In this publication, readers can find 27 good practices to fight unemployment through social economy; based on the experiences in Italy, Spain and Greece. Hence, the latter three countries represent the hosting places of the RECRUIT project partners; which benefitting from their expertise and the activities done within the project, have collected them in this publication.


Within the INCLUDATE* (Educating for Inclusion) project, ALDA organised a PanEU International Conference to make partners share their activities and findings during the first year of its implementation. INCLUDATE aims to include people with a migrant background to share their experiences throughout the storytelling and to imagine together possible solutions to shared issues. 

ALDA works with members and partners to develop projects supporting its mission to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda; in this specific case, the INCLUDATE project tries to fulfil SDG 4, which aims “to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”

During the PanEu Conference, every partner presented the result of the activities they implemented:

  • “Berlin-Mitte: great location but few happy places” – Polnischer Sozialrat e.V.
  • “I did not understand how to function in the city and what formal steps should I take after moving”: experience of migrants’ living in Gdynia – MOPS
  • “This is our country too”: life in Palermo through the eyes of migrants – Per Esempio Onlus 
  • “On its best day Copenhagen is heaven, and on its worst I feel like all its doors are closing on me” A look into the lives of people of migrant backgrounds living in Copenhagen. – Crossing Borders.

The activities’ outcomes were pretty much similar, even though the partners are located in 6 different European countries. 

During the second part of the meeting, the discussion focused on three different topics: Housing, Services and Education. The workshops were carried out by organisations’ representatives and participants discussed different issues and questions, sharing their experience related to Housing/Education/Services taken from their  personal or professional life. 

The results from the three workshops were similar and it came out that the biggest issue migrants face in their everyday life is linked to the language.


The biggest issue migrants face in their everyday life is linked to the language.


Accordingly, the language barrier shows its negative effects in every field: at school, in accessing the health system, in finding a job that they are specialised to carry out. Other problems related to the job market concern the impossibility to recognise migrants’ diplomas or specialisation certificates acquired in their home country.

Among ALDA’s values, inclusion and integration are key: with a specific Thematic Hub on Gender, Inclusion, and Human Rights the work on these topics through EU-funded projects increases everyday. Inclusion of migrants, specially marginalised ones, is at the heart of the INCLUDATE project, and this Conference represented another opportunity for ALDA to work on this topic.

ALDA looks forward to taking part in last year’s project development and training with partner organisations. 

Subscribe to the project’s newsletter to keep yourself informed!

*INCLUDATE is a project developed in the framework of the Erasmus+ Programme, and its actions are planned to actively further the Erasmus Strategy for Inclusion and Diversity. 

***

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Extended deadline: 01 May 2023

Ideas for Europe: Local Academy Training in the peri-urban and rural areas

  • Are you a local authority (public employee, collaborator,  city manager, director,  local administrator, policy maker etc.)?
  • Are you coming from Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Malta, Hungary, Latvia or Lithuania?
  • Do you want to gain new skills and knowledge in order to increase citizens participation in your territory? 

Then, you should participate in this call!

ALDA – European Association for Local Democracy, in the framework of the Ideas 4 Europe project,  would like to invite you to participate in the Local Academy Training organised in the framework of the I4E project, co-funded by the EU funding programme CERV, aiming to boost political participation with a focus on citizen and young people living in peri-urban and rural areas. 

🎯Objective of The Local Academy Training: it will aim at increasing the capacity of local practitioners, officials and managers to construct an active and fruitful dialogue with citizens and communities towards participatory process in the definition of local policies and improve citizens engagement.


Local Authorities in Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Malta, Hungary, Latvia or Lithuania register to the  Local Academy Training aiming to boost political participation in peri-urban and rural areas


📋 Programme: the training will offer an intensive and strategic learning environment through three thematic modules: 

  1. Good democratic governance with a particular focus on the 12 principles of Good democratic governance outlined by the CoE;
  2. Participatory instruments (i.e. participative budget, committees of citizens etc.) 
  3. Local context related to specific needs identified by the participants

The training will target especially participants coming from countries with the lowest participation rate in the European elections, namely,  Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Malta, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, with a particular focus on peri-urban and rural areas. Nevertheless, anyone interested in the training course coming from any other EU countries is very welcome to participate!

