YES for EVS

What? A Partnership Building Activity with training elements, aiming at creating viable partnerships for European Voluntary Service projects (also under the Eastern Partnership Window opportunity). Who? The participants are expected to be youth workers (project managers, trainers), ex EVS volunteers, mentors and representatives of such organizations accredited or under the process of accreditation able to share the knowledge, experiences and good practices and finally to come up with the ideas of projects and find new partners for the projects. The event is addressed to the NGOs and public institutions working in the youth field interested to learn more in order to develop EVS projects and get involved in Youth in Action - EVS projects in general and on Eastern Partnership Window for EVS in particular. A special focus will be addressed to organizations (NGOs or public institutions) interested to develop projects under the Eastern Partnership Window targeting young disadvantaged persons. Participants are expected to be involved in youth and volunteering activities or social work. The organizer is the Romanian National Agency for the Youth in Action Program. Aims of the event • create a space for participants to develop partnerships and afterwards be able to submit good quality applications and effectively implement European Voluntary Service and EVS Eastern Partnership Window projects • to provide the participants the necessary information for understanding the key elements related to European Voluntary Service and EVS Eastern Partnership Window projects • to provide a space for sharing knowledge and experiences between organizations and representatives involved in youth work developing voluntary activities. What is Eastern Partnership Youth Window? Following the adoption of the Joint Communication "A New Response to a Changing Neighborhood – A review of European Neighborhood Policy" in May 2011, additional funds will be available over the period 2012-2013 in order to increase the number of Youth in Action projects and participants from the six Neighboring Partner Countries of the Eastern Partnership (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine), under the name "Eastern Partnership Youth Window". The window will concern the following actions: - European Voluntary Service (Action 2) - Cooperation with the Neighboring Partner Countries of the EU (sub-Action 3.1). Specific priorities In addition to the permanent and annual priorities of the Youth in Action Programme, projects to be funded under the Eastern Partnership Youth Window shall also take into account certain specific priorities of the Window. Priority in awarding grants under this Window will be given to: - projects demonstrating a clear commitment to provide support to young people with fewer opportunities living in rural or deprived urban areas - projects raising awareness about the nature of youth work - projects promoting the sharing of best practices in the sphere of youth work. More information regarding Eastern Partnership Window and Youth in Action are available in the Youth in Action Guide available at: http://ec.europa.eu/youth/youth-in-action-programme/programme-guide_en.htm Working methods During the event interactive and non-formal methods will be used, placing the participants in the center of the learning process and focusing on the understanding of the concepts and specifics of working in Youth in Action projects. A mix of workshops, facilitated discussions and other active tools will be mainly used while the work results will be presented in the plenary sessions. The activities will be led by experienced facilitators with sound understanding of Youth in Action and European Voluntary Service technicalities. Number of participants: 30 participants (20 from Program Countries and 10 from Neighboring countries from the Eastern Partnership Window: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine