Youth Phoenix Project

Empowering Young People from 5 Countries to Become Leaders in Their Communities

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In the post-pandemic era, where social and economic challenges are commonplace, the Youth Phoenix project has represented a transformative opportunity for young people from five European countries. In partnership with non-governmental organizations and public authorities, this Erasmus+ program project has successfully created a broad and inspirational framework for civic engagement and the development of young people aged between 18 and 29.

A balanced consortium of public authorities and NGOs supported the realization of the project: Asociația Se Poate from Romania, Regional Development Foundation from Bulgaria, Unione dei Comuni del Villanova from Italy, Association Rasio Perspektiva from Latvia, and Association Sideralis from France.

Youth Phoenix was not just a simple project but a complex and captivating journey that lasted two years, divided into distinct stages, each contributing to the formation and empowerment of the participants.

Youth Phoenix included various activities, based on the priorities described and well connected within the core areas "Engage-Connect-Empower" of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027, with activities following this logic.

Within the project, a network of young people was built, with over 300 youth involved in all project activities and 25 youth ambassadors who participated in all activities and who, following the project, are ready to be active leaders in their communities.

Engage Activities focused on the training of youth ambassadors. During 2023, two significant activities were conducted: the National Motivational Training and the International Motivational Training. During these activities, the young people developed competencies and skills in active citizenship, solidarity and inclusion, European citizenship, leadership, European Youth Goals, Project Management, and local, national, and European decision-making processes.

Connect Activities concentrated on identifying youth challenges and developing sustainable solutions for the communities from which the young people come. At the beginning of 2024, two important activities were carried out: National Trainings and International Challenges Events. In the first activity, based on the problems identified during the project, two projects were developed for each country, resulting in a total of 10 project ideas. Following the second event, the young people presented their initiatives and voted on the most suitable projects for their communities. Thus, two projects were the most popular and were transformed from national projects into European projects. The projects address two important issues: NEET youth and the importance of sustainable and healthy habits.

Empower Activities supported young people in implementing their ideas, debating issues of interest to the European community, and promoting their interests. Two significant events were organized: the International Online Debate and the Large-Scale Mobility in Sofia. In the first activity, topics such as sustainability, active citizenship, fake news, immigration, and mental health were discussed. The young people debated the topics of interest alongside members of the consortium organizations.

During the Large-Scale Mobility in Sofia, held from March 30-31, 2024, the young people had the chance to interact with decision-makers at local, national, and European levels, youth organization leaders, and promoted the two initiatives developed by the young people that will be applied for the next Erasmus+ deadline. At the event, the young people learned about European institutions and interacted with MEP Petar Vitanov, President of the Union of Students in Romania Cristian Ghiurcă, representative of the Council of Ministers Milena Andreeva, as well as other suitable guests for the project's theme.

The project concluded with the online event #Throwback Thursday, which united over 100 young people who learned about the important results of the project: the Youth Phoenix active citizenship platform, the training materials, and the two projects that will be applied for and implemented by young people.

We invite you to visit the platform www.youthphoenix.eu to discover more about the Youth Phoenix project, to interact with young people at the European level, and to explore interesting materials that can support you in becoming a leader in your community.

The project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union.

Scan the QR codes to access the platform and social media pages.