Eurodesk Brussels Link B u l l e t i n

November 2012

Deadlines up to 15 February 2013 Documentation European Opportunities Highlights Upcoming Events

Deadlines
Deadlines up to 15 February 2013
Deadline Reminder: http://www.eurodesk.eu/edesk/SearchDb.do?go=1 Reference Deadline Programme Title number
EU0010000091 EU0010000301 EU0010000441 EU0010000515 EU0010000329 EU0010000031 EU0010000302 EU0010000476 EU0010000331 EU0010000358 EU0010000413 EU0010000069 EU0010000512 EU0010000260 EU0010000386 EU0010000389 EU0010000001 EU0010000005 EU0010000072 EU0010000090 EU0010000225 EU0010000263 EU0010000004 EU0010000030 EU0010000035 EU0010000085 EU0010000088 30 November 2012 30 November 2012 30 November 2012 1 December 2012 2 December 2012 3 December 2012 15 December 2012 17 December 2012 8 January 2013 15 January 2013 15 January 2013 16 January 2013 20 January 2013 28 January 2013 28 January 2013 30 January 2013 31 January 2013 31 January 2013 31 January 2013 31 January 2013 31 January 2013 31 January 2013 1 February 2013 1 February 2013 1 February 2013 1 February 2013 1 February 2013

Traineeships at the Council of Europe eTwinning - School partnerships in Europe Your Europe, Your Say - Get involved today! Student Grants Programme BEST courses for students of technology Lifelong Learning - COMENIUS danceWEB - European Scholarship Programme for Contemporary Dance International Millennium Youth Camp 2013 Researchers night Internship at the European Commission Delegation to the United Nations in New York Bogliasco Fellowships Programme Lifelong Learning - GRUNDTVIG Europe Past Forward - EESC annual video challenge Innovact Campus Awards European Charlemagne Youth Prize Traineeship at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) Lifelong Learning - Leonardo da Vinci Lifelong Learning - ERASMUS Traineeships at the European Commission Administrative in- service training periods Traineeships at the European Commission Translation traineeships European University for Postgraduate Research Internships at the World Bank Traineeships and Study Visits at the European Parliament YOUTH IN ACTION - Action 1: Youth for Europe YOUTH IN ACTION - Action 2 : European Voluntary Service European Youth Foundation - Grants for international youth activities Europe for Citizens: Action 1: Active citizenship for Europe - Town Twinning -

EU0010000355 EU0010000356

1 February 2013 1 February 2013

EU0010000357 EU0010000028 EU0010000037

1 February 2013 12 February 2013 15 February 2013

YOUTH IN ACTION - Action 3.1 Cooperation with the neighbouring countries of the EU YOUTH IN ACTION - Action 4.3. Training and networking of those active in youth work and youth organisations YOUTH IN ACTION - Action 5.1 - Meetings of young people and those responsible for youth policy EU-Japan Training programmes Lifelong Learning - Jean Monnet Programme

Documentation
Teachers' salaries reduced or frozen in a growing number of European countries Eurydice published the annual update of its report Teachers and School Heads Salaries and Allowances in Europe. While a growing number of European countries have now reduced or frozen teachers salaries in response to the economic downturn, as in Ireland, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Slovenia, where teachers are the ones most affected by budgetary restrictions, cuts are not universal across Europe. National reforms increased teachers salaries in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Iceland since mid-2010. The report also reveals that while all countries claim that improving pupil and student performance levels is a top priority, only half of the countries covered in the report grant allowances to teachers based on positive teaching performance or student results (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden, United Kingdom - England and Wales; Northern Ireland, and Turkey). http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/documents/facts_and_figures/salarie s.pdf NEETs Young people not in employment, education or training: Characteristics, costs and policy responses in Europe With unemployment levels for young people at unprecedented levels across the EU, a new report published by Eurofound reveals how the greatest urgency lies with the 14 million young people currently not in employment, education or training (NEETs). Eurofounds latest comparative research findings on NEETs show that the economic loss to society of not integrating NEETs is estimated at 153 billion, in addition to the inestimable costs for their disengagement from society in general. http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/pubdocs/2012/54/en/1/EF1254EN.pdf Education for All Global Monitoring Report, Putting Education to Work The tenth edition of the Report reveals the urgent need to invest in skills for youth. In developing countries, 200 million people aged 15-24 have not even completed primary school and need alternative pathways to acquire basic skills for employment and prosperity. The worlds youth population is larger than ever before: one in eight young people are unemployed and over a quarter are trapped in jobs that keep them on or below the poverty line. As the effects of the economic crisis continue to squeeze societies worldwide, the severe lack of youth skills is more damaging than ever. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-internationalagenda/efareport/reports/2012-skills Disadvantaged young people: learning abroad boosts competences and employability A recent study shows that learning and training abroad allows disadvantaged young people to increase their independence, self-confidence, flexibility, as well as reliability and perseverance, while prompting them to act as team players. The trainees in mobility programmes develop international occupational, professional, language and intercultural competences. Ten core statements emerging from the study:

