CARMA

 

TOP-25 EUROPE is partner in the project “Create Awareness Raising Mobile Actions” (CARMA), co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Commission. Project partners are from Europe (Belgium, Bulgaria and France) and Latin America (Argentina, Colombia and Peru).

The main objective of the CARMA-project is to support the European (and global) efforts to decrease youth unemployment by strengthening the youth’s capacities, competences and economic abilities through extending their knowledge, perspective and (personal and/or professional) network.

The project will:

  • Set up and implement at least 18 local campaigns in 6 different countries on 2 continents
  • Exchange and develop information concerning responsible citizenship, focused on four fields: Youth Unemployment, Ecology, Health and Citizenship
  • Implement a youth workers mobility and job shadowing
  • Directly involve a large number of young people:
    • 12 youth workers will be invited for the training the trainers meeting (2 per partner)
    • 24 young volunteers will be engaged in the project and trained, to elaborate, execute, follow-up and refine different field actions
    • 5400 young people (900 per partner) will be reached through 18 field-actions (3 actions per partner)
  • Have 12 000 indirect participants informed by the printed material in both campaign rounds, 60 000 by social media and 150 000 by conventional media.

Kick-Off Meeting in Lyon

From 22nd to 24th of January 2019 we kicked off the CARMA-project in Lyon, France. This three day meeting was the perfect opportunity for the project partners to get to know one another and to get familiarized with the different NGO’s and their field of expertise. Furthermore we took the time to look at the projects content and outlining. Everybody returned to their home countries with a clear phased plan and goal for the next meeting.

Training the trainers in Lima

From 12th to 27th of February 2019 our organization send a two-headed delegation across the ocean to participate in the “Training the trainers” exchange in Lima, Peru. The complete international CARMA-team got submerged in workshops on campaigning and dialogue techniques. The second part of the training was shaped by a presentation of each partners assortment on tools and methodologies within their field of expertise. Armed with new insights our trainers were geared up to pass on their knowledge to the Belgian team of volunteers.

Training the CARMA-Angels

The first culmination of our Belgian CARMA-team was Saturday 20th of April 2019. The day on which our trainers would transfer their knowledge and the team of volunteers would get equipped to successfully carry out the planned activities. Together with the input of the volunteers the content of our campaigns gained shape and several methodologies were devised.

Pilot Action

Saturday 11th of May 2019 the day came to put all gathered expertise to the test. The fundraising event OverLEVER, an alcohol-free festival organized by the final year medical students at the University of Ghent, seemed like the perfect opportunity to get on with the next phase of the project: organizing on-field actions!

Intermediate Project Meeting

From 22nd of May to 5th of June 2019 it was our turn to host all project partners. The entire international CARMA-team came to Brussels for a Job Shadowing exchange. They got acquainted with our organization and the day-to-day running here in Belgium. In addition we foresaw a big chunk of time to support mutual learning during out Intermediate Project Meeting. All gathered knowledge and experience were presented by each partner and together we looked for ways to improve the projects implementation.

First on-field action

On September 21st, 2019, we had our first opportunity to put the shared knowledge and experiences of our partner organizations into practice during our first real on-field action in Leuven. We have chosen to focus on the ecology part and participate in the global action World Cleanup Day. Armed with garbage bags, gloves and bins of enthusiasm, our team went to the Vaart in Leuven to get rid of garbage lying around.

Second on-field action

Our second and final on-field action was held on October 18th, 2019, during Youth Movement Day. On this Friday afternoon all youth movements from Ghent came together in the Coyendanspark for numerous activities. The perfect opportunity for us to introduce these young people to the project through fun activities and useful goodies!

Final Meeting in Buenos Aires

On Wednesday, November 6th, 2019, the partners put their heads together one last time. Everyone had the opportunity to present their implementations throughout the project and to present the developed tools and methodologies. They also worked towards the completion of the project and the last TO DO’s were listed. The CARMA-project was almost at its end..

Final Conference in Buenos Aires

The very last meeting of the project took place on Friday, November 8th, 2019 during the closing conference in Buenos Aires. The team got acquainted with various road safety actors and youth projects from Buenos Aires, Argentina and Central or South American countries such as Chile and Mexico. After presentations of these organizations or initiatives, the attendees had the opportunity to test different tools. Our two project employees were able to feast their eyes and could return home with a backpack full of new ideas.