Beyond Take Off: From Local Youth Work to Cross Border Connections

About the activity

Beyond Take‑Off: From Local Youth Work to Cross‑Border Connections.  The activity focuses on strengthening cross‑border cooperation grounded in local youth work realities, with a particular emphasis on inclusion as a practical and lived dimension of youth work. The PBA creates a structured yet informal space for participants to exchange practices, understand each other’s contexts, and build trust‑based partnerships that can lead to future Erasmus+ Youth cooperation projects.

Rather than jumping straight into project writing, the activity is designed to support participants in moving from local practice to meaningful international cooperation, ensuring that future partnerships are relevant, realistic and rooted in shared values and needs.

The programme will take place in Tbilisi, Georgia, and will include an on‑site visit to a local youth work provider, offering participants a closer look at youth work practice in the local context.

The activity responds to the need to bridge youth work realities across different systems and environments, enabling participants to learn from each other and explore how local youth work can be strengthened through international cooperation.

Aim of the Activity

The aim of this Partner Building Activity is to strengthen cooperation between youth work actors from Iceland and the EECA region by building sustainable, inclusive and value‑based partnerships grounded in local youth work realities, and by supporting the development of concrete Erasmus+ Youth projects that promote inclusion and participation in local contexts.

Objectives

The activity will provide opportunities for participants to:

• Explore and better understand local youth work realities, organisational structures, challenges and opportunities in Iceland and the EECA region
• Exchange practices and experiences related to working with diverse groups of young people at local level
• Reflect on inclusion and participation in local youth work, moving from principles to concrete practices, tools and dilemmas
• Build trust and mutual understanding as a foundation for meaningful and sustainable partnerships
• Identify shared values, interests and realistic expectations for cooperation
• Develop initial ideas for future Erasmus+ Youth projects based on common needs
• Clarify next steps, follow‑up actions and possible future cooperation or project‑development pathways beyond the residential activity

Methods and methodology

The activity will be based on non‑formal education principles, using participatory, experiential and practice‑oriented methods. The process will prioritise:

• Active involvement and shared responsibility
• Learning from participants’ real‑life youth work contexts
• Dialogue, reflection and mutual support
• Creating space for informal connections and trust building

NOTE: There will be an online onboarding meeting about a month before the event that selected participants will be required to attend.