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Eurodyssey’s website launch – Behind the scenes

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The new Eurodyssey’s website launch marks an important milestone in our programme’s journey. It has been a result of three years of close collaboration between our member regions and the AER Secretariat, from meetings to seminars and trainings.

Featuring stunning new looks and a better user experience, its new functionalities will significantly improve the day-to-day management of the programme. 

eurodyssey.aer.eu

Three years in the making

This collaborative process kicked off in February 2019, at the 2-day Website and Communications Training hosted by Catalonia’s Employment Agency, where AER Programmes Coordinator, Andrés Muñoz Rojo, together with WordPress Developer Audric Delcour run a full demonstration and set out the main features of the new website.

Following such training, the AER Secretariat opened in Autumn 2020 a testing site for the regional users to get acquainted with the new functionalities and share their feedback for further website development. This testing period allowed the regional correspondents to make suggestions on the user experience and to keep track of the evolution of the website as they discovered the main features of the new website.

Ready, set, go!

This year, on 1 September the Eurodyssey website hosted by AMEOS webmaster was brought down to migrate all the data and files into a new WordPress portal with the technical assistance of web consultant Audric Delcour and the Eurodyssey’s regions.

Given the huge volume of data migrated, it was not until 16 September that the new website was officially launched. During this hiatus, the Eurodyssey regions increased cooperation to manually process the applications of the young candidates.

The size of the Eurodyssey website project can be revealed by the following figures from the data migration process:

  • 40,000 attachments saved
  • 170 regional admin users
  • 40,400 young person users
  • 3,600 company users

To facilitate the transition to the new portal, the AER Secretariat published a comprehensive manual for users and organised webinars on 30 September and 22 October to run a full demonstration and answer questions from regions. Furthermore, at the 2021 Eurodssey Forum on 3 December, the AER team shared ideas for regions on how to create an attractive regional profile on the new Eurodyssey website, and how to make the best of its new features.

Nonetheless, the website remains under construction since there is still a lot of pages edition, contents translation, files and media uploads to be completed. Apart from reducing the site maintenance costs, the new portal is expected to revamp the programme and attract more users and potential new regions.

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2021 Eurodyssey call for elections: Steering Committee Chair and Members

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At the 2021 Eurodyssey Assembly, which will take place online and in Brussels (BE) on 2 December 2021, the incumbent Steering Committee members and President are expected to be re-elected. However, there is a vacancy available to be filled by a new member region!

When?

The elections will be celebrated on the 2nd of December within the 2021 AER Eurodyssey Forum. The deadline to submit your application to the Eurodyssey Steering Committee is the 26th of November 2021!

What?

If you think this might be of interest to your region, please consult the available vacancies of the Eurodyssey Steering Committee. You will find the list of current vacancies HERE.

For further specificities on the roles and expectations for all the members taking part in the Steering Committee, please refer to this document.

How?

To present your candidacy send a copy of your Curriculum Vitae and a Cover letter to the AER Secretariat ([email protected]), before the 26th of November 2021.

Image credits: Unsplash.com

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AER discussing Next (Talent) Generation EU

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On 17 December 2020, AER took part in Finnova Foundation‘s webinar Next Talent Generation EU: COVID-19 Challenge, training in European Affairs for young people abroad. The webinar addressed the challenges that the COVID-19 crisis is posing to European mobility programmes, which are vital for upgrading the education and training of young professionals.

A European Marshall Plan to invest in Youth Talent

There are currently 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 15 and 35 in the world; the largest youth population in history. With 25 million jobs expected to be lost due to the health crisis, this cohort accounting for one-third of the world’s population is at a higher risk of exclusion amid the pandemic. At EU level, it is hoped that the Next Generation EU (NGEU), which will supplement the MFF by €750 billion, will help Member States to mitigate the enormous socio-economic impact of the epidemic on young people through reinforced funding such as the European Social Fund+, the Youth Guarantee system or the Erasmus programme.

Next Talent Generation EU: COVID-19 Challenge, training in European Affairs for young people abroad set about addressing these challenges by bringing together representatives from public administrations, those responsible for youth matters, training in European Affairs and professionals in charge of mobility programmes to share their perspectives, experiences and good practices.

Discussion highlights

The webinar, moderated by Juanma Revuelta, Director of the Finnova Foundation, consisted of four parts: An opening address by Ms Romy Karier, Member of the Committee of Regions’ Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment and Culture; Panel 1 – Mobility and training challenges in the era of COVID 19 and the EU economic recovery programmes 2021-2027; Panel 2 – The vision of the different European mobility programmes and how to face the new normal; and Panel 3 – Success stories and personal experiences.

During the second panel, AER Programmes Coordinator, Andrés Muñoz had the chance to elaborate the Eurodyssey experience and explain the benefits of learning mobility for youth development. The second part of his presentation set out the challenges ahead for youth policy-making in light of the gaps that the pandemic will prompt across generations in terms of unemployment, education, inequality and mental health.

View presentation

There were also presentations from speakers like Sara Corres Armendáriz, Deputy Director-General of Legal System of the Spanish Government’s Directorate-General for Migration, who underlined that “over the last few years, important steps have been taken towards the consolidation of a European labour market“. César Plá, Head of Service of the Public Function Department of the Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU, highlighted that “despite the current pandemic situation, the employment prspects in the EU institutions are encouraging, along with many windows of job opportunities for young people“.

The event closed with the launch of the Next Talent Generation EU website, a job portal which hosts a wide variety of stakeholders (NGOs, companies, universities, European institutions, national administrative authorities, etc.) aimed at building a European alliance for employing and training young talent.

