Youth Empowerment for Social Inclusion

By promoting social and civic engagement and democratic participation, the YES-SI project not only strengthens the European Youth Strategy 2021-2027, but also addresses key societal challenges such as climate change, migration and social inequalities. Young people, especially NEETs (young people without employment, education or training), are disadvantaged by poverty and social exclusion and have fewer opportunities to actively participate in social life. At the same time, many young people want to actively contribute to shaping the future, for example through movements such as "Fridays For Future". This is where YES-SI came in to support young people and youth workers with innovative, digital concepts and to promote their active participation in a sustainable and inclusive society. The transnational approach of the program with partners from five countries (DE, ES, EL, IT, IRE) also strengthened the European sense of community. Professional support has helped particularly disadvantaged young people to confidently represent their interests and get involved in networks to initiate change in their environment.

The aim of YES-SI was to empower young people to develop their own changemaker projects, recognise their potential and actively contribute to their community. They were encouraged to drive their personal and collective development through civic innovation. Young people were able to experience that they can shape a better future through their ideas and visions. Concrete measures included: inspiring activities to expand their skills, building new networks and teaching practical skills to shape social change themselves. By working with partner organisations, they learned to turn ideas into sustainable projects. The training course modules imparted knowledge, values ​​and motivation so that they could take responsibility for local and global challenges. The project also provided training material for youth workers to offer innovative methods to support young people. With offers such as the YES-SI Changemaker Labs and the crowdfunding game, common values ​​such as social justice and sustainability were strengthened and implemented in local initiatives.

The project was divided into 4 phases; Phase 1 - Development of the YES-SI methodology (months 1-7) Phase 2 - Development of training tools and other instruments (months 5-24): The YES-SI training program (R2) was developed using the co-design methodology, 12 videos with changemaker role models were shot (R3), the YES-SI Lab method (R4) was developed and the YES-SI game for crowdfunding (R5) was developed. In this phase, a 3-day pilot training for trainers and youth workers was also carried out in Larissa (GR). Phase 3 - Testing and piloting (months 18-30): YES-SI Labs were implemented at four model locations, where the training program was implemented using concrete changemaker projects with young people, trainers and local stakeholders. Finally, the results were shared and evaluated during a 5-day mixed mobility of the young participants and trainers in Barcelona Phase 4: Dissemination activities (month 12-30): Dissemination activities started at the beginning of the project (website, Instagram, newsletter), 6 multiplier events were organized. During this phase, the YES-SI manual was also developed as R6, taking into account the feedback from the previous phases.

The following concrete results were achieved: The YES-SI methodology as the conceptual, contextual and operational framework of the project. The YES-SI training modules, an interactive, tailor-made training offer for disadvantaged youth. The “YES-SI Stories of Impact and Inspiration” with success stories of young changemakers and their mentors and supporters. The four YES-SI Changemaker LABs, in which both virtual and real spaces for the groups of young people and training materials were provided. The YES-SI Gaming App, which introduced crowdfunding concepts through gamification and edutainment. The YES-SI Handbook, which serves as a guide for the establishment of further YES-SI Labs. In total, four YES-SI Labs were set up and over 200 participants were reached directly. The following concrete results were achieved: 141 young people between 18 and 25 years of age were trained through the YES-SI training modules (R2 and R4), 100 youth workers were trained, 53 representatives of urban interest groups were involved, 8 social innovation projects were developed. 1 project website, 5 newsletters, two social media channels, more than 2000 people reached through the media.