Promoting Equality and Non-Discrimination in Youth Work

Youth for Exchange and Understanding is implementing innovative projects and capacity building events for young people from all around Europe and beyond based on the principles of non-formal education, experiential and self-directed learning. Non-formal education (NFE) refers to all activities that set education as an aim, help young people develop a range of soft skills, such as communication, organisation, and leadership and encourage them to follow lifelong learning.

Setting non-formal education as a pillar, YEU International is coordinating 2 international projects, WE ARE HER (Ensuring Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment through International Projects) and PENDYW (Promoting Equality and Non-Discrimination in Youth Work) which aim to foster inclusive practices, equip young people and youth workers with the tools to advocate for equality and promote active participation among them. WE ARE HER and PENDYW projects are co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

WE ARE HER (Ensuring Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment through International Projects)

The WE ARE HER project (Ensuring Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment through International Projects) aims, in line with the EU policies to contribute to the empowerment of women, girls and young people to “fully use their rights and increase their participation in political, economic and cultural life” by addressing the structural causes of gender inequality as well as gender-based discrimination in different and diverse regions of the world.

Our partners come from Albania, Egypt, Greece, Lebanon, Türkiye and Belgium. All of these partners have the following main objectives: Enhancing awareness and educating youth in regards to the current status Gender-Imbalance in Decision-Making and Politics in their local communities; Provide young people with specific digital skills and tools in order to take concrete action as actors of change in their local communities; Initiate the development of the participants’ contribution to the WE ARE HER Social Media Campaign and utilize its outreach through brainstorming; To test, put in practice and add to the youth workers’ (ambassadors) educational capacities within youth work and non-formal learning.

This project seeks to increase young people’s skills in different topics related to gender equality through Youth Exchanges. In these activities, participants are invited to experience an international exchange with people from different countries and to share their ideas about the topics. These activities represent an incredible opportunity for many of these young people to understand other cultures and points of view.

The We Are Her International Conference will take place the 29th of October 2025 in the Nelson Mandela Room of Sleep Well youth Hostel in Brussels, Belgium and will bring together around 30 young participants from all around Europe and the MENA region. This conference will represent the finalization of this project that lasted 2 years. 

PENDYW (Promoting Equality and Non-Discrimination in Youth Work)

The PENDYW project (Promoting Equality and Non-Discrimination in Youth Work) is committed to fostering equality and combating discrimination in youth work across Europe. Vulnerable groups such as ethnic and religious minorities, LGBTI+ individuals, youth with disabilities, and young refugees are the primary focus of this initiative. The project brings together six partners from across Europe, including Belgium, France, North Macedonia, Portugal, and Germany.

By enhancing the capacities of the youth work sector, PENDYW seeks to empower young leaders while equipping youth workers with the tools to promote inclusion, equality, and non-discrimination. The project gathers and shares best practices, tools, and approaches from across Europe, aiming to build a more resilient youth sector that encourages social inclusion and active participation in decision making processes.

Through its focus on research, capacity-building, and empowerment activities, PENDYW fosters collaboration between youth organizations and key stakeholders, including schools, law enforcement, and media. Additionally, the project emphasizes cross-border cooperation, with the goal of creating sustainable, long-term improvements in youth work that ensure marginalized young people can fully access their rights and actively participate in society.

The PENDYW International Conference will take place on October 17th, 2025, in the Nelson Mandela Room of Sleep Well Hostel in Brussels, Belgium and will bring together around 50 young participants from all over Europe, serving as a culmination of the project’s activities and learning.