If you missed our contribution to this webinar, you can rewatch it at the link below:

Rewatch the webinar!

Featured picture by Maria Teneva on Unsplash

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Eurodyssey Forum 2020

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The first-ever virtual Eurodyssey Forum took place on 19 & 20 of November 2020. These online sessions brought together the correspondents from Eurodyssey regions, hosting companies and youth alumni. In these sessions, participants discussed the functioning of the programme, and shared experiences and best practices to adapt learning mobility to the “new normal” of COVID-19.

An online Eurodyssey Assembly

In the afternoon of 19 November, following the AER General Assembly and Bureau meeting, the Eurodyssey Assembly gathered representatives from 20 member regions. The Assembly provided members with an opportunity to assess the state-of-play of the programme and exchange views on the regions’ prospects of hosting Eurodyssey participants in 2021, given the COVID-19 pandemic.

In their opening remarks, AER President, Magnus Berntsson, and Eurodyssey President, Esther Estany, raised a toast to mark thirty-five years since the creation of the Eurodyssey programme. This was followed with the premiere of the anniversary video:

Eurodyssey facts & figures

The day continued with an assessment of the Eurodyssey programme by AER programmes coordinator, Andrés Muñoz, who delivered a presentation on the 2019 statistics, which underlined the significant, positive impact the programme continues to have on young trainees’ employment prospects.

The programme allowed a total of 303 young Europeans (+16% compared to 2018) to benefit from genuine professional experience and linguistic training in another European region. Other remarkable outcomes include the rise in the number of both the internship offers published (+30%) and the candidates (+33%) compared to 2018.

Looking at the employment prospects for Eurodyssey participants in 2018, regions can be proud that 40% of interns find a job within 1 month of completing their traineeship. What is more, 64% of the survey respondents declared that Eurodyssey was decisive in finding a job and 20% of them attributed such a fact to the language training received.

You can read all the 2019 statistical findings and 2018 employment results from the summary report HERE.

Sharing on social media is caring about Eurodyssey

The last presentation by the Secretariat was conducted by Justin Sammon, AER Communications Officer, who shared with member regions guidelines to harness the potential of social media for promoting the programme and to communicate Eurodyssey’s long-term positive impact on young people, regions and society.

View HERE the presentation Sharing is caring: making the most of social media.

Break-out sessions

On Day 2 of the Forum on 20 November, the Eurodyssey online break-out sessions provided members with further opportunities to exchange experiences and good practices to keep up learning mobility through the pandemic. For these events, we were also joined by hosting organisations and Eurodyssey alumni, who had the opportunity to share their testimonials.

The day kicked-off with an introductory talk by Safi Sabuni from Eurodesk and Manel Sánchez from the European Youth Card Association (EYCA), who provided a broader overview on how youth organisations are adjusting their work “to continue to be there for young people” who face unique challenges socially, economically and personally because of the pandemic. They also made a number of recommendations from their respective organisations on how to minimise the impact on learning mobility projects. Participants then broke-off into into multilingual ‘break-out’ sessions, where they had the opportunity to brainstorm ideas for keeping the Eurodyssey programme moving despite the pause on mobility caused by COVID-19.

Ackowledgements

Closing the Eurodyssey Forum, AER Secretary General, Christian Spahr thanked all those who had made “this visionary programme of cross-border professional learning a reality for thirty-five years”. In her speech Eurodyssey President, Esther Estany – speaking in French, Spanish and English – pointed to the spirit of optimism that fills Eurodyssey family and the “very bright future” that lies ahead. She called on regions to keep up the hard work for the decades to come and to defend mobility as an essential source of regional development.

Visit the 2020 Eurodyssey Forum event page to download all the working documents, presentations and other key takeaways.

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Partner Search: new project proposal to support youth employment across Europe

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Are you interested in joining projects within the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment Call? Maramures County Council, local public administration in Romania and member region of AER, is looking for partners to join their new project to support youth employment. 

About the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment 

EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment aims to support transnational project initiatives that promote sustainable and quality youth employment.

The focus on transnational cooperation reflects the view that unemployment among youth is a common European challenge and common European solutions should therefore be explored. This is in line with the Europe 2020 strategy and the EU cohesion policy that emphasize the importance of the regions and cross-border cooperation for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

Eligible project partners within this Fund are entities (public or private, commercial or non -commercial and non-governmental organisations) established as legal persons in a Beneficiary State (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia), Ireland, Italy and Spain.

The maximum grant for a project is 2 million euros while the minimum grant is 1 million euro, having the grant up to 85% of the eligible costs. The deadline for submitting the project proposal is the 5th of January 2021.

About the Maramures County Council’s  project proposal

The project proposal developed by Maramures County Council “GreeNeeT- Growing skills for smart agriculture & sustainable food chain“ will address support area 2: Transfer of know-how and good practice: transferring know-how and good practice on youth employment initiatives across European countries.

The overall objective of the project is to stimulate youth employment and entrepreneurship by transnational transfer of good practices in the field of smart agriculture and a sustainable food chain. In that regard, the project foresees the setting up in Maramures of a pilot demonstrative centre in that field as well as an online cooperation platform accessible to provide training and get the necessary skills in order to foster the employment or start a business in the field of sustainable agriculture & food chain.

The target group includes 25-29 year old, who are not employed, and not taking part in education and training, the concept NEET (“Not in Employment, Education or Training”).

If you are interested in joining this project proposal and contributing to its further development, don’t hesitate to contact AER team by 30 November 2020. We would be happy to liaise you with Maramures County Council!

Contact: Agnese Pantaloni, European Projects Coordinator

E-mail: [email protected]

Photo by Icons8 Team on Unsplash

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To another 35 years of Eurodyssey regions on the move!

