Beyond Borders Stakeholder Conference - Creating a Positive Impact through Cooperation

Introduction and context

For almost 25 years, the Erasmus+ programme and the European Solidarity Corps and the preceding generations of European youth programmes have offered diverse opportunities for youth cooperation involving organisations, youth workers and young people from Programme and neighbouring partner countries.

Evidence has shown that such projects involving partners from the neighbouring regions (i.e., third countries not associated to the Programmes) are particularly relevant in fostering intercultural learning, awareness and respect of pluralism and diversity, critical thinking as well as a stronger interest in democratic citizenship and human rights issues among project leaders and participants from Europe. In the neighbouring partner countries, the programmes represent unique tools to support the development of youth work and youth policy, to build young people’s and youth workers’ competencies, foster their intercultural learning, increase their level of awareness about Europe and include youth with fewer opportunities into their work.

Building dialogue, understanding, resilience and stability is ever more relevant for dealing with the increasing and manifold challenges in Europe and its neighbourhood. However, over the past years, this cooperation has encountered different challenges, ranging from lack of visibility and conscious support provided at the European level, challenging framework conditions in terms of the structure of the Programmes, which limit the accessibility and initiative-taking of organisations based in partner countries (e.g., limited possibilities to submit project applications), to the consequences of geopolitical challenges, including military conflicts in some partner countries.

Since its creation in 2021, the Beyond Borders partnership has managed to step up the attention and support provided for the cooperation involving Programme countries and neighbouring partner countries and to support the creation of new partnerships. It seems high time to build on these first achievements and to systematically and strategically draft proposals and recommendations that can be fed into ongoing processes related, in particular, to the development of the next Programme generation starting in 2027.

Conference objectives

On this background, in cooperation with the partners of the Strategic Cooperation of National Agencies and SALTOs Beyond Borders, the German National Agency is hosting a Stakeholder Conference that aims to:

• Highlight the value and relevance of the cooperation between neighbouring partner countries and Programme countries;
• Raise the visibility of the cooperation and create synergies between different stakeholders;
• Explore the current geo-political and social contexts and the future perspectives and opportunities for the cooperation; 
• Develop recommendations for the future youth cooperation between Programme and neighbouring partner countries, with special attention to the Erasmus+ and ESC programmes.

Participants

The Conference targets up to 90 participants with experience in youth cooperation involving Programme countries and neighbouring partner countries, in particular in – but not limited to - the frame of Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps:

• Youth work practitioners from Programme countries and neighbouring partner countries (including Erasmus+ partner countries in the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and Caucasus and the countries in the south of the Mediterranean) and
• Representatives of organisations and institutions supporting youth work and youth cooperation between Programme and neighbouring partner countries at different levels (national/ regional/ international)

Participants should bring with them prior experience in this field that they can refer to and strong motivation to further develop this cooperation and its supporting frameworks.

Programme

The conference programme will build on the past experiences of cooperation of the participants as well as the activities implemented within Beyond Borders, in particular:

• the outcomes of an ongoing study implemented by RAY, which is gathering qualitative data on implemented projects involving Programme and neighbouring partner countries, and
• draft recommendations for the next Programme generation developed at the recent staff meeting of National Agencies for Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps on cooperation with neighbouring partner countries (February 2024, Tbilisi, Georgia).

The programme is shaped over three full working days, starting with arrival on 16 September and finishing on 19 September (departures foreseen on 20 September).

On day one, the focus will be on sharing, celebrating and learning from the achievements and impactful cooperation that has happened in the past years. Successfully implemented projects and partnerships are evidence that cooperation works! How can such experiences be strengthened, made more visible and transferable to other contexts?

On day two, we will look at the impact of the changing world. Looking ahead, we will explore what might be the possible implications of current and emerging developments on our societies, youth work practices and structures, and on the cooperation between Programme and neighbouring partner countries in the coming ten years.

Day three will be dedicated to defining suggestions and recommendations on how to boost the cooperation. We will build on, expand and further define recommendations for the future development of supporting frameworks, in particular Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps, for the Beyond Borders partnership and for actions that could be taken at different levels.

Engage and create a buzz before the start of the conference! (optional)

We invite you to take part in a process of building the community and “creating a buzz” around the topics of the conference in the months between June and September. Engage with us once per month via email or our conference app to share or disseminate pieces of information, within the group of participants or with the wider public!

A kick-off meeting with the participants will take place online on 3rd of September 2024, 14:00 – 15:30 CEST. Here, we will share some introductory information, take a brief look at already existing recommendations and offer an opportunity to meet the group.

What is Beyond Borders?

Beyond Borders – Neighbours Together is a strategic partnership of the National Agencies for Erasmus+, youth field, and the European Solidarity Corps of the Czech Republic, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, Switzerland and Turkey and the three regional SALTO Resource Centres (SALTO Eastern Europe and Caucasus, EuroMed and South East Europe). It aims to further develop the cooperation in the youth field between Programme and neighbouring partner countries within Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps. More information: https://beyondb.eu/about/.