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Our projects

Ka3 project | european Youth at the frontlines of active citizenship: a roadmap towards a collective South-north-east-West Momentum

5partner countries: Macedonia, Romania, Cyprus, Spain, Denmark

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5organizations 25future-shapers 25local projects

The project provided a platform to empower young people facing fewer opportunities to explore innovative ways for active civil participation in the democratic processes in our European societies. A selected network of youth multipliers was trained, mentored and received financial support for grassroots youthled outreach initiatives, with the objective to directly support the societies’ aspirations to achieve social and economic prosperity. In 2021, VCS hosted final conference of the project.

Ka3 project | Peeract - upscaling peer-to-peer anti-bias education for promoting common values

8partners: EPTO, Ofensiva Tinerilor, Youth On The Move, Par, Humanitas, VCS, Pomoc Deci, European Institute of Education and Social Policy

7countries: Belgium, Romania, Portugal, Slovenia, Macedonia, Serbia, France

PeerAct is an international effort of 8 partners from 7 European countries to contribute substantially to building peaceful societies and to tackling all forms of discrimination, intolerance and inequality by involving youngsters and communities from different backgrounds and countries in the AWOD - A world of difference” training programme and by creating synergies between the formal and the non-formal education system. The general objective of the project is to equip 1300 young people across various communities with necessary social and civic competencies that will make them embrace the values of non-discrimination, tolerance, solidarity, and equality. Alongside this, the aim is also to provide 70 young people with the competencies and certification needed to facilitate the process that leads to these acquisitions and to develop a framework for cooperation.

Ka2 project | tWoSt training without Stereotypes

7partners: CSCS, Asteri, Associacao Animam Viventem, Xeracion, Club Basquet Granollers, CGFS, VCS

5countries: Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Macedonia

Project is aimed at preventing gender-based discrimination towards youth. The project addresses in particular crosssectorial cooperation, allowing for greater synergies across all fields of actions concerning young people, with a special focus on access to rights, autonomy, (e)participation and the active citizenship of young people, avoiding gender self-segregation phenomena and promoting common values of mutual respect between genders and without prejudice to their sexuality. The primary outcome of TWOST is an online self-assessment tool to develop personalized guidance towards gender awareness, with a particular focus on analyzing strategic areas within the organization such as HR management, leadership, coaching, mentoring, youth animation, stereotypes in communication activities, gender-based violence, and participation, and also online database.

5partners: Saltes, Zavod Voluntariat, Pi Youth Association, Jovobarat Egyesulet, VCS

5countries: Macedonia, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovenia, Turkey

“Shake a leg, together!” is a project about healthy and active lifestyle. With this project we aim to reach as many people as possible in participating countries and encourage them to take up any sort of physical activity, to inform them about its benefits and to help making physical activity an attractive hobby.

Ka2 project | reinventing community radio in the Smartphone era

5partners: Stamp Media, Carpe Diem, Abrashevic, Aarhus Global Media, VCS

5countries: Belgium, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Macedonia

The project aims to enhance the capacities of the civil society youth organizations using digital radio as a tool for active citizenship and democracy. In October 2021, we attended the Transnational Project meeting that happened in Antwerp, Belgium, to discuss further development of the project.

Ka2 project | Young GeeKS | Get empowered with entrepreneurial minds, Knowledge and Strategies

5partners: Bashkia Korce, Koinonia Ison Eukairion, Sistem ve Jenerasyon Dernegi, Associazione Culturale, Ambientale e del tempo libero Usamborgia, VCS

5countries: Albania, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Macedonia Young GEEKS was a project with innovative concept to empower youth entrepreneurs in the field of Agrotourism, Agribusiness, Tourism and ICT towards sustainable developments. It strived for a holistic approach that combines capacity building, mentorship and technical training, technological tools, including non-formal E-learning through a common ‘Collaboration Platform’ and cross-country collaboration/exchange experiences. There were 5 activities in Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Italy and Turkey, and VCS was represented by the students and teachers from the Technical High School "Gostivar" from Gostivar.

Ka2 project | Volunteering connecting communities (Vcc & Vcc 2.0)

5partners: Mladi Volonteri, Beyond Barriers Association, Iuventa, Allons-y Association, VCS

5countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Serbia, Romania, Macedonia

VCC aims at: increasing youth potential in civic education, especially in volunteerism, through capacity building actions targeting youth workers who work with young people with fewer opportunities in local and European level; increasing the quality of youth work through the exchange of experiences and building up sustainable partnerships among partners and other NGOs and institutions.

Ka2 project | MuSiclinG Social entrepreneurship with recycled instruments

4partners: Xeracion Valencia, Euro-Net, Κ.Α.ΝΕ., VCS

4countries: Spain, Italy, Greece, Macedonia The aim of this project is to get youth to develop key skills for their future through creativity and arts, specifically music and crafts, since they will be able to create recycled instruments from waste, and they will also learn how to play these instruments with basic notions of music theory so that they can get involved in projects related to music, arts and culture.

Ka2 project | #Youthtoo

10countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Estonia, Italy, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Greece

VCS is part of the #YouthToo project, approved by EACEA in the frame of Erasmus+ program - Western Balkan Window, officially started at 7. December 2019. The main goal of the project is to learn about gender-based and sexual violence in the love affairs of young people and to open those issues that are, more or less, in all our societies related to shame, fear, guilt, in short - taboo. Strengthening the capacities and competencies for working with young people on the topic of gender and sexual violence in the love / relationships of young people, through trainings for volunteers and youth workers. The result and products of the project are an online and offline campaign for gender-based violence with posters, stickers and short videos. One of the final products of the project is a Manual for prevention of youth gender based violence . The manual is an educational material intended for young people and those who work with young people, both in institutions and in the civil sector.

iPa | Youth Participation for Strong and Sustainable community Development

The project "Youth Participation for Strong and Sustainable Community Development" is funded by the European Union and implemented by the Coalition of Youth Organizations SEGA as the main implementer together with the partners SOS Children's Village North Macedonia, Volunteers Centre Skopje and Association Women's Forum Tetovo. The project aims to improve the quality of youth policy implementation based on structural cooperation and substantial participation of networked civil society, thus contributing to an independent and sustainable civil society supported by a supportive environment that encourages participatory and gender-sensitive youth policy-making processes. The implementation period is January 2021 - April 2024.

teHV | towards effective Humanitarian Volunteering

3EU partners: ADICE (France), ADRA Czechia (Czech Republic), ADRA Slovakia (Slovakia)

7non-EU organizations: IDEA CA (Kyrgyzstan), YIC (Armenia), WHR (Nepal), CYA (Cambodia), ADRA Lebanon (Lebanon), ADRA Serbia (Serbia), VCS (Macedonia)

TEHV project aimed to prepare organizations for hosting EU Aid volunteers i.e. Humanitarian aid volunteers through multiple online trainings on safety and security, policies (e.g. safeguarding, data protection, equal opportunities), communication, volunteer management, mentoring, and DRR (disaster risk reduction).

regional Project cooperation-oeaD austria | Project “School Meets Business”

80school coordinators

2offline trainings, several ZOOM trainings, networking workshop, Final Event

VCS continued its coordinating and logistical support role in 2021 on the project “School Meets Business” targeting VET school coordinators from Macedonia to be trained as a link between the schools and the companies where the students do their internship and practical work.