About – Green Up Development

PROJECT BACKGROUND

The project aims to raise awareness about one of the most critical issues facing the world today: environmental protection. Throughout this initiative, we will address a range of topics, including environmental sustainability, pollution, climate change, recycling, and sustainable development. Our primary objective is to confront ecological challenges within our societies, emphasising the necessity for adopting more eco-friendly lifestyles and cultivating greater awareness of our daily activities that contribute to environmental degradation. Specifically targeting young people, we aim to inspire them to become proactive advocates for positive change within their communities. To accomplish these goals, we will employ multicultural physical interactions, non-formal learning methodologies, digital education, and both digital and practical outcomes

PROJECT RATIONALE

The project will focus on engaging young individuals aged 18 to 30 who face geographical barriers, such as residing in urban problem zones or rural and remote areas, as well as those encountering social and economic obstacles. Regardless of that the project is open to all young people from 6 countries that participate on this project.

The project will address all of the aforementioned topics, working directly with young people throughout four different phases. Active participation of interested candidates is mandatory throughout all of these.

Over the course of the project’s initial phase, we will conduct four transnational trainings to raise awareness and educate young people. These trainings will cover various themes:

  1. Recycling, reducing, and reusing materials to create additional value, including organic agriculture.
  2. Sustainable Development Goals, climate actions as we as organic agriculture, with an emphasis on promoting modern permaculture practices, micro-gardens and balconies, rooftops, or community gardening.
  3. Basic audio-video production and digital storytelling techniques.
  4. Utilising digital marketing as a tool to promote project objectives and the outcomes of participant efforts, thereby enhancing their capacities.

Each transnational exchange will host 18 participants, resulting in 72 individuals educated throughout the project. Generally speaking, an interested candidate is welcome to apply for more than one topic but can not participate in more than two.

Apart from these four mobilities, each partner will organise a national Training Course (TC) on Proposal Writing, which is mandatory for all the participants from a particular country. This TC should be put to their advantage when proposing their local activities in the next phase.

In the subsequent phase, participants will form small national groups tasked with synthesising the competencies acquired during the transnational exchanges. These groups will develop their own small-scale projects or initiatives, eligible for sub-grants from the project budget. They will submit “project proposals” for subgranting, which will be evaluated by the project team.

Moreover, Transnational Team Events will gather participants from various countries in an online environment and allow them to share their ideas, aspirations, and support with each other. The idea behind these activities is to promote international cooperation and even participate in local activities in other countries.

The third phase will involve implementing participant-led projects and initiatives. Participants will receive funding from the project budget to cover their costs.

These small-scale initiatives/projects will be project multiplication events that can last from one day to more than one month, depending on the young people—multiplicators’ ideas/projects.

The fourth and final phase considers summoning up the results achieved and distributing them through conventional media and social networks.

As you can see from these four phases, we are looking for devoted applicants and young leaders who can commit to mandatory training courses and online meetings, and develop and implement their local initiatives in their community. This is not to scare you away, and it will not be anything like a full-time job or volunteering abroad, no; it is simply to prepare you for a year-long process that will occasionally borrow a bit of your time and much of your motivation to make our world greener.

Once again, mandatory elements include:

  • One of the four training courses on various topics (abroad)
  • A national training course on project proposal writing (in your country)
  • Transnational team event (online)
  • Local activities (in your community)

Call for Participants – the first TC on Reuse, Recycle, Reduce (3R), 10-20 April 2024 – under the “Green Up Development” project

Are you passionate about protecting the environment and creating positive change in your community? Are you between the ages of 15 and 30, eager to learn and ready to take action? Would you like to learn new skills related to the “3R”?

We invite you to participate in our new sustainability project! Through a series of engaging training courses, we aim to empower young leaders like you to become advocates for environmental initiatives in your local communities and multiply the knowledge with your peers.

We are looking for three young participants to participate in our first TC on Recycle, Reduce, and Reuse, which will be held in Croatia and Austria (yes! you’ll be changing places, how exciting!) from April 10th to April 20th (including the travel days). APPLY TODAY!

Training Course Overview:

Our project focuses on raising awareness about crucial environmental issues such as pollution, climate change, recycling, and sustainable development.

Objectives:

  1. To deepen understanding of the importance of reusing, recycling, and reducing waste in mitigating environmental degradation.
  2. To explore practical strategies and initiatives for implementing “3R” principles within local communities.
  3. To foster cross-cultural exchange and collaboration among participants from diverse backgrounds.
  4. To inspire participants to advocate for sustainable living and environmental stewardship within their societies.
  5. To inspire participants to think of their potential ideas for follow-up activities and actively engage in other phases of the project.

What You’ll Gain:

  • Knowledge and skills in sustainable development practices, like recycling, reducing, and reusing;
  • Opportunities for multicultural exchange and community building;
  • Leadership training and hands-on experience in environmental advocacy;
  • Opportunity to visit another country and explore its sustainability practice;
  • Networking opportunities with like-minded individuals from diverse backgrounds from six different countries;
  • Learning how to write a project proposal in a later stage and implement follow-up activities in your community;
  • Funding for your idea for local activity that will tackle one of the environmental issues covered by the project;

How to Get Involved:

If you’re ready to participate in the first TC, simply complete our online application form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScjuNUu1alNzvs_GMj_tajb7a88yUzg3pB-JUf-lakpsFrCjA/viewform. Be sure to convince us about your interests, experiences, and why you’re motivated to join our project. To ensure the transparency of the process, the selection team will be formed of the project team members and young volunteers, who follow a previously devised set of criteria and invite the most successful applicants for the second round of interviews. Upon this stage, the selection team will decide and inform the three most successful candidates while reserving a waiting list. So, keep track of your inboxes!

Important information

Participants are expected to participate fully in the TC and other programme-related activities, such as another national TC on project proposal writing. They will also be tasked with delivering a series of multiplication activities in their local communities, during which they will include other members of their community (neighbours young or old, friends, relatives..) as well as other interested parties. For these activities, each participant, having taken on the role of a “multiplier,” will receive a small but sufficient grant based on the proposal they submit to help with their activity’s logistical and administrative costs.

Each candidate will sign the Scholarship Agreement upon selection to ensure full participation and respect for mutual commitments and obligations. An example of the Agreement can be found below so you can familiarise yourself with your obligations, if selected, in advance. This is due to the time, effort, and budget put into ensuring everyone has an equal opportunity to learn, but it comes with some reasonable mandatory steps each participant needs to take.

Moreover, each TC’s programme will be held in English. You are not required to provide proof of language proficiency or be an advanced English speaker, but basic communication skills are a must. This won’t be used in any way in evaluating your application, but be honest and refrain from using AI-generated responses!

Important Dates:

Application Deadline: 28/3/2024

Selection Results: 1/4/2024

Interview Phase: 2-4/4/2024

Final Results: 4/4/2024

Training Course: 10/4/2024 – 20/4/2024

Don’t miss the opportunity; apply now via this link!

PLEASE CHECK OUT / READ the INFO PACK!!

GUD_Infopack_1TCPreuzmi