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For the very first time, the AER-Eurodyssey programme was featured in the European Week of Regions and Cities in partnership with the Public Employment Service of Catalonia – SOC (es), Bureau International Jeunesse – Wallonia (be), Varazdin County (hr), Brussels Public Employment Service – Actiris (be) and the Sardinian Agency for Active Labour Policies – ASPAL (it).

A celebratory event marking 35 years of Eurodyssey

The Eurodyssey virtual lab Eurodyssey35: Regions on the move (14/10/2020), moderated by Hrvoje Kovaç, Chair of the AER Subcommittee on Youth, was joined by two inspiring panellists in the field of youth: Jovana Majstorovic, Board Member of the European Youth Forum, and Floor Van Houdt, Head of Unit for Youth policy and Volunteer Solidarity at the European Commission’s DG for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture.

Kicking-off the discussion, Hrvoje Kovaç set out that mobility is at the core of European integration and that the AER has been actively promoting this principle through its flagship #Eurodyssey traineeship programme for over 35 years. Since its inception in 1985, this scheme has allowed over 10,000 people to benefit from work placements. Following these introductory remarks, the teaser of the Eurodyssey 35th Anniversary video was premiered.

Hrvoje Kovaç subsequently invited a round of questions from Slido addressed both to the speakers and the audience; challenging them to dig into the links between learning, mobility, social inclusion, active citizenship and territorial cohesion.

Mobility in times of COVID-19

Jovana Majstorovic, European Youth Forum, drew attention to the negative impact of COVID-19 on youth development, noting outcomes such as high unemployment, precarious work conditions, lack of access to social protection, restrictions on mobility and deteriorating mental health among young people.

Floor Van Houdt added that the Commission’s immediate concern when COVID-19 broke out was the young people on mobility programmes abroad who ended up stuck in another country. The first measure the Commission took was to cover administrative costs for affected organisations and participants by activating force majeure clauses. In spite of the crisis, she noted that young people refused to end their participation in these programmes; choosing instead to adapt to the situation and lead from the front. For instance, the vast majority of the European Solidarity Corps projects were transformed into emergency initiatives led by young people to deliver medical equipment, help the elderly or assist school teachers.

What can be done at the regional level to encourage youth participation and inclusive mobility?

Floor Van Houdt called upon regional and local authorities to fully exploit large European funds (e.g. European Social Fund) and the Reinforced Youth Guarantee which are concrete instruments to help young people access the labour market. In addition, Floor mentioned the “Europe goes local” project carried out by the Erasmus+ National Agencies, which provides specific tools to municipalities to support youth work and co-management structures. The European Solidarity Corps is another good example of how young people can help themselves by helping others.

In her view, equality and inclusion can only be safeguarded through an ambitious, collective effort involving all stakeholders: the EU, the member states, regions, NGOs, youth associations and civil society. As for inclusive mobility, EU programmes have together with the national agencies developed diversity strategies with funding support to identify target groups and their needs when they engage with mobility schemes.

In this regard, Hrvoje pointed out that in order to tackle youth unemployment and other issues affecting young people, regions have a duty to make young people’s voices heard in decision-making processes.

Jovana explained that the European Youth Forum is focusing more and more on consolidating youth participation in regional public life. She welcomed the Reinforced Youth Guarantee as a key instrument to encourage youth autonomy in times of COVID-19, and urged the EU institutions to extend this funding to non-EU countries for better cohesion. Jovana stressed the importance of including youth-led associations, particularly those representing disadvantaged groups in regional policy-making. She noted the European Youth Capitals initiative as a best practice example of how to develop youth inclusion policies between local/regional authorities and young people.

According to Jovana, the COVID-19 crisis is leaving young people behind, while democratic norms are increasingly eroding. In this context, young people are falling into poverty and marginalisation, and COVID-19 cannot be an excuse to neglect their needs. On a more positive note, responding to a question from the moderator regarding the European Parliament’s resolution to ban unpaid internships, Jovana answered: “it is indeed a great victory and proves that youth participation has tangible outcomes and is vital to uphold youth rights”.

What are the benefits of learning mobility and volunteering?

As a former Erasmus participant, Floor Van Houdt strongly believes that any mobility or volunteering experience abroad is enriching in many different ways. Besides learning a new language, becoming immersed in a culture and becoming more tolerant, mobility encourages young people to acquire a set of personal and professional competencies that are in high demand from employers, such as autonomy, self-confidence and a sense of initiative. Additionally, exchange programmes of this kind make for better-informed citizens, and to the internationalisation of companies and organisations.

Jovana also shared her reflections on mobility programmes based on her personal experiences as a non-EU citizen. In her opinion, the opportunity to take part in a mobility programme abroad fosters intercultural sensitivity in young people, especially in the Balkan region where some long-standing prejudices remain. Thanks to these experiences, she became a strong advocate of inclusiveness and understanding in her community, which has been negatively influenced by a biased and politically motivated media. She underlined that volunteering significantly influences one’s personal development and brings people of different opinions and backgrounds together.

Hrvoje pointed out that mobility has an extraordinary potential to spread European active citizenship and, most importantly, to break down prejudices and preconceptions in a given community when it is introduced to foreign people, particularly in remote and rural areas. What is more, Eurodyssey proves that mobility schemes enable “brain-circulation”, as opposed to “brain-drain”, as it brings benefits to both the sending region and hosting regions.

Curious to find out more?

Rewatch the webinar!

