Youth Exchanges are international meetings of groups of young people from at least two different countries who gather for a short period to implement jointly a non-formal learning programme (a mix of workshops, exercises, debates, role-plays, simulations, outdoor activities, etc.) on a topic of their interest. The learning period comprises a planning period before the application, preparation phase before as well as evaluation and follow-up after the exchange.

The general objectives of the Youth Exchanges are to engage and empower young people to become active citizens, connect them to the European project as well as to help them acquire and develop competences for life and their professional future.

Youth exchanges are for people from 13 to 30 years old and last from 5 to 21 days. Youth groups taking part in exchanges are supported by adult group leaders. Each youth exchange can include between 16 and 60 participants in total.

Learn more: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/opportunities/individuals/youth-exchanges

Youth participation activities are non-formal learning activities, taking place locally or in transnational cooperation, revolving around active participation of young people. Supported activities should help the participants strengthen their personal, social, citizenship and digital competences and become active European citizens. Youth participation activities can take the form of civic action and youth activism, allowing young people to engage in various ways to raise awareness of issues that matter to them.

This Action supports the use of alternative, innovative, smart and digital forms of youth participation, including the extension of youth participation into a variety of sectors and spaces (healthcare services, sports facilities etc., regardless of whether these are operated by the public or private sector), opening pathways to active participation for young people from all backgrounds.

Youth participation projects are for people from 13 to 30 years old and last from 3 to 24 months. Participants, especially those with less opportunities, can be supported by a coach.

Learn more https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/programme-guide/part-b/key-action-1/youth-participation

Volunteering projects offer opportunities for young people to take part in solidarity activities contributing to the daily work of hosting organisations, to the ultimate benefit of the communities within which the activities are carried out. Volunteering is a full-time, unpaid activity. This type of solidarity activity is undertaken through supporting and hosting organisations that offer young people the opportunity to carry out a wide variety of activities, in a structured way.

A set of measures and services, such as training, language learning support, identification and documentation of the competences acquired, insurance are foreseen to ensure the quality of the volunteering activities and a strong learning dimension for the participants.

International volunteering projects are for young people 18-30 years old for a period from 2 to 12 months. In case of volunteering in a team or in case of volunteers with less opportunities, the hosting activities can be even as short as 2 weeks. The projects include at least 2 organisations: supporting (sending) and hosting. Each organisation involved in the project must hold a Quality Label for European Solidarity Corps.

Learn more: https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity/young-people/volunteering_en

Volunteering under the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps takes place in third countries where there are ongoing humanitarian aid operations. This action gives the opportunity to young people to contribute to society by activities aimed at improving living conditions of people in need. These projects must be in line with the humanitarian aid principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, as well as with the ‘do no harm’ principle.

Humanitarian aid volunteering is for young people from 18 to 35 years old residing in the programme countries. Participants are deployed by supporting organisations for a period of 2-12 months (in case of volunteering in teams it can be 2 weeks to 2 months) in partner countries, where humanitarian aid activities and operations take place and where there are no ongoing international or non-international armed conflicts. The deployment in the partner country is supervised by hosting organisations. . Each organisation involved in the project must hold a Quality Label for Humanitarian Aid volunteering.

Learn more: https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity/young-people/volunteering-humanitarian-aid_en

The mobility projects support the professional development of youth workers and thereby the development of quality youth work at local, regional, national, European and international level, through international non-formal and informal learning experiences. The mobility projects provide opportunities for development of competencies of youth workers and youth trainers. The projects build a community that can support the quality of projects and activities for young people.

The mobility projects can comprise one or more professional development activities, that can be study visits, job-shadowings, networking and community building activities, training, workshops and seminars. Mobility projects for Youth Workers may include system development and outreach activities, which are complementary activities aiming at enhancing the impact of the mobility project on the field. They include all those activities contributing to quality, innovation and recognition of youth work and bringing back lessons learnt and tools to the organizations involved in the projects and beyond.

Projects within mobility of youth workers do not have age limits and can include up to 50 participants in total. The mobility can last from 2 days to 2 months.

Learn more: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/opportunities/individuals/networking-and-training

Capacity-building projects are international cooperation projects based on multilateral partnerships between organisations active in the field of youth in Programme and South- Mediterranean countries as well as the Western Balkans. 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.

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

Capacity building projects do not have age or group size limits and can last for 12, 24 or 36 months.

Learn more: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/opportunities/organisations/cooperation-among-organisations-and-institutions/capacity-building-youth

The primary goal of Cooperation Partnerships is to allow organisations to increase the quality and relevance of their activities, to develop and reinforce their networks of partners, to increase their capacity to operate jointly at transnational level, boosting internationalisation of their activities and through exchanging or developing new practices and methods as well as sharing and confronting ideas.

This projects aim to support the development, transfer and/or implementation of innovative practices as well as the implementation of joint initiatives promoting cooperation, peer learning and exchanges of experience at European level. Results should be re-usable, transferable, up-scalable and, if possible, have a strong transdisciplinary dimension.

The cooperation partnerships involve minimum 3 organisations from programme countries plus organisation from partner countries, in case they bring an essential added value to the project.

Learn more: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/opportunities/organisations/cooperation-among-organisations-and-institutions/partnerships-for-cooperation