***
Useful Info:

The training will take place in Vicenza (Italy) and will last two full days, on 20 & 21 June 2023.

  • Accommodation and lunches will be covered by ALDA;
  • Board costs will be covered for a maximum of 30€ per person (evidence of expenditure will be required) by ALDA;
  • Travel costs will be partially covered for a maximum of 100€ per person (evidence of expenditure will be required) by ALDA.

If you are interested, please fill out the form by 01 May 2023.
For any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Anita Lugli 

***

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On March 1-3 2023 ALDA participated in the Civil Society Days held in Brussels, thus engaging with other Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and contributing to the creation of a civic space with Europe, with a focus on the new digital era and on the 2024 European Parliament elections.

With a workshop dedicated to Youth and Digital, entitled “Digital participation and digital rights in the European public space: a focus on youth“, ALDA’s Project Manager Dafne Sgarra, coordinating and representing the Thematic Hub on Youth empowerment and education, took part in the event illustrating the added value of the Association in terms of youth empowerment and engagement, especially in the digital area.

Hence, based on these competences, the Civil Society Days marked an opportunity to present and promote the P-CUBE project, developed within our Thematic Hub on Youth empowerment and education. The project aims at helping youngsters learn how decisions are taken in the public sphere by covering the individual elements of the policy making process, placing special emphasis on four main fields: urban innovation, social inclusion, EU decision making, and science and public policy. 


CivSocDays 2023: illustrating the added value of the Association in terms of youth empowerment and promotion of citizens participation


A second workshop, entitled “Debating EU outside the capitals“, co-organised with the Union of European Federalists (UEF), focused on the key role of CSOs in reaching out citizens to bring the debate on the future of Europe outside EU capitals.

This thematic appears to be extremely important nowadays, due to the growing distrust that citizens nourish towards politicians and democratic institutions, as well as the rise of nationalisms. ALDA wanted to present recommendations to engage with people in a constructive way and coordinate efforts to make the upcoming EP elections as an opportunity to strengthen civic space and stimulate the debate on EU values.

The workshop concluded by stating the key role of CSOs in being bridge builders between citizens and the European Institutions, and enhance the participation of the former at all levels.

During the Civil Society Days 2023, ALDA delegation had the pleasure to meet in person Ms. Katrina Leitane, member of the EESC Civil Society Organisations’ Group and Representative of the National Youth Council of Latvia. It was an important moment to share some knowledge and to discuss potential future collaborations!

***

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©EU 2023 – source: EESC

The brand-new office in Brussels hosted the first ALDA Governing Board meeting for this 2023. In an atmosphere of renovated joy, so meet again after months, the delegates gathered on Friday 3 March 2023 to update on the recent mission to Ukraine, and the development of the LDAs in the Country.

Hence, the commitment to work in cooperation with the local realities, and to support resilient communities was testified by the appointment of Ms. Pylypenko, delegate of the LDA of the Drnipropetrovsk Region, as Statutory Member within the Governing Board, representing the whole LDAs network. Her presence will be a further stimulus both to implement the initiatives of #ALDAforUkraine, and to reinforce the bond with the Association and the Agencies.

If the LDAs are at the heart of the Association, and so are the Members. Hence, the latter are key partners in actualizing the strategies and projects. Therefore, three new members intervened in the meeting, be they the representatives of the following members’ organisations: “Mediterranean CitizensAssembly Foundation” (Spain); “Mariupol State University” (Ukraine), and “I am Buchanets” (Ukraine).


The Governing Board reunited in the new office in Brussels, for the firs meeting of this new 2023


Besides, Ms. Besozzi, Coordinator of Civil Society Europe, also attended the Board, being a strong partner of ALDA, already engaged with the Association in several actions, among which the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Finally, the Board discussed together the upcoming General Assembly of ALDA, which will gather together the whole team, the members and partners, marking every year a milestone event in the association’s institutional calendar.

***
The representatives of the LDAs, in turn, become metres of the ALDA Governing Board for a limited period, so as to ensure a varied and relevant representation.