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#EURegionsWeek – Eurodyssey35: Regions on the move

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The Assembly of European Regions is pleased to announce one more contribution to the European Week of Regions and Cities (EWRC). For the first time, the Eurodyssey programme will be featured in the #EURegionsWeek through our virtual participatory lab, Eurodyssey35: Regions on the move, which will take place on 14 October at 9:30 AM.

In this session, policy-makers, regional officials and young activists will engage one another in an open dialogue on what is at stake for youth development, and the instrumental role of youth mobility in fostering territorial cohesion and a sense of European identity. 

Mobility is at the core of European integration. For over 25 years the EU has actively promoted the mobility of students, researchers and citizens to deliver in strategic policy areas: employment, education and inclusion. Since 1985, the AER has put regions at the forefront of fair mobility for young people through our Eurodyssey programme. Regional and local authorities have a key part to play in driving youth development and tackling barriers to short-term mobility and longer-term cohesion.

Through parallel discussions, the audience will not only take a deep-dive into the ins and outs of youth mobility but will also challenge the invited storytellers to reflect upon the linkages between fair mobility, quality employment, social inclusion and active European citizenship.

 

DEADLINE EXTENDED!

Closing date: 7 October 2020

Speakers:

  • Mr Hrvoje Kovač, Chair of AER Subcommittee on Youth, Assembly of European Regions (AER).
  • Ms Jovana Majstorovic, Board Member, European Youth Forum.
  • Ms Floor Van Houdt, Head of Unit for Youth policy and Volunteer Solidarity, European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture.

AER General Assembly & Bureau Meeting

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General Programme

THURSDAY 19 NOVEMBER

8:45 – 9:00 Registration online
9.00 – 11.15 AER General Assembly
11.15 – 11.30 AER – Eurodyssey 35th Anniversary 

Break – AER Projects in Review
11.40 – 13.00 Autumn Bureau Meeting

Break
14:45-15:00 Registration online (Eurodyssey members)
15.00 – 16.30 Eurodyssey Forum
FRIDAY 20 NOVEMBER
9.30 – 11.30 Eurodyssey break-out sessions 

Regions’ workshops on the operational management of the programme

 

General Assembly

Detailed Agenda

Working Documents

Technical Information 

Invitation Letter

 

Amendments

The deadline for submitting amendments was 26 October.

  • Only amendments that were put forward in this way will be considered.
  • All proposed amendments will be tabled and put to a vote during the Bureau meeting.
  • Spontaneous amendments cannot be accepted on the day.

Autumn Bureau Meeting

Detailed Agenda

Working Documents 

Technical Information 

Invitation Letter

Amendments

The deadline for submitting amendments was 26 October.

  • Only amendments that were put forward in this way will be considered.
  • All proposed amendments will be tabled and put to a vote during the Bureau meeting.
  • Spontaneous amendments cannot be accepted on the day.

 

Eurodyssey Forum

Event Webpage

Detailed Agenda

Eurodyssey is back!

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After 3 months suspension, the members of the Eurodyssey Steering Committee adopted last Friday by consensus resolution 03/07/2020 to reactivate the programme and to set out the new conditions to adapt the programme to the “new normal”.

Resolution 03/07/2020

The Eurodyssey Steering Committee encourages those member regions where the sanitary situation is stable to resume the publication of offers and host participants under the following new conditions (five “musts”):

  1. The Eurodyssey regions MUST guarantee, at least, a “blended format” prioritising, where possible, on-site work over teleworking.
  2. The Eurodyssey regions MUST make sure that host companies or organisations comply with the health measures set by the competent authorities for on-site work.
  3. The Eurodyssey regions MUST ensure effective linguistic training in any possible format (either online or on-site).
  4. The Eurodyssey regions MUST specify in every internship offer and in the Vademecum the sanitary situation in the region (please, refer to “website protocol & COVID-19 F.A.Q.” section below).
  5. The Eurodyssey regions MUST inform the participants about the COVID-19 situation in the destination region BEFORE departure.

During this transition to the “new normal”, the exchanges may NOT follow the principle of reciprocity. Participants can be sent to another region ONLY if they have signed a statement of responsibility before departure for any possible contingency.

N.b.: Internships based on 100% teleworking are NOT accepted, except if the sanitary circumstances roughly change in the region while on internship due to a new wave of COVID-19.

Statement of Responsibility

The Eurodyssey regions are no longer able to assume the administrative and economic burden of dealing with subsequent COVID-19 waves. Participants will be requested to sign a mandatory statement BEFORE departure to exempt the managing regions from any liability:

Website protocol and COVID-19 F.A.Q.

Regions must include relevant and clear information about the sanitary situation in the region both in the Vademecum and in every internship offer publicly advertised on the website:

1. Please, click HERE to download the website protocol instructions.

2. A number of guiding COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.) have been issued to help regions draft relevant COVID-19 guidance. The document is available HERE in three different languages.

What regions are in for hosting in 2021?

The programme is being reactivated gradually but NOT all the member regions are fully operative.

Check regularly on eurodyssee.eu the internship offers available!

A second chance for interrupted internships

For the internships that were interrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak, the participants will have a second chance to participate in the programme through two different alternatives:

  1. As a general rule, the host region and the host organization MUST come to an agreement to resume the interrupted internships for at least 3 months.
  2. If no agreement is possible, the concerned participant can submit a second application in the same or a different region.

The AER Secretariat must be notified of this procedure AT ALL TIMES in order to make any pertinent technical adjustment on the website or arrange the insurance coverage for the new internship.

N.b.: This type of participant will also be asked to sign the mandatory declaration of responsibility BEFORE departure.

Public health is the priority

Please, always remember that public health is the priority! Please make sure your region informs the Eurodyssey participants at sending or hosting as well as the companies and organisations about the regional and national guidelines for traveling and work in times of COVID-19.

