Youth Centres UP 2 is a European Solidarity Corps project whose main aim is to involve international and national volunteers in solidarity activities through which, together with the community, to turn 10 old industrial buildings into youth centres and to organise activities for youth there.

The objectives of the project are:

• Developing and strengthening the communities of the young people from the neighborhoods of Timișoara, around the urban youth centers, which contribute to the development of the city, actively participating in the democratic and civic life;
• Setting up 10 urban youth centres in which to develop activities for young people with fewer opportunities in order to make their social inclusion process more efficient.
• Improving access, participation of disadvantaged groups (young people at risk or in special need, from disadvantaged areas);
• The implementation within the 10 youth centers of the Quality Standards for the youth centers;
• Creating an example of good practice within the ESC program for both Romania and at European level by creating an ecosystem for young people in Timisoara;
• The development of transversal competences for more than 200 young people from Europe and Romania for 30 days per team, focusing on: teamwork skills, initiative sense, event organization and communication in a foreign language.

– teamwork skills;
– communication skills in a foreign language;
– events planning skills;
– sense of initiative and entrepreneurship;
– awareness of cultural differences and / or civic and social competences;
– knowledge about Youth Goals (the project focuses on the Youth Goal no.9 – Safe Spaces and Participation for All);
– knowledge of how projects are implemented through community participation;
–  knowledge about the European Solidarity Corps.

– Accommodation and training (accommodation with the city and the new environment; workshops, whose role is to prepare you and the team on specific activities, necessary within the implementation of the solidarity activity; empowerment and community involvement activities);
– Setting up the youth centers – in which the buildings are entering in the process of arrangement and preparation for hosting the activities for young people;
– Preparation and inauguration – You will receive a budget to organize by yourselves an opening event for the youth centers;
– Evaluation of the activity, which will be done at the end of the activity.
– The short term volunteering activity will involve teams of volunteers – 10 teams on a row, for 30 days, each of them.

– Getting to know each other and getting to know the community – accommodation with the team, with FITT, with the city and the community through introduction activities;
– Community engagement – activities, workshops, events open for the community in order to create a relation with them and to prepare them to set up the youth centers;
Setting up the youth center – together with the teams of volunteers involved in the short term volunteering activities, you will be directly involved in setting up the 10 youth centers in the neighborhoods of Timisoara;
– Administrating and creating activities and events for young people in the neighborhoods, in the new set up youth centers. The activities will be focused on solidarity, active citizenship, social inclusion, human rights, gender equality, etc.
– Evaluation of the project at the end of it.