The EuroAsi – “From Europe to Asia: Capitalizing Experience in Youth Work,” a 23-month long project under the Erasmus+ co-funded by the European Commission and coordinated by TDM 2000 International has come to its final loop of evaluation in the historic city of Cagliari, island Region of Sardinia, Italy from September 16-19, 2016.
Back in 2013, the project was conceptualized by TDM 2000 International and a pioneer project under the Erasmus+ guidelines rolled out by the EU. The ambitious project involved the 2 continents – Europe & Asia, 6 countries with partner organizations in Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The aim was to collect and share the best practices acquired in more than 2 decades of youth policies and programmes in Europe with Indonesia and the Philippines since it is widely recognized how much 20 years of European Youth policies have benefited European young people and youth organizations, giving them the opportunity of growing and improving their skills and capacities.
To refresh our memories, the objectives of the project were to: 1) bring innovation in the field of international youth work, 2) empower the local youth through non formal learning, youth mobility and active participation in their society of origin, 3) build and strengthen partnerships between youth organizations in EU and Southeast Asia countries, and 4) encourage mutual understanding and cooperation within EU and Southeast Asia countries. Much of the content of the project is the 10 months of training on the field in Indonesia and the Philippines, starting from March 2015 and divided in 5 modules: 1. Youth NGO Management; 2. Project Management; 3. Financial Management; 4. Human Resources Management; 5. Communication, Visibility and Dissemination. Afterwards, an opportunity was given to the volunteers through Job Shadowing and European Voluntary Service. Job Shadowing is 21 days of internship in Europe for 10 selected trainees and youth workers from Indonesia and the Philippines, which will have the chance to learn while observing and working alongside the staff of 5 European youth NGOs. EVS: 90 days of European Voluntary Service in Europe for 12 selected Indonesian and Filipino youngsters aged among 18 and 30, which will have the chance to experience, as international volunteers, the daily work of a 3 well-established European youth NGOs.
The final conference was attended by the different partner organizations, stakeholders and volunteers to discuss if the set objectives were achieved, and a foresight on the project being sustained in the regional (ASEAN) and international setting (ASEAN-EU) together with the dissemination activities of the different partners. Another project was launched by the TDM 2000 International and awaiting approval by the European Commission to follow though the objectives of the projects specific to policy making and implementation entitled “EUROASIAN BRIDGES: consolidating sustainable cooperation in youth work”.
Throughout the project, several challenges were met together with opportunities gained that made the entire project a success that it was, given that this type of activity within the EU’s Key action is a pioneer project. There are positive impacts observed and described by the individuals who were selected for the job shadowing and the EVS, as well as the youth volunteers and youth workers who participated in the short courses. Volunteers who joined the training courses became more active towards their involvement in youth work while youth volunteers and workers who joined the international opportunities provided details of their life-changing experience through the different tools or platforms of evaluation including blogs on their activities: https://www.euroasi.net/educational-tools/blogs/. Notable effect of the project includes a simple act of securing a passport for those participants who missed the international opportunities and more notable changes are strengthening of the existing NGOs in their localities to further sustain international activities for the locals. Non-formal education and other dissemination activities learned from the project are also being advocated.
Aside from the conference in the historical backdrop of Cagliari, a series of meeting with partner organizations’ representatives and the TDM 2000 International team were done to gauge how everyone’s involvement made the project a success, how these involvement could further improve and discussed exciting opportunities beyond the borders of their respective countries.
Mar Schoenenberger