TOOL FAIR ON SOLIDARITY PROJECTS

The TOOL FAIR ON SOLIDARITY PROJECTS will be a space of exchange, sharing, learning and motivation, where practitioners with different experiences and backgrounds come together to have an enriching dialogue on Solidarity Projects and create an inspiring environment for future projects.
Moreover, this event will go beyond a traditional “fair”, as it will combine the sharing of tools and experiences with training elements about essential features of Solidarity Projects and how to put them into practice.

This TOOL FAIR will bring together two profiles of participants.
Participants can be…

… SOLIDARITY PROJECTS TEAM MEMBERS: experienced youngsters and organizations that will have the chance to showcase their Solidarity Projects, already implemented or ongoing, and share tools and experiences. (Youth project managers and youth workers/ coaches that have specifically supported Solidarity Projects can also apply under this category).

…OR…

… YOUNG PEOPLE WITH NO DIRECT EXPERIENCE IN SOLIDARITY PROJECTS, BUT
EAGER TO SET UP AND CARRY OUT A PROJECT TO IMPROVE THEIR COMMUNITY. (Youth workers and youth leaders eager to support their local youth to set up and carry out a Solidarity Project can also apply under this category).

In either case, participants will have the opportunity to learn about tools, innovative approaches, methodologies, good practices, techniques and outcomes directly from people and organizations that have carried out quality Solidarity Projects.

Therefore, the objectives of this activity are:

• To provide participants with an enriching environment to SHARE TOOLS that help youngsters develop Solidarity Projects.
• To MOTIVATE young people and organizations to implement their initiatives under the European Solidarity Corps program.
• To INCREASE THE QUALITY of Solidarity Projects
• To GIVE VISIBILITY to completed or on-going projects, and thus giving visibility to the Solidarity Projects action within the framework of the ESC programme.
• To CREATE A NETWORK among experienced youngsters, and young people and organizations willing to start a Solidarity Project.
• To EXCHANGE INITIATIVES AND IDEAS for the development of future projects.

The event will be based on the principles of Non-Formal Education, encouraging the active engagement of participants. It will combine training sessions, workshops, personal reflections and, above all, spaces for sharing and connecting with other participants. Peer-to-peer learning among young people plays a very important role in the case of the Solidarity Projects and ample space will be devoted to presentations of tools and experiences. The main focus of the meeting will be to inspire and get inspired by peers, to learn from their mistakes and successes, and to find motivation in them.

In order to fully benefit from this experience, participants will be invited to reflect on how to use, adapt and transfer what they have learnt and discovered to their own realities, with the ultimate aim of contributing to the implementation of new Solidarity Projects and future collaborations.