On 30 November 2022, the Kick-off meeting of the “H.I.L.L.- Habitat in Living Landscape” project was held in the Municipality of Monte di Malo.  

The project will last three years and it aims to protect the natural territory of Monte di Malo, focusing on two sites considered Special Areas of Conservation (SACs): “Buso della Rana” and “Le Poscole”.

The event, organised by the lead partner, the Municipality of Monte di Malo, was attended by the project partners (Cooperativa Biosphaera, ALDA Italia Aps, Federazione Speleologica Veneta, Gruppo CAI di Malo, Rete Musei Alto Vicentino and the Istituto Comprensivo “G. Ciscato”) as well as numerous citizens and stakeholders. The project was made possible thanks to the funding provided by Fondazione Cariverona and the co-founding from the partners. 

The evening began with greetings from the municipal administration represented by the Mayor of Monte di Malo, Mosè Squarzon, who strongly advocated for the project. It followed by a speech of Michele Ferretto, from the Biosphaera Cooperative, who illustrated to the participants the project and its objectives, which will involve three areas: natural heritage, cultural heritage and education/awareness-raising.


The project aims at protecting the natural territory of Monte di Malo, focusing on two sites considered Special Areas of Conservation (SACs)


Within the framework of the first area, scientific surveys will be carried out, the Buso della Rana SAC site will be expanded, a management plan will be drawn up and a book will be published. The second thematic area will focus on the enhancement of the Priabonian Museum with the development of rooms and exhibits, the acquisition of collections, and the expansion of the museum’s offerings. Lastly, the third area will include capacity building and awareness-raising actions for citizens, as well as environmental education and hackathons for entrepreneurship.

Roberto Battiston of the Zannato Museum took the floor, emphasising the important correlation between research on the territory and museums.

Battiston’s intervention was followed by a speech of Professor Paolo Mietto, from the Department of Geosciences at the University of Padua, who illustrated the geological time scale and the Priabonian, the last of the four stages into which the Eocene is divided. 

The Priabonian is an important reference point that has been studied worldwide and is also a valuable teaching element often proposed as an example and model. 

Finally, Marco Boaria, Director of ALDA Italia Aps, and its colleagues, proposed a participatory workshop to the participants. Three different discussion tables were created where attendees could freely propose ideas, expose problems and possible solutions concerning the topics of the H.I.L.L. project. The insights that emerged were subsequently exposed to the entire audience and represent the starting point for the participatory path to the population.

The former, acting as leader of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) from the EU Commission side, underlined the importance of giving voice to citizens in shaping the future of Europe, and designing the Union they are aiming to. Animated by the same spirit, while pursuing its mission, ALDA informed its partners and members on the opportunities of joining this bottom-up exercise and be protagonists for the future of the Union, while echoing their opinions and ideas at within the Civil Society Convention on the Conference on the Future of Europe, at the Closing Ceremony.

If not enough, common ground of discussion was found on the active participation to the Summit for Democracy, within which ALDA, as part of the “European Partnership of Democracy” network, is joining the Youth Cohort.


“Reinforcing democracy at the local level to build a resilient and inclusive democracy” – Vice-President and Commissioner for Democracy and Demography Ms. Dubravka Šuica


Hence, this commitment to spur democracy starting from its roots was also shared by Ms. Šuica, who, “greatly appreciate[s] the importance of reinforcing democracy at the local level to build a resilient and inclusive democracy” – as expressed in her tweet. Ms. Valmorbida, on her site, reiterated the concept behind which, mobilisation of local authorities and civil society are the key for the “New Push for Democracy”, underling the importance of starting at local level.

In addition, ALDA shared its vision, of boosting on local and citizens participation to counterbalance non-democratic movements, while increasing the civic space at European level.

Overall, this meeting was a key moment of positive exchange and fruitful knowledge sharing, contributing to the future of democracy and Europe.

