Regional cooperation

For different reasons, not all young people can be fully involved in the labor market. There is a category of youth that is neither in employment nor in education and training (“NEETs”). Young people who are neither in employment nor in education or training are at risk of becoming socially excluded – individuals with income below the poverty-line and lacking the skills to improve their economic situation.

In 2018, according to Eurostat, 16,5 % of the 20-34 olds in the EU were neither in employment nor in education and training (‘NEETs’). The proportion of young people neither in employment nor in education and training in 2018 ranged from 8,0 % in Sweden to 28,9 % in Italy. If we talk about the countries participating in this contact making seminar, then the situation is as follows. In 2017, among young people aged 20-34, the highest level is in Turkey (33,2%!), Hungary (17,0%) and Poland (16,4 %), that Czech Republic (15%), Finland (13,1%), Lithuania (12,7%).

Unlike for unemployment or employment, there is no international standard for the definition of NEETs. Eurostat, the International Labour Organization and certain other organizations have adopted the following definition of the NEET: the the population of a given age group and sex who is not employed and not involved in further education or training.

At the European level, the label NEET has an immediate value as an additional indicator of unemployment and youth marginalisation and disengagement. Because they are neither improving their future employability through investment in skills nor gaining experience through employment, NEETs are particularly at risk of both labour market and social exclusion.

With this contact making seminar (CMS) we want to establish international, national and regional cooperation of organizations directly working with youth in order to reduce the number of NEET young people and to open for them the world of youth opportunities, including Erasmus + Program.

We want to focus on two important aspects of cooperation:
1) National cooperation. Very often, youth organizations working in one country compete among themselves for access to the main target group – young people, forgetting that we all have one main mission – to support young people and this is not a business where we have to be the competitors. We want to create an atmosphere of mutual assistance and understanding in the context of involving young people in a social society.
2) Regional / International cooperation. Each country is unique in different contexts, including in the field of youth work. At the same time, as practice shows, countries that are geographically close have similar problems, so together we can think over qualitatively new solutions to existing issues and get an additional synergy effect. Therefore, we proposed to be participants for organization from neighboring countries, like Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary; Finland and Lithuania; Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus; Georgia and Turkey.

Aim
The main aim of the contact making seminar “Regional Cooperation” is to develop national, international and regional cooperation among the youth workers in order to share experiences and knowledge on working with NEET youth and their engagement in a dialogue to foster the EU social cohesion.

We believe that the CMS will be beneficiary for all organizations involved as it will expand the partnership network on national and regional level. Some organizations have not very big experience, so for them it will also be very important to learn about the work with NEET youth.

CMS will take place in Budapest, on 31 March – 7 April 2020 and will gather together 33 youth workers, youth leaders and educators from 10 different Program countries: Belarus, Czech Republic, Finland, Georgia, Hungary, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine.

Methodology
The programme of the CMS will be in the framework of non-formal education, using an interactive and participative approach. The seminar will provide the space to exchange knowledge and experience about working with NEET youth and will engage the organizations to constructively
contribute in this topic.

Participants’ profile
Participants’ profile includes following criteria:
• Youth workers and youth leaders who are involved into the daily activities of the youth organizations and who are interested to develop networking projects in this field.
• Already have experience in working with young people, especially NEET, organizing initiatives and projects
• Be motivated to contribute to the CMS with their experience and competences
• Be committed to attend for the full duration of the seminar
• Be aged 18 years old and above
• Competently able to work in English language as it will ensure effective communication between all participants and all relevant stakeholders.

Info pack
More information about the project for applicants: download info-pack