Stay safe!

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COVID-19: What is at stake for youth development?

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Undeniably, youth play a crucial role in the action plans to limit the spread of the COVID-19 and its adverse impact on public health, society and the economy at large. Young people are also among the most vulnerable groups who suffer from the pernicious consequences derived from this crisis.

Labour turmoils

The pandemic is admittedly making young people the main victims of labour market shocks. According to Eurostat, in April 2020 while the general unemployment rate increased by 0.2%, from 6.4% to 6.6%, the youth unemployment rate increased by 0.8%, from 14.6% to 15.4%. In OECD countries, the unemployment rate rose faster among women and young people aged 15 to 24 as reflected in the graphic below:  

Source: OECD Statistics

Over 1 in 6 young people worldwide have stopped working since the start of the crisis, according to ILO. This disproportionate escalation of youth unemployment can only be attributed to the fact that young people are overrepresented in informal employment –77% of employed young people hold informal jobs worldwide [1]– and in job sectors most at risk (ex. tourism, retail trades, personal services) from the COVID-19 shutdown. In light of these negative developments, the quality of jobs for young people will severely deteriorate and temporary contracts will become more prominent.

Socio-economic gaps

As unemployment grows, the socio-economic gaps between young people, and across generations, become more profound amid the economic and health crisis. Access to social protection is one of the major concerns and significantly varies depending on a person’s background (including age). As many welfare programmes are linked to formal employment, that leaves many young people unprotected, especially young women, and more exposed to health-related hazards [2].

In Education, the COVID-19 pandemic is altering learning, compromising nutrition and increasing the drop-out rates as a result of the nationwide closures of educational institutions. In this context, disadvantaged children and youth who have fewer economic or educational opportunities outside of school, limited access to e-learning tools and depend on free or discounted school meals are at risk of falling further behind [3].

Not to mention the young migrants and refugees. Given that 70% of all international migrants are below 30 years of age globally [4], epidemics like the COVID-19 will hit this concrete population group the hardest. What is more, the pandemic will limit even more their access to healthcare and livelihood provisions while exacerbating the social stigmas towards any minority group.

Building mental resilience

The COVID-19 outbreak has triggered detrimental effects on the wellness and mental health of children and young people. The short-term quarantine measures and social distancing turn out to have greater psychological implications for the young population and contribute to exacerbating other household and individual circumstances: personal safety, prospects of job and income losses, medical conditions in the household, social connectedness or trust in other people and in institutions [5].

According to an OECD survey, more than half of young people express great concerns about their mental health. This requires immediate policy responses and long-term solutions to mitigate harm and proactively improve systems of support for young people and children. These measures may include: providing online resources; advice to general practitioners and youth workers; inclusive telemedicine consultations; and, overall, reinforcing resources for mental health services in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Source: Eurofund

The WHO or Voices of Youth have published a compilation of resources such as guidance documents and Q&As in the area of COVID-19 & youth mental health. Furthermore, initiatives such as the Global survey on youth rights and COVID-19, a joint effort of the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth (DJY) and its partners, will shed further light, among various areas, on the psychological implications of COVID-19 for young individuals.

A call for intergenerational solidarity!

It is more imperative than ever that every administration level across Europe and beyond include young people in the recovery strategies and cooperates with every economic and social player to safeguard their rights and wellbeing. The Sustainable Development Goals are paramount in accelerating a vigorous response to overcome the epidemic as well as build resilience and “social immunity” that the world needs to prevent the next pandemic.

References

[1] UN DESA, World Economic Situation and Prospects, April 2019 briefing, no 123.

[2] Special issue on COVID-19 and Youth (27 March 2020). Programme on Youth Unit, Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD), Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), United Nations.

[3] UNESCO ”COVID-19 Educational Disruption and Response”: https://en.unesco.org/themes/education-emergencies/coronavirus-schoolclosures

[4] 2019 International Migration and Displacement Trends and Policies Report to the G20: https://www.oecd.org/migration/mig/G20-migrationand-displacement-trends-and-policies-report-2019.pdf

[5] “The impact of COVID-19 on children and young people”. March 2020 The Children’s Society – United Kingdom. Policy and Research team.

Photo credits: Mathias Jensen on Unsplash

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EYE2020: Youth Mobility & COVID-19

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The European Youth Event (EYE2020) is a major event at the European Parliament (EP) aiming to stimulate and involve active citizenship amongst young Europeans. It takes place every two years, but unfortunately, this year has been postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

In its stead, the European Parliament has organised a special online edition, with a variety of activities in digital format!

On the 26 May 2020, a webinar on the impact of the COVID-19 on youth mobility was held. A very topical issue, considering that since the start of the crisis international mobility exchanges haven been completely stopped. Several mobility programmes have been suspended or have had to strictly adapt to the continuously changing conditions. Eurodyssey, AER’s youth mobility programme has not been exempt from this wave.

Youth mobility was severely disrupted by the borders closures and by governmentally imposed travel bans. The sweeping measures to curb COVID19 left a very low margin to reinvent mobility, however, new forms arise thanks to the myriad opportunities that technology offers us.

The speakers included: Leonie Martin, President of JEF Europe; Miranda Zavrou, Secretary of Events at YEU Cyprus; Floor van Houdt, Head of Unit, DG EAC, European Commission; Daniela Fellinger, Coordinator, Development Committee Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organisations moderated by Andrea Casamenti, Board Member of the European Youth Forum. They reflected on different approaches to mobility in times of COVID-19 and shared some good examples.