***
The meeting took place in Brussels, on 1 March 2023

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AT A GLANCE

The project aims to boost political participation by developing solutions for and with citizens living in peri-urban and rural areas. It will combat the feeling of disenfranchisement with politics and abstention by promoting European values and inviting the public to contribute their ideas.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the Ideas for Europe project can be summed up as follow:

  • Boosting citizens’ awareness of rights and values and increasing their degree of engagement in society and with the EU
  • Enabling people to deepen their knowledge of the EU institutions and policies, and better understand the EU’s achievements and benefits, as well as reflect on solutions for current challenges within the EU
  • Strengthening democratic participation, with a special focus on inclusion of younger and older people, women in all their diversity, mobile EU citizens and people with disabilities

AT A GLANCE

ESSPIN project will re-examine the nexus of social, economic, and spatial inequalities in the EU as well as the various typologies, arrangements and mixes of policies to address them in the light of emerging and highly interacting mega-trends and challenges that threaten to increase pressures and make policy choices even more difficult.

As new and older drivers of change are projected to create a rather unfavourable environment for balanced growth and socio-spatial resilience, this research will focus on the analysis of policy responses, aiming to make them more proactive, inclusive, and effective.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the ESSPIN project may be divided into four main spheres:

Scientific

  • Develop a new knowledge frontier and substantially improve the understanding by the scientific community of the evolution and drivers of inequality.
  • Provide a novel methodological framework integrating different strands of literature and different types and scales of inequality that will have a lasting impact on scientific research.

Economic

  • Provide a better understanding of the economic costs of inequality.
  • Contribute to higher well-being at the workplace, higher firm productivity, and more inclusive managerial practices.

Societal

  • Successfully deal with the challenges faced by left-behind people and places.
  • Enhance public awareness of the causes and effects of inequality.
  • Single out critical areas for social actors and NGOs to intervene, accompanied by effective tools of analysis and policy instruments to reduce inequality and bring about inclusive growth.
  • Raised awareness in society as a whole on the importance of inequalities for social cohesion, economic growth, and well-being.

Political

  • Improved efficiency of economic, social and cohesion policies in achieving inclusive growth at the European level.
  • Improve policymakers’ capacity in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • A more equal and inclusive European society.

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AT A GLANCE

The project aims to strengthen the socio-ecological awareness and capacity building of its young beneficiaries. Through the environmental issue, the young beneficiaries will develop skills in campaigning, project management, communication, advocacy etc.

They will follow capacity building sessions and will be invited to take initiatives to create and disseminate activities in the framework of the project in their local contexts and online, particularly with a blog that they will all co-manage and that will be intended at sharing their actions with the other beneficiaries abroad.

OBJECTIVES

The project intends to:

  • Increase the evidence-base on main obstacles and opportunities that youths face in deprived suburban areas
  • Improve the transnational cooperation between youth workers
  • Raise the environmental awareness
  • Increase the green skills and empower the disadvantaged youth to commit for the preservation of the environment in their own communities
  • Ensure the sustainability of environmental awareness through peer learning
  • Enlarge employment opportunities of young residents from deprived areas by capacity building activities aiming at growing green entrepreneurship skills.

The first result of the ReCAP project has been successfully completed!

In the framework of the Project Result 1, the final report elaborated by the project partner, Solidaridad Sin Fronteras, with the contribution of all partners, aims to draw a picture of the post pandemic local contexts addressed, collecting the specific needs of young people from the point of view of professionals working with youth. The report is now available in English and it will soon be accessible in other 7 languages. 

Through desk research and a detailed questionnaire, the ten project partners have investigated the social issues that the pandemic caused or worsened on young people. After having finalised it, the questionnaire was distributed among professionals working with youth and other relevant stakeholders from November 2022 to January 2023. 

The research involved 124 professionals working with vulnerable young people, with the following distribution: Bulgaria (25), France (22), Italy (21), Romania (19), Portugal (18), Spain (10) and Greece (9). Most of them are women (69%) between 25 and 34 years old. In a previous phase, partners identified the stakeholders to address the questionnaire, in order to cover the main areas where stakeholders working with vulnerable youngsters can be found: municipal youth centres, educational centres, social work services, labour orientation services, security office, health centre, and others. According to data, the sector where the survey has been implemented the most is the educational sector, so it is over-represented and this has to be taken into account when looking at the overall results. The young population groups with whom these professionals work most often are: girls (39,67%), youth not in employment, education or training “NEET” (38,02%), youth with migrant background (33,88%), minorities (29,75%), youth from the LGBTIAQ+ community, youth with disabilities (3,30%) and minors in the penal system (1,65%). 

