REBUILD – REBUILDing society through youth engagement

Promoting youth inclusive participation in EU’s civic life and networking among youth, stakeholders and policy makers.

Grant Agreement Number: 624760

Funded by: Erasmus+ Duration: 15/05/2021 – 15/05/2023

Challenge

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected all social segments, especially vulnerable social groups, with consequences that need to be addressed to mitigate their long-term effects. Engaging youth, whose prospects and mental well-being have been affected the most, is key to support the recovery of EU’s social fabric after such an unprecedented crisis which has strongly impacted societies across the globe. Youth’s engagement can also be very effective to encourage the adoption of more sustainable lifestyles in the local community, at a time when attention to the environment is becoming more important than ever to ensure all living beings’ health.

Innovation

REBUILD will empower youth organisations/informal groups of young people, and underrepresented young people by enhancing their participation, dialogue, civic engagement and networking at local and EU level while supporting the rebuilding of inclusive and greener societies in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis.

Action

After a mapping of youth-led initiatives that will be identified as good practices, the information collected in each country will be shared among the youth organisations/informal groups through the arrangement of 2 local roundtables, involving all 8 organisations previously consulted. The process will provide space for networking at local level, hence allowing to establish local REBUILD youth networks, bringing together project partners and youth organisations/informal groups in each of the 6 involved countries.

A series of innovative digital tools will be used to develop webzines, i.e. digital “magazines”, that will showcase in an attractive way the previously-mapped initiatives. Webzines will hence enhance the potential for replication and transferability of the selected good practices, by highlighting key features using both text, images and video/audio materials.

As a further step towards the enhancement of networking and cooperation among youth organisations/informal groups across different EU countries, a 2-day International Youth-net Forum will be organised in Palermo, Italy. The 8 representatives involved in the local Rebuild youth networks in each implementation country, will participate in the Forum.

The REBUILD training Toolbox will be designed as a digital interactive product containing both tools and guidelines for the conduction of the REBUILD training workshops and project design sessions. The Toolbox will provide useful non-formal education tools drawn from the social solidarity and green lifestyles initiatives identified as good practices.

Each partner will organize and conduct 8 REBUILD training workshops, which shall involve the previously selected 28 underrepresented young people in each country. The workshops will allow the involved participants to acquire new skills on project design, implementation and awareness-raising campaigning, while fostering their motivation to engage in social solidarity and green lifestyles initiatives.

Partner organisations will launch the National Contests, marking the start of the implementation of REBUILD youth led-initiatives. The aim of the National Contests will be to select the best local initiative based on the results of their implementation and the deployment of the REBUILD campaign.

REBUILD Local Festivals will mark the conclusion of the National Contests and will bring Youth teams, Youth organizations/informal groups, young people, stakeholders working in the youth sector and policy makers to learn more about the initiatives and the importance of civic actions and of promoting active participation of young people, including under-represented youth. Local festivals will be organised in all implementation countries. During these half-day events, the 4 Youth teams in each country will meet with the aim to present their initiatives, challenges phased and the impact and results of the REBUILD campaign. Moreover, the winning teams will be announced during the Local Festivals.

European Commission’s support for the production of this content does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Project Partners

**KMOP – Social Action and Innovation Centre**

CESIE (Italy)

**D’Antilles et D’Ailleurs (Martinique)**

**Iniciativa Internacional Joven (Spain)**

**Active Youth Association (Lithuania)**

Out of the Box International, (Belgium)