Lab of Ideas - youth project for active citizenship

“Lab of ideas. Youth projects for active citizenship” will gather 20 participants from 7 countries in Yerevan, Armenia, for training of multipliers on youth international and volunteer projects. The aim of the project is to contribute to sustainability and innovation in international youth and volunteer work, by raising skills and capacities of young people to initiate, design and organize specific creative and innovative grass-root projects and activities, establish support system for young activists-multipliers to realize their ideas in reality, improve international networking and cooperation in youth sector. The working methods during the training course will be based on informal and non-formal learning, will contribute to personal development of participants, and will create space for grass-root approach, innovation and creativity of participants. Practical dimension of the training will allow to use skills and knowledge in practice – by developing specific, creative and grass-root ideas and by acting as multipliers in their realization. Young people will also share examples and own volunteering stories, explore cultures and working realities of each other. Following topics will be addressed: • social inclusion aspects in international youth and volunteer projects, how to make an activity truly inclusive; • volunteering and active citizenship on local, national and international level. Ideas for joint international activities to promote volunteering and active citizenship among young people; • awareness raising activities on the issues of human rights, social inclusion, environment and sustainable lifestyle; • innovation, grass-root approach and creativity in youth projects and activities, how to achieve it and make it work in practice. Participants will not only discuss these issues in the context of international youth and volunteer projects, share experiences and realities of different countries. They will develop ideas for joint projects on these issues, thus going with support of trainers through project management step-by-step, working on specific and realistic ideas, which will be born during the project and continue to grow afterwards with support of partners involved and other local activists. This explains how the project is addressing above marked themes, and its relevance of the project to YiA/Erasmus + aims and priorities.