Miranda pointed out that one of the very practical problems they faced, when mobility is still possible, is the increased price in flight tickets. In fact, what characterises this period for mobility is the high degree of uncertainty. This uncertainty leads to frustration for many volunteers and participants active in mobility programs, dividing them into two categories: on the one hand, those who want to return home and, on the other hand, those who do not want to give up the experience. So it is important to balance these different needs. She also highlighted the potential of digital tools, as, despite their sceptical first thought in moving workshops in an online mode, in the end, they reached even more people and increased the audience diversity.

Explore the full potential of digital tools!

Daniela stressed out the problem of the administration costs for the managing organisations following the cancellation or postponement of the mobility programmes. Despite projects being suspended, the costs derived from assisting the participants stuck abroad in mobility persist or become even higher. It is therefore important to prevent any cut of the funding available to mitigate such costs. She also expressed the positive impact of the digital tools on their programme “Work Camps” they turned it out to an online version to keep the intercultural exchange. As a result, they got an unexpected amount of responsiveness from different organisations.

Leonie drew attention on the importance of assessing whether the affected project can be turned out in an online version at the very initial step of the activity planning. She also raised concerns about the difficulties in stimulating the European identity in this context.

On this point, Floor briefly presented what the DG for Education and Culture has done to respond to these uncertain scenarios. First of all, they implement the maximum flexibility possible in the framework of the program and the legal normative. For instance, guidance to Erasmus+ National Agencies was issued in order for the actors concerned to invoke the “force majeure” clauses. This also allows to prevent additional costs up and postpone the planned activities by up to 12 months.

Leonie suggested to the organisations in charge of mobility programs to invest in software that can allow further interaction between mobility stakeholders in view of the post-COVID 19 scenarios. Daniela presented a good practice of speedy information exchange as regards the measures implemented in the different countries within the network of the Alliance. She also spotlighted that one of the things they learned from this situation is that uncertainties can lead to creativity. Floor agreed on this point and underlined that young people are widely known for being a source of creativity.

Lessons for the future …

Miranda agreed on the need to learn from the situation and expressed satisfaction for having transformed some threats into learning opportunities. In the future, she suggests adopting a risk management approach to ensure resilience and flexibility when planning activities. It is also very important to exploit the full potential of digital tools by investing in innovative methodologies. Another key point for the post-COVID19 is to consider using more blended activities in mobility in order to better combine online with offline methodologies.

Daniela warned about the pros and cons of online activities. On the positive side, you can include more disadvantaged youth who live in remote areas. By contrast, it is more difficult to keep them motivated and active from the distance.

Floor furthered developped this point stating that it is key to acknowledge that not all young people have universal access to digital tools and devices. The European Commission is working in this direction to allow for wider access to digital platforms.

See below a practical guide with 10 tips for mobility programmes downloadable HERE.

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Eurodyssey response to COVID-19!

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Following the decision 13/03/2020 of suspending temporarily Eurodyssey due to the COVID-19 emergency, a Eurodyssey monitoring group was immediately established to respond to the crisis and coordinate joint actions to protect the Eurodyssey trainees in mobility.

Joint actions, joint solutions!

As it is already well-known, Eurodyssey has proved once again to be a remarkable example of interregional cooperation across Europe by adopting joint measures aimed to ensure the wellbeing and safety of the Eurodyssey participants stuck in another region amid the sanitary crisis.

In light of the first signs of the virus outbreak in Europe in early March, a group of Eurodyssey correspondents from different regions immediately reacted to the international sanitary call. A round of individual consultations, coordinated by the AER Secretariat, followed to closely evaluate the situation in each Eurodyssey territory.

As a result, it was unanimously decided to temporarily suspend the programme and cancel any mobility sending of participants for force majeure reasons. This way, the Eurodyssey regions may have anticipated to eventual worse scenarios derived from the pandemic.

A weekly review of coordinated measures…

Since the suspension took effect (13/03/2020), a Eurodyssey monitoring group composed of more than 15 member regions has been assessing every week the individual situation of those participants who were directly affected by the crisis.

Such an emergency has posed daunting challenges to the regional administrators ranging from contracts extensions or cancellations, travel assistance or repatriation and medical insurances to financial aid for those stuck in mobility in another region. Some examples of these are illustrated as follows:

Graphics posted on AER-Eurodyssey social media platforms

Acknowledgements from the Presidency!

I want to express my sincere recognition to all the Eurodyssey member regions for their invaluable efforts in guaranteeing the safety and wellbeing of the Eurodyssey participants during this sanitary crisis of the COVID-19.

I am very proud of the network not only for anticipating on time to eventual worse scenarios derived from this crisis but also for the weekly monitoring to keep the participants safe.

Following the crisis, Eurodyssey will be back stronger and full of new ambitious goals to the benefit of our young participants!

Esther Estany, President of AER-Eurodyssey
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AER selected for the European Youth Event 2020! Apply now!

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We are eager to announce that the European Parliament has granted AER to participate in the European Youth Event 2020 in Strasbourg! (Keep reading to join us in this exciting adventure…)

What is EYE2020?

From 29 to 30 May 2020, the European Youth Event will bring thousands of young people coming from all over Europe to Strasbourg (FR). The event is aimed to make young people active agents of change in the European democratic life rather than passive beneficiaries, by engaging in debates, workshops, hearings and digital activities on a very diversified range of topics. All the activities are co-created with partners, youth organisations and the participants.

The EYE2020 is the perfect opportunity for youth to share their thoughts, concerns, hopes and meet and inspire each other. And on top of that, some participants will also be able to present the most impactful ideas directly to the Members of the European Parliament.

If you want to find out more, take a look at the tentative programme or just visit the webpage of the EYE2020!

