PEOPLE  PLACES  PARTNERSHIPS

From youth initiatives to Community Hubs

Goals and Objectives
The project “People Places Partnerships: from youth initiatives to Community Hubs” (PPP) aims at setting up, supporting and sustaining youth-led Community Hubs in marginalised communities in eight European countries. Community Hubs respond to residents’ needs in the form of projects or services which are led by young people. Community Hubs use a structure of a youth centre, youth club, community centre or citizen café and offer a model for community exchange, asset sharing and youth entrepreneurship. The services and projects in Community Hubs are aimed at improving the quality of life at local level.

The long-term goal of the PPP project is to empower young people to become active citizens with a multi-faceted skill set. The project aims at defining new models of youth initiatives with community outreach and social entrepreneurial design. It also intends to reinforce young people’s links to their community while creating human capital which would stay at the local level. Community Hubs are managed by young people and act as service and learning centres for other young people and members in their community.

People Places Partnerships on the Erasmus+ project results platform:

For the full description of the project and all the project results, click here.

Visit the Project website

Visit the Project Facebook Page 

Specific objectives:

  1. Develop a sustainability model (PPP Model) for youth initiatives and youth centres so that they serve local community needs and become Community Hubs.
  2. Develop a training programme for young people with fewer opportunities that would foster their active citizenship, entrepreneurial and employability potential, raise pro-active attitudes and increase specific competences and skills, e.g. self-confidence, leadership, advocacy skills, fluent English, communication and fundraising.
  3. Give a kick to young people’s initiatives through the PPP Model enhanced by the training programme.
  4. Qualify youth workers from partner organisations to deliver the training programme to young people.
  5. Advocate for supportive policies for youth initiatives and structures at local level.

The project is implemented from 1 May 2016 to 30 April 2018. It is funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Programme, Key Action 2 – Strategic Partnerships.

Project Design

“PPP” Stages

  • 1P: People – young people map the needs and assets in the community and develop their initiatives serving community needs. They are supported by a Local Stakeholder Circle.
  • 2P: Partnerships – young people receive support to their initiatives from the local community which is composed of active residents, NGOs, local businesses and municipality representatives.
  • 3P: Places – young people transform their ideas into sustainable projects and services and strengthen the role of places used by young people gradually becoming multi-purpose centres (Community Hubs). See also examples on page 49

“P”-Challenges
The “P”-Challenges are video competitions launched in every stage to inspire, motivate and engage young people. A winner of each “P-Challenge” gets an award.

  • The “People” Challenge: for ideas of youth-led community initiatives
  • The “Partnership” Challenge: for the partnership aspect of youth-led community initiatives
  • The “Places” Challenge: for strategies for sustainability of youth initiatives and Community Hubs

International meetings and workshops
International face-to-face meetings of partner representatives, young people and youth coaches will enrich individual experiences, enable sharing of similar processes happening in parallel in the respective countries and serve as a motivator through all phases of the project.

  • Partners’ Meeting in Turin, Italy, 9-15 June 2016
  • Training of Trainers in Berlin, Germany, 10-16 October 2016
  • Youth Exchange in Bacau, Romania, Spring 2017
  • Final conference in Turin, Italy, Spring 2018

PPP Intellectual Outputs
Within the framework of the PPP project the following Intellectual Outputs have to be produced by the partner organisations of the project:

  • O1. Guidebook of the PPP Model and its training content and methods
  • O2. Community maps
  • O3. “Community Visions – my community 5 years from now” & plan for change (policy aspect)
  • O4. Local training programme delivery
  • O5. Online sharing & learning platform
  • O6. People, Partnerships & Places: Local evaluation reports
  • O7. Community Hubs (policy and learning aspect)
  • O8. Sustainability plan for Community Hubs (policy aspect)
  • O9. International Network of Community Hubs (policy aspect)
  • O10. Final report – Documentary Film “People, partnership and places”

Online exchange and blended learning
Young people and youth coaches exchange regularly with their peers in Europe via the project’s online platform and online coaching sessions. The purpose of the online platform is to facilitate peer learning and sharing of ideas in forums, make the project material available for use and dissemination and host the video challenges.

The Network of Community Hubs
In the final stage of the project, the Network of Community Hubs will be set up to disseminate project results and replicate best practices of a PPP Model for youth initiatives which are sustainable, place-bound and community-oriented.  

Partners
The project is piloted, implemented and evaluated by a consortium of 9 partners from the East, West, South and North of Europe. All partners work with young people with fewer opportunities (15 to 29 y.o.) who experience socio-economic and geographical disadvantage. It includes the Roma communities in Slovakia and Czech Republic; urban settings in Greece and Italy; outskirts of big cities in Spain and Sweden and the economically disadvantaged region in Romania.
Comunita Impegno Servizio Volontariato (CISV) from Italy is the leading partner whereas YEPP International Resource Centre from Germany is leading for the content of the project.

The 9 partners of the PPP project:

  • Comunita Impegno Servizio Volontariato (CISV)– ITALY
  • YEPP IRC of the International Academy Berlin (INA) – GERMANY
  • Association for Better Life – SLOVAKIA
  • Fundatia Comunitara Bacau – ROMANIA
  • Sdruzeni Romano Jasnica – CZECH REPUBLIC
  • Solna Youth Cafe – SWEDEN
  • Ajuntament de Lliçà de Vall – Casal de Joves El Kaliu – SPAIN
  • YEPP Italia – ITALY
  • Hellenic Youth Participation – GREECE