Despite the disparities among the countries, some similarities can be found. The research shows that professionals working with youth are concerned about the negative effects of COVID-19 pandemic on psychological health and emotional well-being, and they pointed out the effects on socialisation, cultural life, studies and training. Results show that young people’s relationships within all the spheres of their lives have worsened, especially with the educational environment, with themselves and with the local community. 


The Local Context and Needs Analysis Report draws a picture of the specific needs of young people in the post-pandemic period


Overall, the national results highlight that the services provision is now higher than before the pandemic, especially in Bulgaria and Greece, but with the exception of Italy. It is a general optimistic result that shows that the local services have probably adapted to the urgency of needs, and that highlights the resilience of the educational and social sector professionals. Young people seem to visit the services more often than before the pandemic, and they mostly need psychological and emotional health support and educational support. According to professionals, the use of psychological support is the most relevant tool to work with youngsters nowadays. 

Moreover, the study reveals that most professionals consider artistic and cultural tools useful and motivating for youngsters, which is certainly an optimistic outcome that will ensure a positive uptake of the ReCAP project future tools.

Read the Report in English k fatt. 👈

🇫🇷 Read the Report in French

🇧🇬 Read the Report in Bulgarian

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🇪🇸 Read the Report in Spanish

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🇮🇹 Read the Report in Italian

The civil society and the cooperation with institutions are fundamental to reconstruct Ukraine. On the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, ALDA organised a dedicated event in Gdansk (Poland), entitled “LDA Mariupol partners meeting”, to present the work of the Local Democracy Agency Mariupol, while discussing activities and future collaboration with new partners from EU countries.

“ALDA is working to create new LDAs in Ukraine; advanced discussions are underway regarding the establishment of LDAs in Vinnitsa, Kharkiv, Odessa, Mykolaiv”- stated Antonella ValmorbidaSecretary General of the Association.

The same commitment to support the initiatives of the LDA was also echoed by Monika ChabiorDeputy Mayor of Gdansk. Besides, Ms. Chabior expressed both the will of the city to be engaged within youth projects – be they exchange programme, and Erasmus plus; and the newly implemented initiatives targeting the integration of Ukrainian inhabitants. Moreover, the city of Etterbeek (Belgium) and Distric 11 in Barcelona, invited to the meeting, were of like mind in engaging with LDA Mariupol.


Stakeholders and partners met in Gdansk to provide ad hoc aid and support to LDA Mariupol


The urgency to support the local community, previously mentioned by the LDA partners, was further stressed by Vadym Boychenko, Mayor of Mariupol, who not only shared the suffer and pain of the people of Mariupol, but also the importance of international support in the rebuilding and returning processes. Hence, the coordinated actions of international CSOs and networks around the above-mentioned phases is vital and crucial. This is also why the Vice-Rector of Mariupol University, Tetyana Marena, is in favour of further cooperation for the development of the LDA Mariupol project, thus further strengthening the bond between the Agency and the University, the latter hosting itself the premises of the LDA.

What emerged quite clearly during the meeting, was the necessity of providing ad hoc humanitarian aid to Ukraine, as emphasised by the speech of Olga Pikula – Member of Mariupol City Council, introducing the “Ya Mariupol” project, which has currently 17 offices across the country and carries out activities to support Mariupol residents on issues such as humanitarian aid, job search, psychological and medical support. Similarly, Oleksandra Kulichenko, representing LDA Mariupol, provided an overview on the initiatives implemented in support to city residents.

Overall, the meeting in Gdansk marked a fruitful moment for the further collaboration of different stakeholders with the LDA Mariupol, while stressing the importance of local communities in being resilient in war time. There is a need to restart locally for the reconstruction of the Country.

***
Local Democracy Agency Mariupol was established in December 2017 and focuses on dialogue between local authorities and civil society, public participation in decision-making on local development issues, participatory budgeting, support for the decentralization process and the creation of united territorial communities. Partners: NGO “Mariupol Development Fund” (Lead Partner); Mariupol City Council (Ukraine); City of Gdansk (Poland); Akmene District Municipality (Lithuania).