What are the selection criteria?

  • Be aged between 16 and 30 years old representing a regional or local youth entity.
  • Hold EU citizenship and residency. Citizens and residents from candidate countries are also eligible for sponsorship.
  • A clear explanation of your motivation and how you plan to employ the soft skills gained and the takeaways.
  • Proof of experience in youth work or related-initiatives you have carried out.
  • Proof of a mandate or person of reference supporting your application from the organisation/region you stand for.
  • young people with disabilities, from rural or remote areas and from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds will be prioritised.

AER and YRN members, particularly those coming from remote areas in Europe, have priority.

And the financial conditions?

The financial contribution is calculated on the basis of the following 2 elements per sponsored participant:

1. An amount depending on the distance calculated as follows: €0.045/km considering the most direct road return journey between the common point of departure of the group (town/city) and Strasbourg. If there is no common point of departure, it will be calculated based on the average travel distance.

2. Thanks to the sponsorship provided by the European Parliament, the selected youth delegates will benefit from free half-board (breakfast & dinner) accommodation in shared rooms from 28-31 May 2020. Lunch is not included and will be at the expense of the participants.

N.b.: Participants from non-EU territories, EEA or neighbourhood countries canNOT be part of the sponsored group.

Apply now!

If you are a young activist aged between 16 and 30 years old representing a regional or local youth entity and meet the aforementioned criteria, you then cannot afford to miss the fantastic opportunity of taking an active part in the EYE2020 in the name of AER!

Submission deadline:
22 January 2020

Only the 20 best candidates will be confirmed to form the AER’s delegation to the EYE2020 following the submission deadline.

Contact us!

For any questions related to AER’s participation to the EYE2020, please do not hesitate to contact Andrés Muñoz at the AER Secretariat:
e: [email protected] / t: +32 (0) 2 400 10 54

Photo credits: @European Parliament

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Internship Vacancy: Events & SDGs

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Events Assistant (Trainee Contract – 6 months)

Special Project: SDG Event 2020

We are looking for a motivated student to join the AER Team at our Brussels Office for six months from February 2020.

Working closely with the AER Events Coordinator and Institutional Relations Officer, your main task will be to:

  • Contribute to the overall successful running of AER Committee Plenaries (March 2020) and the AER General Assembly, Bureau and, in particular, the SDG Conference “Agenda 2030” (June 2020) 

About the Conference “Agenda 2030: Transforming Regions, Changing the World” 

“Entering the year 2020, we will see a comprehensive review of the Sustainable Development Goals making this a year of symbolic importance to the global agenda. 

This conference, jointly organised by AER, UCLG, the Global Taskforce, Regions4, Strasbourg Eurometropole and the Grand Est region will gather local and regional stakeholders from around the world to call upon the national and global leaders to strengthen the multilevel dialogue in order to facilitate local-global leadership on the 2030 Agenda. 

The goal of the conference is to show that regions play a key role, alongside cities, to facilitate the transformation needed to successfully implement and reach the goals in the 2030 agenda.”

Working with the AER Events Coordinator and Institutional Relations Officer you will assist in shaping the SDG Conference, inviting guests and speakers, organising logistics, structuring communications and ensuring a successful event from A to Z.

This is the role for you if:

  • You want to grow your event management experience in a hands-on way. 
  • You have knowledge and interest in the Sustainable Development Goals and their implementation at the local level.
  • You are self-motivated, organised and well able to manage your time.
  • You are able to perform tasks autonomously and take on responsibilities while coordinating your work with the rest of the team.
  • You are a creative and problem-solving oriented person.
  • You have strong communications skills, as well as great spoken English and French. 

AER is happy to offer you the opportunity to:
Gain practical experience in event management from A to Z  in a European environment
Get in contact with high-ranking politicians, project officers and partners across Europe and be inspired by them.
Learn about regions and gain a deeper insight into contemporary issues in European politics
Work in a dynamic, multinational and multicultural environment
Develop personal responsibility and initiative
Gain invaluable experience in an international professional environment

The internship period will be for up to six months, preferably starting on 1 February 2020 until 31 July 2020.

You will be considered a full member of the team from Day One.

Before applying, please keep in mind…

An internship contract must be signed by AER, the trainee and a sending University/School/Institute.

You will receive a monthly financial contribution of EUR 150 during your internship period. Travel and living costs must be covered by the intern.

If you are a citizen of a non-EU country, you will have to make sure that you meet all the legal requirements (visa, residence permit, etc.) to stay in Brussels as specified by the Belgian Law for foreigners. Health insurance must be ensured during your stay.

How to apply?
If you are interested in joining us and making AER your next professional experience, please send your CV and cover letter to [email protected] by 6 December 2019, with the subject line “AER Events Assistant”.

Interviews will take place on a rolling basis until the vacancy has been filled. 

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Takeaways of AER-YRN’s activities at the 20th University on Youth and Development

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From 15 to 19 September, the Youth Regional Network of the Assembly of European Regions (AER-YRN) celebrated its Autumn Plenaries for the first time in the framework of the 20th University of Youth and Development (UYD) of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe. 23 young participants from 13 different countries representing the AER-YRN at the 20th UYD actively engaged in workshop debates, committees’ work and joint thematic activities themed around the UYD’s 2019 annual focus on “Youth, Justice & Strong Institutions” related to SDG 16.

Advocacy on SDGs and innovative approaches to youth participation

In the morning of the 16th, the first workshop debate Glocal Youth Advocating for SDGs began with the participation of Benjamin Günther, board member of the European Youth Forum (EYF), who presented the work that the Forum undertakes in order to advocate for the inclusion of young people in the review and implementation of SDGs and, in addition, presented the main conclusions of the EYF Policy Paper on Sustainable Development.

