The project builds on the need to foster an international dimension in order to, on one hand, motivate young people to engage and, on the other hand,enable youth workers to develop key competences, sense of initiative and civic participation through one of successful strategies wide spread in theworld, service-learning. Service-learning strategy has been developed abroad within nonformal and also formal education since long and the projectpartners have gained experience in its development. The potential of the strategy in Central and Eastern European countries has still not been usedenough, because of the missing structures, lack of competence and experience in development of the strategy.

General objective of the project is to enhance the competencies and opportunities of youth to fully participate in its society (local, regional, countryand EU level), both economically and socially.

The specific objective of the project are to improve the quality and relevance of the education offer in the field of implementation of the servicelearningstrategy in youth work through development of a training curriculum and related documents and manuals adapted to the context of Centraland Eastern European countries;

to enhance capacities of organizations and youth workers in implementing service-learning concept in practice andpossibilities of its implementation in cooperation with local as well as international youth volunteers;

to increase the quality of youth work primary inarea of youth volunteering;

to increase awareness about volunteering as an educational experience and to create better connection betweensolidarity service and learning in volunteering experiences of young people.

The project is based upon experience and expertise of partners from 5 EU and 1 non - EU country (associated partner) in the field of service-learningimplementation, putting forward new international, innovative and so far unrealized outcomes.

The project coordinator is Platform of Volunteer Centers and Organizations, which will cooperate closely with the Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica (Slovakia). Project partners come from Romania, Croatia, Poland and Hungary.

There is more than 400 participants presumably involved in the project. The number include young people, youth workers, educator, target groups in the communities, conference participants.

The project activities consist of creating, testing and spreading innovative outcomes used during the realization of the project and upon its completion inorder to develop and spread the service-learning strategy in the field of youth work and outside it, fostering quality of youth work and volunteering.

Among main innovative outcomes of the project there are:

1) training for youth workers in service learning and a guide for trainers,

2) manual forimplementation of the service learning strategy in the youth work,

3) manual for youth – how to implement service-learning projects and

4) Webinar - graphically facilitated introduction in Service Learning.

The outcomes of this kind have not been produced so far but they are of key importance forservice-learning development and implementation. The outputs will be published in English as well as in 5 national languages. All outcomes will be available online on the project website.

There are 5 transnational working sessions planned within the project and training of trainers in servicelearning, centered on the conception of intellectual outcomes and steering of the project. Steering activities include project management, monitoring, evaluation, dissemination, communication and follow-up. The key dissemination activity will be a 2-day international conference. All project outcomesare planned so as to be usable upon the project completion. Apart from partner institutions, youth workers and involved young people, the project will have impact on local communities. It will show in broadening cooperation between actors and decision-makers of various kind – a civic society,citizens and public bodies.

A projekt eredményeként létrejött Szolgálati tanulás (service-learning) az ifjúsági munkában - Kézikönyv fiatalokkal dolgozó szakemberek számára és a Szolgálati tanulás (service-learning) az ifjúsági munkában kézikönyv fiatloknak című kiadványok magyar nyelven elérhetőek az oldalunkon.