European Youth Together (ERASMUS-YOUTH-2024-YOUTH-TOG)

European Youth Together projects aim to create networks promoting regional partnerships, to be run in close cooperation with young people from across Europe (EU Member States and third countries associated to the programme). The networks should organise exchanges, promote trainings (for instance for youth leaders) and allow for young people themselves to set up joint projects, all of which can be done through both physical and online activities.

Objectives of the action

European Youth Together projects aim to create cooperation, enabling young people across Europe to set up joint projects, organise exchanges and promote trainings (e.g. for youth leaders/youth workers) through both physical and online activities. The action will support transnational partnerships for youth organisations from both grassroots and large-scale level, aiming to reinforce the European dimension of their activities.

Important thematic priorities are working with and promoting the EU Youth Goals Strategy 2019-2027 ¹ and the European Youth Goals. The European Youth Goals are also reflected in President von der Leyen Commission’s political guidelines. Project proposals may also treat the legacy of the European Year of Youth 2022 and the outomes of the ‘Conference for the Future of Europe’. The European Parliament elections in 2024 are relevant in the context of this action.

Youth networks should consider ways of forging solidarity and inclusiveness in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Specific objectives

The action seeks to specifically support at least one of the following specific objectives:

• The promotion and development of more transnational structured cooperation, online and offline, between different youth organisations to build or strengthen partnerships focusing on solidarity and inclusive democratic participation of all against a backdrop of the backlashes on socio-economic structures and in line with the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027, the European Youth Goals, the EU Youth Dialogue and the European Year of Youth 2022;
•     the promotion of the six core EU values that form the basis of our society: Respect for human dignity; Freedom; Democracy; Equality, Rule of law and Respect for human rights, including those of minorities;
• youth organisations involved in initiatives to encourage young people to participate in the democratic process and in society by organising trainings, showcase commonalities among young Europeans and encourage discussion and debate on their connection to the EU, its values and democratic foundations. This includes organising events as a lead-up to the 2024 elections to the European Parliament and beyond
• the promotion of participation of under-represented groups of young people in politics, youth organisations and other civil society organisations by engaging youth with fewer opportunities such as vulnerable and socio-economic disadvantaged youth;
• new ways to empower youth organisations, by supporting innovative ways of cooperation and network creation, development and management. Indicatively, this could include enhancing collaboration between youth organisations in a digital context through non-formal learning methods and organisational models such as alternative modes of exchanges and mutual aid.
• the reinforcement of the European dimension of the activities of grassroots youth organisations, including activities on how to live better together and helping to design sustainable future ways of living transnationally, in line with the European Green Deal and the New European Bauhaus initiative.

Activities

The action targets NGOs (not for profit) and public bodies, which propose projects with a capacity to mobilise young people in partnerships covering different countries and regions within the EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme and to contribute to the development and implementation of  the EU Youth Strategy, policy formulation and interaction with major stakeholders in the field of Youth.

Mobility activities for young people may form a key component of European Youth Together projects. This mobility should offer cross-border exchanges and non-formal or informal training opportunities for young people from across Europe that can be prepared and supported through online fora to contribute to the objectives of this action. These mobility activities must be very clearly justified according to the objectives of the action and principles of value for money.

All the activities should contribute to broadening the outreach towards youth, reaching young people both within and beyond youth organisations including youth with fewer opportunities, to ensure a diversity of voices is heard.

Which are the criteria to be met to apply for the European youth together grassroots action?

Eligibility criteria

In order to be eligible for an Erasmus grant, project proposals for European Youth Together must comply with the following criteria:

Eligible participating organisations (Who can apply?)

In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities, if applicable) must be:

• legal entities;
• established in an EU Member State or third country associated to the Programme;
• NGOs (including European Youth NGOs and national Youth Councils) working in the field of Youth;
• public authorities at local, regional or national level                                                                                                         

Public or private companies (small, medium or large enterprise, including social enterprises) as well as their affiliated entities, may also participate but not as coordinator.

