Youth Courage – You are part of the solution!

Creative Youth Information Award category

Youth Courage – You are part of the solution!

Organisation

Volontariato Torino ETS - Eurodesk Torino

Country

Italy

WEBSITE

https://www.instagram.com/eurodesk_torino_vol.to/

Project link

https://www.youth-courage.eu/en/outreach-for-active-citizenship-toolkit/

General Overview

Youth Courage is an Erasmus+ KA220 Youth project implemented by Volontariato Torino – Eurodesk Torino, in partnership with five organisations from Austria, Slovenia, Belgium, and Ireland.

The project aimed to support marginalised young people (aged 12-25) who lost contact with educational and support systems during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also provided youth workers with innovative outreach methodologies to engage and empower vulnerable youth. A strong local focus was maintained, with direct involvement from students at the Peano Institute in Turin, creating a tangible impact on the community.

Through a combination of workshops, digital tools, and experiential learning, Youth Courage promoted active citizenship, social inclusion, and European mobility opportunities. A youth-led approach was central, allowing participants to co-create educational content, ensuring the project’s resources remained relevant, engaging, and sustainable.

The project developed a comprehensive outreach methodology, structured in two key levels:

Reaching marginalised youth by identifying barriers and providing accessible entry points to support networks.
Empowering young people to build resilience, take responsibility for their well-being, and engage in acts of solidarity and civic participation.

To achieve these goals, Youth Courage developed two key educational tools:

Outreach for Active Citizenship – Online Toolkit: A searchable digital resource, divided into five sections (mental health, empowerment, mobility, civic participation, and sport), enabling youth workers and young people across Europe to exchange best practices and contribute their own activities.
Escape the Gloom: An educational escape game designed to enhance self-confidence, teamwork, and social skills through gamified learning.

Eurodesk Torino played a central role in the project by ensuring high visibility of European mobility opportunities through interactive workshops incorporating Kahoot! quizzes, Mentimeter activities, and peer-learning exercises, helping participants explore Erasmus+, DiscoverEU, and the European Solidarity Corps. By combining digital innovation with hands-on experiences, Youth Courage created a lasting impact both locally and internationally.

Thematic Category Correspondence

(50 points max)

How does this initiative (project, event, material) correspond to the thematic category

The Youth Courage project strongly aligns with the Creative Youth Information Award by adopting interactive, experiential, and youth-driven approaches to inform and empower young people about European mobility opportunities. Over two academic years, the project actively engaged students from the Peano Institute in Turin, integrating innovative learning tools that transformed youth information into a dynamic and engaging experience. To ensure accessibility and relevance, the project combined structured workshops with hands-on activities. Students were not just recipients of information but active contributors, co-developing educational resources that would benefit future generations.

Eurodesk Torino played a key role in this process, ensuring that young people gained a comprehensive understanding of Erasmus+, DiscoverEU, and the European Solidarity Corps, while also developing the skills and confidence to participate in mobility programmes. A central element of Youth Courage was “Escape the Gloom”, a gamified learning experience designed to translate complex topics like mobility and active citizenship into an immersive, hands-on activity. By fostering collaboration, problem-solving, and personal growth, the game made mobility-related information more relatable and engaging.

Another key outcome was the development of an online toolkit, structured around five thematic areas: mental health, empowerment, mobility, civic participation, and sport. The toolkit remains a living resource, accessible through a keyword search function, and allows youth workers across Europe to contribute and exchange best practices, ensuring continuous updates and scalability.

Furthermore, the project fostered direct international experiences, with some students travelling to Brussels in April 2023 for a Learning, Teaching, and Training Activity (LTTA). This initiative reinforced the project’s core mission of making youth mobility opportunities tangible, proving that creativity and co-creation are powerful tools in making European youth information more engaging, accessible, and impactful.

Impact

(30 points max)

How did your project impact young people / your community?

The Youth Courage project had a significant and lasting impact on both the young participants and the broader community, fostering engagement, empowerment, and access to European mobility opportunities.

Impact on Young People

A total of 70 students from the Peano Institute in Turin participated in the workshops, developing skills in civic engagement, mental health awareness, and mobility opportunities. The project provided a bottom-up design approach, allowing students to co-create educational resources that reflected their needs, making the learning process more interactive and engaging.

Two students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds were selected to attend the Learning, Teaching, and Training Activity (LTTA) in Brussels in April 2023, marking their first-ever international mobility experience. There, they worked with peers from other European countries, contributing to the development of the educational online toolkit. Their engagement continued when they joined a youth exchange in Spain, further enhancing their sense of European identity and intercultural awareness.

Impact on the Local Community

The project strengthened ties between Eurodesk Torino, local schools, and youth organisations, ensuring ongoing engagement in mobility programmes. A multiplier effect emerged as students shared experiences, expanding the initiative’s reach. The open-source toolkit remains a key resource for youth workers, educators, and students across Europe.

Thanks to the strong relationship established through Youth Courage, Eurodesk Torino continued its collaboration with the Peano Institute by participating in Zoomer Fest (May 2024), where the Escape the Gloom game was reintroduced to a wider audience. Additionally, in 2024, with Recovery Plan funding, Volontariato Torino – Eurodesk Torino launched an intensive mentoring programme at the Peano Institute: 23 mentors worked with 114 students, providing 1,272 mentoring hours, culminating in 207 completed certifications. This initiative further strengthened youth well-being, career orientation, and civic participation, ensuring that Youth Courage’s impact extended well beyond its initial scope.

Green Focus

(10 points max)

Did your project have any green focus and/or did you implement any eco-friendly measures when organising it?

Sustainability was a key element of Youth Courage, both in its approach and content. The entire online toolkit was designed as a digital resource, minimising the use of printed materials and ensuring a low environmental footprint. Most resources require no physical materials, making them eco-friendly and easily accessible. The project also incorporated awareness-raising activities on local environmental challenges, encouraging young people to take action on climate change in their communities.

Students and project partners co-developed environment-related resources, now available in the toolkit, reinforcing the importance of sustainability and civic responsibility. Additionally, mental health discussions revealed high levels of eco-anxiety among students, leading the project partners to explore a future Erasmus+ initiative focused on eco-anxiety and youth well-being. By integrating eco-consciousness into its methodologies, Youth Courage empowered young people to become environmentally responsible citizens, while ensuring a minimal ecological impact.

Creative Youth Information Award category