In all the unpleasant news that 2020 has offered us, we have one that just might put a smile on your face. Sunrise Project France is happy to announce the launch of the project From Humanity and Beyond. Are you excited?  Here’s why you should be.

This training course will gather 27 youth workers from 9 countries: Italy, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Denmark. The goals of this project are to help the young people gain new skills to better support refugees/asylum seekers/ immigrants and other youth and promote inclusion and tolerance. This experience will bring together these young people, who are actively involved in the field, and will give them the necessary tools to better themselves and their communities. The project will last 7 days and 2 travel days (arrival and departure days). It will take place in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France in 2021, but it is possible that the current pandemic might cause postponing. 

The reason we decided to focus on these specific topics, is simple. These are integral qualities of an understanding, peaceful society. We think that combating racism and the radicalization of youth is crucial if we want an inclusive society. That’s why we decided to create this project, so that we can work towards this goal together. The training course takes place in a context where society continues to face racist hostility and intolerance towards minorities. The training aims to bring youth workers together and to fight against the different forms of intolerance that affect young people today. 

This training course is aimed at promoting intercultural dialog, tolerance and respect for the human rights and preventing radicalisation of youth. The project is designed to address the main objective of Erasmus+ programme in the field of youth for the period 2014-2020. It states that Europe needs to have more connected societies, and with the aid of youth work, they will be able to foster social integration, promote intercultural understanding and prevent violent radicalization. The objective also refers to the migrants category as a whole: “Erasmus+ is an effective instrument to promote the inclusion of people with disadvantaged backgrounds, including newly arrived migrants”. We believe that this project through its specific objectives address all the challenges mentioned above and by training the participants how to understand, address, prevent and them, we will make a step forward for a more inclusive, cohesive and peaceful Europe.

This mobility of youth workers is based on non-formal education and learning methods that will help participants to experiment, analyse and examine different approaches that they can use in their daily activities with the target group. They will experiment with a range of innovative approaches by applying the experiential learning cycle: action, reflection, conceptualisation and experimentation. All working methods are designed to meet the needs and expectations of the participants and to encourage cooperation between them. The training course includes simulations and games, problem-solving exercises, mind mapping methods, intercultural exchanges, interactive workshops, brainstorming sessions, methods related to youth psychology, refugee psychology, etc. and open air sessions. 

From Humanity and Beyond is a Mobility of Youth Workers — Training Course funded by the European Commission — Erasmus+ Programme. 

The project is coordinated by Sunrise Project — France organisation in partnership with organisations from eight other countries:

• 🇧🇬 Bulgaria — Association Focus-european Center For Development 
• 🇨🇾 Cyprus — Stressball
• 🇩🇰 Denmark — Kulan Organisation  
• 🇬🇷 Greece — Young Active Eurocitizens 
• 🇮🇹 Italy — LiberaMente 
• 🇷🇴 Romania — Vocea Copiilor Abandonati 
• 🇸🇰 Slovakia — Youthfully Yours Sk 
• 🇹🇷 Turkey — Akdeniz Ucuncu Goz Egitim ve Genclik Dernegi 

This article was written by Detelina, volunteer at Sunrise Project France since April 2020. She is a bulgarian citizen and likes to learn, write, cook and meet new people.