Elitsa Hadzhieva, AEGEE-Europe: European Student’s Forum, also joined the discussion with the YRN delegates to stress the importance of enhancing cooperation in a more coordinated way among the different youth-led organisations in order to have a more unified voice when advocating for youth major rights towards the EU institutions and the UN. 

Benjamin Günther (European Youth Forum), Elitsa Hadzhieva (AEGEE Europe)

On Tuesday 17th, Bruno António, Coordinator of DYPALL Network and Nami Isaki, board member of the Centre For Intercultural Dialogue, shared insights and experiences at the workshop debate entitled (Co)innovating youth participation. The YRN participants not only learned about the principles of the Council of Europe (CoE) co-management system for participatory democracy but also heard the experience of Nami Isaki in establishing an influential network of youth-led organisations both at the local and national decision-making levels in North Macedonia and, more generally, in strengthening youth cooperation in the Balkans. 

Bruno António pointed out that the 2030 Agenda goes beyond the so-called roadmap to sustainability but it is rather an inspirational framework for engaging young people in active participation to stand for their own rights and, moreover, influence policy-making at multiple levels. Organisations such as the ones represented by Bruno and Nami are trying to change the concept of democratic participation by facilitating access to the decision-making process for all cohorts of young people, including the most disadvantaged groups.

Nami Isaki (CID) and Bruno António (DYPALL)

Intercultural dialogue and Global Education 

Abdelkader El Khissassi, Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), took part in the second workshop debate Youth Inclusion and Intercultural Dialogue on the 18th of September. During the interactive discussion, Abdelkader insisted on the importance of mainstreaming an intercultural sensitivity for young people’s inclusion in the public sphere but also to build more democratic societies free from prejudice and discrimination. The UfM is currently developing a cooperation framework between youth platforms in the Mediterranean basin, such as the Youth Forum for the Mediterranean, with the purpose of fostering intercultural dialogue and cooperation beyond the European borders and thus create a project-oriented space for mutual understanding in the field of youth. 

Following the discussions on inclusion and interculturality, YRN participant Tiziana Fantucchio, as a representative of CESIE, organised an interactive activity to raise awareness on sexual violence through a changing-pair exercise that allowed participants to explore their own personal boundaries. Another activity was organised by Vahram Vardanyan, member of the YRN Presidium, to reflect upon SDG 16 and the linkages with gender equality, discrimination and xenophobia. 

  • YRN-AER Participants with Abdelkader El Khissassi (UfM)
  • CESIE’s activity

The last workshop debate on Education for Sustainable Development involved a number of guest speakers: Giuseppe Lipari, board member of OBESSU, and Rocío Cervera from the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe. Giuseppe explained that OBESSU’s core goal is to increase the recognition of students as fundamental actors in shaping the educational policies and, to that end, the organisation commits itself not only to defend school student rights towards European Institutions and other relevant stakeholders but also to provide assistance for the development of school student representative structures at different levels. 

Rocío Cervera underlined three perspectives that are fundamental in the field of Global Education: multi-perspectivity; multi-stakeholder approach for advocacy purposes; and sustainable lifestyles, which links the notion of sustainable development to the individual responsibility of contributing to it. In this regard, Rocío concluded that “we are all educators and individually responsible for bringing about worldwide sustainable change”.  

  • Giuseppe Lipari (OBESSU)
  • Rocío Cervera (North-South Centre)

The work in the YRN Committees

Throughout the week, the 23 representatives of the AER – Youth Regional Network worked in the YRN committees putting a log-frame analysis (problem/alternative trees) into practice to identify a core issue related to SDG-16 hindering youth participation and the human (youth) right vulnerated. For this exercise, the participants integrated all relevant inputs received at the workshop debates and the outcomes of the log-frame analysis were used in a second phase to elaborate an advocacy plan. Following this advocacy reflection exercise, the participants discussed solutions to overcome the problems identified and came up with recommendations to lobby the regional and local entities they stand for.  

Outlining the main outcomes:

From these three days full of activities, workshops and debates concluded into many outcomes, although we could sum them all up into these three main outcomes:

  • Attitude: Self-awareness (youth as right-holders) and individual responsibility.
  • Skills: Analytical-advocacy planning skills.
  • Knowledge: Global challenges for local and regional actions.

Visit the event page to find all the presentations and materials of the AER – YRN’s activities at the 20th UYD.

Photo credits: @Luca Scognamillo / North-South Centre of the Council of Europe on Flickr

Takeaways of AER-YRN’s activities at the 20th University on Youth and Development

Takeaways of AER-YRN’s activities at the 20th University on Youth and Development

From 15 to 19 September, the Youth Regional Network of the Assembly of European Regions (AER-YRN) celebrated its Autumn Plenaries ...
Read More
Make this Week Last All Your Life – AER-YRN at the 20th UYD

Make this Week Last All Your Life – AER-YRN at the 20th UYD

From 15 until 19 September, 23 participants from 13 different countries represented the AER – Youth Regional Network (YRN) at ...
Read More
Take a look at the AER-YRN's programme for the 20th University on Youth & Development!

Take a look at the AER-YRN’s programme for the 20th University on Youth & Development!

From 15 to 19 September, a group of young participants from 13 different European countries will represent AER - Youth ...
Read More
Apply now for the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe's 20th University on Youth and Development!

Apply now for the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe’s 20th University on Youth and Development!

AER - Youth Regional Network (YRN) is very proud to announce its partnership with the North-South Centre of the Council ...
Read More
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