AT A GLANCE

The ageing of population is a worldwide phenomenon with critical implications for all sectors of society. Due to low birth rates, high life expectancy and migration flow dynamics, the worldwide population is “turning grey”, and Europe is not an exception. An ageing population brings social, health, economic, and other issues.

Grey 4 Green responds to the urgency of developing competences in various sustainability-relevant sectors, developing green and sectorial (3rd age) skills strategies and methodologies, as well as future-oriented training schemes that meet the needs of individuals and organisations. We will also test innovative practices to prepare seniors and 3rd age personnel to become true agents of change.

OBJECTIVES

Grey 4 Green aims at:

  • Promoting active ageing and contribute to climate action through the involvement of senior citizens in nature conservation volunteering programmes and through the capacitation of personnel working in the third age sector to develop and implement such programmes;
  • Valorising the elderly and all their potential as productive citizens and as agents of change;
  • Support adult learners (seniors + 3rd age personnel) by providing high-quality training and international exchanges, fostering key competences and skills; -Generating environmental awareness, and promote European citizenship values such as inclusion and fight of discrimination;
  • Promoting environmental, social, language, literacy, intercultural and interpersonal skills in senior citizens and in the third age personnel;
  • Producing high quality outputs to encourage the implementation of senior volunteering programmes across the EU. These outputs are multi- media and inclusive to relevant audiences, including paper deliverables, handbooks, an online platform and videos;
  • Promoting and advocating for social inclusion, active ageing and environmental policies;
  • Support the partners’ work and missions, boosting their international dimension and their staff’s competencies.

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AT A GLANCE

Sports 4 All is designed to give the right of free access to sports activities to young people in situations of social disadvantage.
Indeed, educational poverty should be understood not just as economic poverty (from which it may derive) or as a violation of the right to education, but must be perceived as a lack of opportunities in diverse complementary and linked fields.

Ensuring everyone’s possibility to participate in sports activities has become an established principle nationally and internationally. Already in the European Sports Charter for All, issued in 1976 by the Council of Europe, governments were called upon to guarantee their citizens that they would practice appropriate sports.

Therefore, this project aims to foster the competencies of trainers and coaches to work with this category of young people, namely children and youngsters who live in contexts of educational poverty. The project plans to work towards its objectives through creating and implementing a new methodology targeting coaches, trainers, and educators to foster diversity and inclusion and respond to the needs of the marginalised segment of youth suffering from educational poverty.

OBJECTIVES

The project’s main objective is to foster and reinforce diversity and inclusion by providing equal opportunity access to sports for youth, particularly disadvantaged youth suffering from educational poverty.
Moreover, the project’s specific priority is to promote education through sports and to elevate the capacities of sports clubs and associations.

Sports for All project aims to encourage social inclusion and diversity in sports by enabling trainers and educators to target youth with educational poverty. The plan is to develop and adopt a new methodology for trainers, coaches, and sports clubs and associations to limit the marginalisation of youth suffering from educational poverty and allow them to integrate into the community in a safe space with healthy competition.

The methodology will incorporate formal and non-formal methods and approaches to education to provide youth to develop beyond the athletic aspect of sports and acquire skills beneficial to their development. Another key aspect is training and workshop implementations for educators and coaches. They will be focused on child development and the different aspects of educational poverty to equip them with the necessary knowledge related to youth and sports and shed light on the significant role that they can play in their inclusion and development.

RELATED NEWS

AT A GLANCE

STAND-UP strives to create a comprehensive and holistic counter-hate crime framework that covers all components of the counter-hate process (reporting-investigating-prosecution-prevention (RIPP), embedded within a framework of victim support. In this way, the project ensures the complementarity of the work of different actors, leading to a streamlined and more efficient RIPP cycle, better victim support, and higher levels of trust between CSOs, law enforcement, judiciary, and victims.

Open Source INTelligence (OSINT) is used to understand hateful sentiments and speech in localised contacts, helping public authorities and CSOs to identify areas of intervention, at-risk groups, and the weight of hateful sentiments expressed online as an indicator of physical acts of hate offline, all multi-factorally disaggregated. A platform is developed for interagency data exchange. Activities to raise awareness of STAND-UP and its outcomes, as well as to heighten awareness of hate crime and its impact on victims, are carried out throughout the project.

