Villagers of EU

When: Preparatory meeting in late spring 2023 for 2 days, Youth Exchange in early summer of 2023 for 10 days (plus 2 traveling days)

Where: Area of Nestorio, Kastoria, Greece (Exact village TBC)

No of Participants: 5 young people (18-25 years old) & 1 youth leader

Partner responsibilities:
1) Participate in a virtual meeting with the other partners to deal with the practicalities of the project;
2)To recruit and prepare their teams, including one team leader and one participant who will participate in a Preparatory Meeting before the Youth Exchange;
3)To organize one follow-up activity after the end of the Youth Exchange;

Project Description: In EU today, 29% of people aged 16-29 face the risk of poverty or social exclusion and 11.6% of people aged 15-24 are not in education, employment, or training (NEET), while 15.9% of young people in this age group are unemployed. Since its inception, the NEET concept has proved a powerful tool in enhancing the understanding of young people’s vulnerabilities in terms of labor market participation and social inclusion.

This is especially true for young people located in remote and rural areas all over Europe. Rural and isolated areas tend to have little and sporadic public transport, and educational institutions are often understaffed - while access to higher and vocational education often requires moving to another city. At the same time, statistics show that young people living in such areas tend to have higher rates of unemployment, which is particularly acute among young women, people with disabilities, and minority youth.

Project Aims: 1) Promotion of non-formal education and the opportunities under the Erasmus+ programme through socio-educational activities for young people, which is particularly beneficial for people with insufficient formal qualifications, people in NEET situation or youngsters with fewer opportunities, and is a means of improving employability and entrepreneurial skills;

2) The empowerment of young people living in rural and isolated areas, through the exploration of alternative professional perspectives, the development of entrepreneurial spirit and the acquisition of soft skills;

3)To promote diversity and inclusion through intercultural dialogue, contact with different cultures and the search for common experiences by young people living in isolated and rural areas

ATTENTION: The partner organisations will have to be working with young people from all social/cultural backgrounds (especially youngsters with fewer opportunities, NEETs, and youth in rural and remote areas) at the grassroots level and to be open to realizing activities in their local communities.

If you want to take part in the project and agree with your role and responsibilities as a partner organisation, then please send us your fully filled Partner Identification Form (including the OID) to tetamara.youthgroup@gmail.com. Priority will be given to organisations located in rural and remote areas.

Deadline for answering the call: 16/09/2022

Who we are: Teta Mara is an informal youth group created in early 2022. The initiative was created based on the needs expressed by young people living in remote areas and rural areas around Kastoria. Living in one of the poorest and with the highest unemployed rate areas of Greece, the young people of the group expressed the need to create opportunities to express themselves, acquire skills, and to expand their horizons to new experiences, while fostering active participation and citizenship at the local level. Teta Mara is working at the grassroots level, having always as a priority the needs and interests of the young people involved within. Teta Mara is based at Nestorio but at the same time, it works as a reference point for all the young people of the surrounding villages and settlements, in the area of Kastoria and Western Macedonia.

There are currently 20 people actively involved in the group, either volunteering or taking part in frequent events, with the number growing daily as the group becomes better known in the area. Most of these people live in rural and remote areas, are NEET themselves, or have such people in their circle of friends and family - but most of all, they are people who love their area and want to see it progress and develop.