From Empathy to Action PBA

Zarika Association is excited to invite you to an international Partnership Building Activity (PBA):

“From Empathy to Action: Connecting communities, sharing practices, building partnerships.”

From Empathy to Action brings together people and organizations working with young people in small towns, rural areas, marginalized communities, and other places where opportunities and resources can be limited. Across Europe, many of us face similar challenges in our communities, but we respond to them in different ways. During this PBA, we want to bring these experiences into the same room.

You will have the chance to get to know how other organizations work, exchange practices and lessons learned, explore local initiatives through study visits, and talk openly about both successes and challenges.

We want to explore what we can actually create together. You can come with a project idea you would like to pitch, even if it is still at an early stage. You can also come without one. We will dedicate time to identifying common interests, generating new ideas, forming potential project teams, and starting to develop future collaborations together. We hope that some of these ideas can grow into proposals for the February/March 2027 Erasmus+ deadlines, while we will also explore other funding programs and frameworks for international cooperation.

During the PBA, we will also launch a new international network of organizations working with similar communities and build the foundations for long-term cooperation so participating organizations can continue sharing opportunities, resources, ideas, and future initiatives beyond the project.

We are looking for active representatives of youth or community organizations — youth workers, project coordinators, managers, founders, board members, or program leads.

To participate, you should be:

• part of your organization’s decision-making circle, or work closely enough with it to discuss future partnerships, project ideas, and organizational commitments;
• knowledgeable about your organization — its work, priorities, strengths, needs, and the communities it serves;
• working with young people in small towns, rural areas, marginalized communities, or other underserved contexts (or have a strong interest in developing work in these areas);
• ready to share your experience openly, including both successful practices and challenges;
• interested in building long-term international partnerships and willing to develop future projects with international partners and stay involved after the PBA;
• able to communicate comfortably in English;
• legally residing in an eligible Erasmus+ Programme Country

You are welcome to come with a concrete project idea you would like to pitch, but you do not need to have one in advance — new ideas will also be developed together during the activity. Previous project-writing experience is not required. What matters is your willingness to contribute, co-create, and help move promising collaborations forward.

By participating in this PBA, you will have the opportunity to:

• Meet potential international partners and build relationships through several days of working, sharing, and creating together;
• Discover new practices, approaches, and ideas from organizations working in different local contexts across Europe, including through study visits in and around Bansko;
• Reflect on your own organization’s priorities and challenges and explore where they connect with those of others;
• Pitch a project idea you already have or develop a completely new one, find partners, and take the first steps toward forming a project team;
• Better understand funding opportunities available through different frameworks, to prepare proposals for the February/March 2027 deadlines;
• Become part of a new international network from its very beginning and help shape how it can support future collaboration;
• Leave with concrete next steps — a project idea, a potential partnership, a team to continue working with, or a clearer direction for future international cooperation.

Financial details: This program is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. All costs for accommodation, food, training materials, and local transport for study visits are 100% covered. Travel costs from your hometown to Bansko and back will be reimbursed after the training, up to Erasmus+ distance limits.

Insurance: Participants must arrange their own travel insurance. Having a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is required.

Participants will be required to actively disseminate the project, following our dissemination guidelines.

Infopack and application form: https://zarika.org/en/from-empathy-to-action-pba/