Democracy, human rights, and the rule of law represent the foundations of European values. Over the past several years, our societies have faced various challenges (the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflicts, and the economic crisis). These processes have led to new tensions in the form of Euroscepticism, isolation, and the spread of disinformation, which threaten our democracy. Today, young people are exposed to numerous threats, more than just a few years ago. They need support, encouragement, and appropriate tools in order to fully participate in the democratic life of their communities, by expressing their views and opinions on the future of Europe.
The project “SHINE: Shaping the Future of Europe” aims to provide youth organizations and young people in partner countries with tools, skills, and knowledge that will enable meaningful youth participation and dialogue with decision-makers, ensure civic engagement of young people, and create space for their voices to be heard at the local, national, and European levels.
The overall objective of the project is to strengthen the capacities of youth organizations to use innovative tools and practices that encourage youth engagement in public life. The consortium will achieve the project’s objectives through the creation of new open resources and NFIL (non-formal and informal learning) tools.
Partners from Bulgaria, Germany, Romania, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro will exchange information and examples of good practice from their countries and jointly develop educational resources—a podcast series, a training manual for youth workers, and a board game on democracy and civic participation for young people. The partners will also initiate and implement capacity-building activities, local and international trainings, awareness-raising campaigns, promotional events, and a final youth conference.
Partners:
🔹 Foundation for Entrepreneurship, Culture and Education (Lead Partner, Bulgaria)
🔹 KulturLife GGmbH (Germany)
🔹 Asociatia Europeana de Dezvoltare a Adultilor (Romania)
🔹 People in Focus (Albania)
🔹 Udruženje građana Nešto Više (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
🔹 Novi Horizont (Montenegro)
The project is funded by the European Commission through the Erasmus+ programme.
ACTIVITIES:
Kick-off Meeting and Seminar of Youth Workers
A Kick-off meeting and a Seminar of youth workers were implemented between February 4 and February 6 in the city of Kiel, Germany. The events marked the beginning of the SHINE: Shaping the Future of Europe project, which involves a total of 6 organisations from Bulgaria, Germany, Romania, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.
The Kick-off meeting and the Seminar of youth workers were hosted by the German partner Kultur Life. The activities brought together a total of 19 participants, youth workers and project coordinators who engaged in a variety of non-formal activities aimed at stimulating debates and discussions about democracy, civic and community engagement of young people, governmental measures and instruments to support NGOs and youth work, as well as, the training needs of young people connected to empowerment and engagement of youth.
During the first day of the seminar the youth workers got to know each other, presented their organisations and created group definitions of what is “democracy”, “community engagement”, “youth engagement in decision-making” and “media literacy”.
The second day started with fun energizers. The sessions allowed participants to engage in meaningful discussions focused on outlining key aspects related to the degree of development of youth work and the tools to involve young people in public life. A non-formal activity called “Making links” provoked youth workers to brainstorm on the key actors in a democratic society and their most important functions. In the afternoon the project coordinators discussed the project’s administrative and financial management and the dissemination strategy.
On the final third day, youth workers discussed the methodology for the delivery of the project products: podcast series, training toolkit for youth workers on civic engagement and board game on democracy and civic participation for young people. All participants received their Youthpass certificates. The Kick-off meeting continued with sessions focused on the monitoring and evaluation process and a summary of each partner’s tasks and responsibilities.
Transnational Project Meeting in Timișoara
On 18–19 October 2025, partners of the Shaping the Future of Europe (SHINE) project gathered at the West University of Timișoara for the second Transnational Project Meeting. The two-day event focused on evaluating progress, planning upcoming activities, and strengthening collaboration among all partner organisations.
Across the two days, partners discussed the completion of the training toolkit, the external evaluation process, and the translation and promotion of the podcast series. A major focus was the collaborative development of the SHINE board game on democracy, where partners tested gameplay, refined rules, and agreed on design and terminology updates. UGNV will share a pre-final version with the consortium.
The meeting also covered planning for the International Training for Youth Workers and the International Academy for Young Leaders, including travel options, participant numbers, and reporting timelines. The meeting concluded with a collective Q&A session and renewed commitment to empowering young people and youth workers across Europe.
SHINE Project is an Erasmus + Project, funded by the European Union.