OBJECTIVES

Among the objectives

  • Enhance multi-agency cooperation in countering hate crime by establishing harmonised definitions of hate crime, embedded within a blueprint framework for cooperation.
  • Standardise reporting procedures through the co-design and validation of a reporting forms for (1) law enforcement agencies and (2) CSOs/NGOs.
  • Deepen relevant actors’ understanding of the phenomena of hate speech and hate crime, including the sentiments behind them on a local level through enhanced monitoring tools and skills. STAND-UP employs open-source intelligence-led monitoring mechanisms, piloted in two separate Italian municipalities.
  • Strengthen victim support through awareness and skills on “sensitive investigation” and prosecution through which “victims are recognised and treated in a respectful, sensitive, tailored, professional and non-discriminatory manner” (Art 1.1 of the Victims’ Rights Directive), focusing on unbiased reporting and investigation procedures and LEA-CSO support networks, strengthening Art 8. of the same.
  • Design and implement training for CSOs, LEAs, and prosecutors and judges on reporting, investigating, prosecuting, and preventing (RIPP) hate crimes and discrimination, with parallel victim support.

AT A GLANCE

The PACIFY-D project will be working towards providing innovative training opportunities to young people and establishing Country Info Points as local learning centres for youth education, developing guidance on the organisation and support of the operation of such environments.

The purpose is primarily to strengthen democratic attitudes through civic engagement and civic participation.
Young Local Ambassadors will engage in non-formal learning activities around public diplomacy, also using cultural diplomacy tools.

OBJECTIVES

Among the main objectives of the project:

• Strengthen young people’s sense of initiative,
• Educate young people on issues of diversity, cultural differences, political representation
• Confront interpersonal and intergroup/national stereotypes and enhance intercultural understanding
• Promote better knowledge about the situation of young people and inform youth policies in Europe and beyond
• Enhance transfer of knowledge between young people, Civil Society/Youth organisations, young ambassadors/ex-pats and policymakers

RELATED NEWS

AT A GLANCE

HEY project addresses the challenges of young people, especially those with fewer opportunities. With the COVID-19 crisis, the current situation may lead to social exclusion in the fields of education, labour market, living, health and participation in the society.

Thus, the HEY project, through the collaboration of 7 partner organisations, proposes a positive youth development approach focused on making young individuals stronger and more resourceful, as reflected in their behaviour and mind-set.

OBJECTIVES

Among the main objectives of the project:

  • Presenting data on how the pandemic is amplifying existing vulnerabilities among youth, and how youth work responds to the needs,
  • Fostering the inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities, returnees and others to become active citizens;
  • Empowering youth workers to build synergies and equip them with digital tools to address youth challenges
  • Up-skilling through the provision of an open-access source of e-learning training and
  • Supporting young people through mentoring and peer-to-peer consultation

RELATED NEWS

AT A GLANCE

The NEVERMORE project is determined to support excellence in research on climate science and climate policy. Focus is on the modelling theory to take a significant step forward to overcome the current silo approach in favour of an integrated assessment one for evaluating impacts, risks and interactions of climate change across sectors and adaptation and mitigation strategies towards a climate neutral and resilience society, relying on the multiple feedbacks that occur between the variables involved in climate change.

OBJECTIVES

The NEVERMORE project aims to develop an integrated common assessment framework (for modelling, simulating and evaluating impacts of both climate change and policy measures) tailored to the needs of different stakeholders and end-users (public and private actors, decision-makers and citizens).

It will include information on climate, Earth Systems, human and impacts models in a robust, reliable, detailed and transparent way, for delivering multi-sectoral climate impact assessments under consistent and integrated socio-economic and climate scenarios.

The NEVERMORE approach integrates the information from physical modelling of impacts and risk analysis methodologies and aligns them across different scales: from national, EU and global scales to local and regional scales via five representative case studies that represent various socio-ecological systems.

NEVERMORE helps to better understand the interactions between climate change impacts and mitigation and adaptation options to deliver sound technical and policy recommendations towards a climate neutral and resilient society.

RELATED NEWS