Written by Olga, EuroPeers UK Project Manager
EuroPeers connecting internationally-minded youth across Europe
The true value of local partnerships should never be underestimated. It is often the local level organisations that can help get the EuroPeers project in their country off the ground (as was the case for the UK ever since the first incarnation of the EuroPeers project, initiated by Momentum World back in 2015). A number of National Agencies for Erasmus+ have over the years chosen to actively support this vibrant alumni network, with Germany leading the way since 2005. Here we are, half a decade later, building a pan-European brand with the network up and running in some 15 countries (and counting).
The addition of the European Solidarity Corps to the ever-expanding spectrum of international opportunities will hopefully help with gaining momentum for more participants to get on board, get training and remain active throughout the lifespan of the programme, and its future incarnation past 2020. More can be done to encourage young people to participate in multiplying activities and get them to contribute to creating own solidarity projects through the programme. This can only work with a structured support system, taking into account all perspectives and including various players in the youth field benefiting from EU programmes.
I had the privilege to present our work on EuroPeers to our European partners during the seminar in Leicester and hopefully managed to inspire them to help grow EuroPeers in their own respective countries. Collectively, as youth work practitioners we recognised that more direct pressure was necessary to be put on National Agencies in securing a financial stream to build robust EuroPeers networks.
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