Beneficiaries can, for example, be:  

• a non-profit organisation, association, NGO (including European Youth NGOs);  
• a national Youth Council;  
• a public authority at local, regional or national level;  
• an education or research institution;  
• a foundation

Consortium composition (Number and profile of participating organisation)

Proposals must be submitted by a consortium of minimum of 5 applicants (beneficiaries, not affiliated entities) from at least 5 EU Member States and/or third countries associated to the Programme.

Associated partners are allowed. Affiliated entities and associated partners do not count towards the minimum eligibility criteria for the consortium composition.

Geographic location (Venue of the activities)

Activities must take place in an EU Member State or third country associated to the Programme.

Horizontal aspects to be considered when designing your project:

In addition to complying with the formal criteria and setting up sustainable cooperation arrangement with all project partners, the following elements can contribute to increasing the impact and qualitative implementation of ‘European Youth Together projects’ throughout the different project phases. Applicants are encouraged to take these opportunities and dimensions into account when designing their project.  

Environmental sustainability

Projects should be designed in an eco-friendly way and should incorporate green practices in all its facets. Organisations and participants should have an environmental-friendly approach when designing the project, which will encourage everyone involved in the project to discuss and learn about environmental issues, reflecting about what can be done at different levels and help organisations and participants come up with alternative, greener ways of implementing project activities. 

Inclusion and diversity

The Erasmus+ Programme seeks to promote equal opportunities and access, inclusion and fairness across all its actions. To implement these principles, an Inclusion and Diversity Strategy has been devised to support a better outreach to participants from more diverse backgrounds, in particular those with fewer opportunities facing obstacles to participate in European Projects. Organisations should design accessible and inclusive project activities, taking into account the views of participants with fewer opportunities and involving them in decision making throughout the whole process. 

As a transversal principle, participating organisations should pursue strategies to connect to young people at grassroots level from a diversity of backgrounds. This covers the involvement of a diverse youth population with fewer opportunities, including those from remote/rural areas and/or with a migrant background. Therefore, all the activities should contribute to widening both the outreach of young people and their active engagement so as to ensure a diversity of voices are brought together.

Digital dimension

Virtual cooperation and experimentation with virtual and blended learning opportunities are key to successful projects. In particular, projects are strongly encouraged to use the European Youth Portal and the European Youth Strategy Platform to work together before, during and after the project activities.

Common values, civic engagement and participation

Projects will support active citizenship and ethics, as well as foster the development of social and intercultural competences, critical thinking and media literacy. The focus will also be on raising awareness on and understanding the European Union context.

Expected impact

The granted projects should demonstrate their expected contribution to EU youth policy by:

• building on the objectives of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 and more specifically by demonstrating how they are contributing to the ‘Engage-Connect-Empower’ priorities of the Strategy; 
• building on outcomes of the European Youth Goals, the EU Youth Dialogue and the European Year of Youth 2022 legacy other youth debate projects and opinion surveys related to the future of Europe such as the European Youth Work Agenda and linking them to policy development at local/regional/national/European level; 
• improving the involvement of young people in democratic life, in terms of active citizenship and engagement with decision-makers (empowerment, new skills, involvement of young people in project design, etc.);
• helping to improve the capacity of the youth sector active at grassroots level to work transnationally focusing on inclusiveness, solidarity and sustainability and promoting transnational learning and cooperation between young people and decision makers;
• upscaling existing best practices and outreach beyond local levels (rural, cities, regions, countries) and the regular network(s) including making good use of digital means to stay connected under all circumstances even in situations of remoteness, isolation or confinement;
• disseminating their results in an effective and attractive way among young people involved in youth organisations, so as to pave the way for more systematic partnerships, and also among youngsters who are not affiliated to youth structures or those with fewer opportunities, so as to pave the way for more systematic partnerships.

As a general rule, and within the limits of existing national and European legal frameworks, results should be made available as open educational resources (OER) as well as on relevant professional, sectorial or competent authorities’ platforms. The proposal should describe how data, materials, documents and audio-visual and social media activity produced will be made freely available and promoted through open licences, and will not contain disproportionate limitations.