This is an EU grant for the organisation of international cooperation projects based on multilateral partnerships between organisations active in the field of youth in Programme and third countries not associated to the Programme.
They aim to support the international cooperation and policy dialogue in the field of youth and non-formal learning, as a driver of sustainable socio-economic development and well-being of youth organisations and young people.

Projects should aim at:

• raising the capacity of organisations working with young people outside formal learning;
• promote non-formal learning activities in third countries not associated to the Programme, especially targeting young people with fewer opportunities, with a view to improving the level of competences while ensuring the active participation of young people in society;
• support the development of youth work in third countries not associated to the Programme, improving its quality and recognition;
• foster the development, testing and launching of schemes and programmes of non-formal learning mobility in third countries not associated to the Programme;
• contribute to the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy (2019-2027) including the 11 European Youth goals;
• foster cooperation across different regions of the world through joint initiatives;
• enhance synergies and complementarities with formal education systems and/or the labour market;

Proposals should focus on one or more of the following thematic areas:

• political participation and dialogue with decision-makers;
• inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities;
• democracy, rule of law and values;
• empowerment / engagement / employability of young people ;
• peace and post-conflict reconciliation;
• environment and climate;
• anti-discrimination and gender equality;
• digital and entrepreneurial skills.
   

Capacity Building projects should:

• contribute to encouraging policy dialogue, cooperation, networking and exchanges of practices;
• promote strategic cooperation between youth organisations on the one hand and public authorities, particularly in eligible third countries not associated to the Programme;
• promote the cooperation between youth organisations and organisations active in the education and training fields as well as with organisations from the labour market;
• raise the capacities of youth councils, youth platforms and local, regional and national authorities dealing with youth, in particular in eligible third countries not associated to the Programme;
• enhance the management, governance, innovation capacity, leadership and internationalisation of youth organisations, particularly in eligible third countries not associated to the Programme;
• support the development of information and awareness campaigns, as well as the development of information, communication and media tools;
• help developing youth work methods, tools and materials;
• create new forms of delivering youth work and providing training and support; facilitate non-formal learning mobility.

Capacity-building activities
Examples of activities include:

• the development of tools and methods for the socio-professional development of youth workers and trainers;
• the development of non-formal learning methods, especially those promoting the acquisition/improvement of competences, including media literacy skills;
• the development of new forms of practical training schemes and simulation of real life cases in society;
• the development of new forms of youth work, notably strategic use of open and flexible learning, virtual cooperation, open educational resources (OER) and better exploitation of the ICT potential;
• the organisation of events/seminars/workshops/exchange of good practice for cooperation, networking, awareness raising and peer-learning purposes
• the organisation of mobility activities for young people and/or youth workers in order to test tools and methods developed by the partnership. Please note that mobility activities must be secondary to the main objectives of the action, and must be instrumental to and underpin the achievement of these objectives.

A Capacity Building project in the field of youth consists of four stages, which start even before the project proposal is selected for funding e.g.

1) Project identification and initiation;
2) Project preparation, design and planning;
3) Project implementation and monitoring of activities; and
4) Project review and impact assessment.

A Capacity Building project should include the following dimensions:
– Environmental sustainability
– Inclusion and Diversity
– Digital dimension
– Common values, civic engagement and participation.

  Who can apply
The following organisations can be involved as co-ordinator:

• NGOs (including European Youth NGOs and national Youth Councils) working in the field of Youth;  
• Public authorities at local, regional or national level. 

The organisation applies on behalf of all participating organisations involved in the project and must be legally established and located in an EU Member State or third country associated to the Programme or a third country not associated to the Programme from regions 1 and 3.

Type of eligible organisations to participate in the project
Any organisation, public or private, with its affiliated entities (if any), working with or for young people outside formal settings established in an EU Member State or third country associated to the Programme, or in a third country not associated to the Programme from regions 1 and 3:

– Region 1: Western Balkans (Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Kosovo; Montenegro)
– Region 3: South Mediterranean countries” (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia).

Number and profile of participating organisations
Capacity Building projects are transnational and involve minimum one organisation from two different EU Member States and/or third countries associated to the Programme and two organisations from at least 1 eligible third country not associated to the Programme (i.e. at least 4 organisations from minimum 3 countries).
The number of organisations from Member States and third countries associated to the Programme may not be higher than the number of organisations from third countries not associated to the Programme.

Venue of the activities
The activity must take place in the countries of the organisations participating in the activity.
In addition, if duly justified in relation to the objectives or implementation of the project: 

• Activities can also take place at the seat of an Institution of the European Union, even if in the project there are no participating organisations from the country that hosts the Institution.   
• Activities involving sharing and promotion of results can also take place at relevant thematic transnational events/conferences in s in EU Member States or third countries associated to the Programme or third countries not associated to the Programme.

Duration of the project
Capacity-building Projects can last one, two or three years. 

Deadline: Applications should be submitted applications to the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency  (EACEA) by: 7 April 2022, 17:00 (Brussels time).

Interested organisations should read the full details in the Erasmus+ Programme Guide.

For further support, they should contact the National Agency in their country.

Read more here.