in the democratic process and in society by organising trainings, showcase commonalities among young Europeans and encourage discussion and debate on their connection to the EU, its values and democratic foundations. This includes organising events as a lead-up to the 2024 elections to the European Parliament and beyond, the promotion of participation of underrepresented groups of young people in politics, youth organisations and other civil society organisations by engaging youth with fewer opportunities such as vulnerable and socio-economic disadvantaged youth;
• new ways to empower youth organisations, by supporting innovative ways of cooperation and network creation, development and management. Indicatively, this could include enhancing collaboration between youth organisations in a digital context through non-formal learning methods and organisational models such as alternative modes of exchanges and mutual aid.
• the reinforcement of the European dimension of the activities of grassroots youth organisations, including activities on how to live better together and helping to design sustainable future ways of living transnationally, in line with the European Green Deal and the New European Bauhaus initiative^[4].

ACTIVITIES

The action targets NGOs (not for profit) and public bodies, which propose projects with a capacity to mobilise young people in partnerships covering different countries and regions within the EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme and to contribute to the development and implementation of the EU Youth Strategy, policy formulation and interaction with major stakeholders in the field of Youth.

Mobility activities for young people may form a key component of European Youth Together projects. This mobility should offer cross-border exchanges and non-formal or informal training opportunities for young people from across Europe that can be prepared and supported through online fora to contribute to the objectives of this action. These mobility activities must be very clearly justified according to the objectives of the action and principles of value for money.

All the activities should contribute to broadening the outreach towards youth, reaching young people both within and beyond youth organisations including youth with fewer opportunities, to ensure a diversity of voices is heard^[5].

[1] Resolution of the Council of the European Union and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council on a framework for European cooperation in the youth field: The European Union Youth Strategy 2019-2027 (europa.eu)

[2] The von der Leyen Commission (europa.eu)

[3] C_2012326EN.01001301.xml (europa.eu)

[4] New European Bauhaus: beautiful, sustainable, together. (europa.eu)

[5] Implementation guidelines - Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps Inclusion and Diversity Strategy - https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/document/implementation-guidelines-erasmus-and-european-solidarity-corps-inclusion-and-diversity-strategy