EUROPA SIND WIR! [2018-2020]

About This Project

EUROPA SIND WIR!

A project of the TUI- Foundation in cooperation with the IKAB- Bildungswerk e.V.

Duration:

1st cycle: May 2018 – April 2019

2nd cycle: October 2019  – August 2020

The international survey “Young Europe 2017”, conducted by the TUI foundation has shown that an increasing number of young disadvantaged Europeans that do not have access to European civic and political education and to opportunities in order to become active European citizens, are skeptical towards the European idea. So as to offer to these target groups the opportunity to receive European political and civic education and understand what the advantages of being a European citizen are, the TUI Foundation has supported the development and piloting of the model project “EUROPA SIND WIR! – WE ARE EUROPE!” initiated by IKAB Bildungswerk e.V. in cooperation with Jugend- & Kulturprojekt e.V. and Ökumenische Kinder- und Jugendhaus (ÖKJH). The project gives the opportunity to young disadvantaged people to develop and share ideas about “their” Europe and then to implement them in guided activities. In October 2018, the model project will start with two sub-projects in Darmstadt, Dresden and Cologne.

Aims:

EUROPA SIND WIR! is a model project that aims to initiate and promote the values of the European Union and the opportunities and advantages it offers to young people using the following approaches:

• adapting low threshold forms of access and participation
• encouraging young people to experience democracy
• raising young people’s European awareness
• fostering personal, social and intercultural competencies

The project addresses disadvantaged young people, aged between 16 and 20 years of age by creating a space for exploration in order to discover their own expectations and wishes as citizens relating to Europe as a future democratic civil society and implement them in forms of small local projects.

In cooperation with IKAB Bildungswerk e.V. in Bonn/Cologne and the Ökumenische Kinder- und Jugendhaus (ÖKJH) in Darmstadt, Jugend- & Kulturprojekt e.V. has involved local stakeholders in the youth work sector so as to coordinate two sub-projects in Dresden. Local partners are the youth centre Kinder- und Jugendhaus „Juchten“ and the youth centre Kinder- und Jugendhause Chili.

Expected outcomes:

• to achieve a relevant input of ‘best practices’ in the context of European civic and democratic education of disadvantaged young people
• to raise youth centres and youth workers’ awareness and mobilise them to think and act as Europeans on local level.

Due to the fact that the project has been very successful, it has taken been followed up and Jugend- & Kulturprojekt e.V. cooperates with new local partners.

The project is financed by the TUI foundation and is coordinated by the IKAB Bildungswerk e.V.