http://www.nabibb.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Publikationen/Editionsreihe_impuls/EN_core_statem ents_study_effect_of_mobility_on_disadvantaged.pdf Full study in German: http://www.na-bibb.de/uploads/tx_ttproducts/datasheet/na_impuls_44_web.pdf Workforecast: the work forecast for young people Never before in recent history are so many young people facing such a brutal employment situation. Youth unemployment is as high as 60% in some countries, and a whole generation of young people faces exclusion from the labour market. The website allows readers to check the weather forecast for their country and write to their labour minister to have brighter working days! http://www.workforecast.org Love Youth Future Online global community of activisms audiovisual sharing powered by youth. The community is part of a new campaign from the European Youth Forum aiming to highlight the need for investments in youth, youth work and youth organisations as well as non-formal education (NFE) policies. http://www.loveyouthfuture.eu EQAVET quality cycle New online tool developed by the European Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training (EQAVET) network that helps Member States and vocational education and training (VET) providers to enhance the quality of VET. The tool is based on the guidelines of the European quality assurance reference framework for VET and helps to adapt these guidelines to the situation in each country. The tool is available at: For VET systems: http://www.eqavet.eu/index.html For VET providers: http://www.eqavet.eu/index2.html Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students Where do students go to study? Where do they come from? The Unesco Institute for Statistics data on the mobility of students shed light on the shifting demand for higher education, particularly in the developing world. Select a country from the menu, or click on the map to explore the data. http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/international-student-flow-viz.aspx

European Opportunities
eTwinning Prizes 2013 The European eTwinning Prizes competition aims to highlight best practice in collaborative school projects using Information and Communication Technology (ICT). This year the prizes will be awarded in three age categories (4-11; 12-15; 16-19) and six special categories: - Spanish Language Prize - French Language Prize - German Language Prize - Marie Skodowska Curie Prize - Mevlana Prize for Intercultural Understanding - English as a second language Prize To join the competition, projects must have been awarded the European Quality Label in any year of the projects lifespan. Only the partners of a project who have received the European Quality Label can apply for and win a European Prize. All projects must demonstrate that they have been active in the 2011-2012 school year. Deadline: 30th November 2012 Read all details on: http://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/progress/awards/european_prizes.htm Your Europe, Your Say 2013 Secondary school children from the 27 EU Member States are invited to join the simulated youth plenary session and see how the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) decision-making process works in relation to a specific subject. The simulation exercise will take part in two stages. Schools wishing to take part must register online through the EESC's internet site before 30th November 2012 (midnight Brussels time). After registration has closed, one school from each of the 27 EU Member States will be picked at random, to take part in the simulation exercise. The selected schools will then choose three students in their pre-final year of secondary education (aged 16 years) to represent them, as well as a teacher who will accompany them. These people will have to be able to express themselves in English or French. The event will take place in Brussels at the headquarters of the European Economic and Social Committee from 18th to 20th April 2013. The EESC will pay the travel and accommodation expenses of the students and accompanying teacher. Find out more: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.your-europe-your-say-2013 Pact Zollverein Residency Programme in Essen, Germany From August to December 2013 PACT Zollverein is offering a residency programme for the development and realisation of projects and productions. The programme is open to professional artists from both Germany and abroad working in the fields of dance, performance or media art. Awarded twice yearly by a jury, residencies provide artists a local space and accommodation. Residents will also receive technical support and advisory assistance with press and public relations and dramaturgy. Deadline: 10th December 2012. Further information: http://pact-zollverein.de/en/artists-centre

The Millennium Youth Camp 2013 Young people worldwide from 16 to 19 years of age, interested in mathematics, natural sciences, information technology and other sciences are invited to apply to the first Millennium youth camp which will take place from 6th to 13th June 2010. The camp will focus on these themes: applied mathematics, biosciences and biotechnology, climate & climate change, energy, ICT, food sciences and food technology, material sciences and material technology, renewable natural resources, urban planning, water. Deadline: 17th December 2012 Find out more: http://www.technologyacademy.fi/events/millennium-youth-camp Europe Past Forward - EESC annual video challenge 2013 The European Economic and Social Committee is inviting young people from 18 to 30 years old, from the 28 member states in Europe (including Croatia who will be joining the EU in 2013) to submit a video on what Europe means to them. As the 2013 has been designated the year of European citizens, the theme of this years edition will be the same. What does it mean to be European? How do you feel about being a citizen of the European Union? The videos should be, original, be between 30 seconds to 1minute in length, and be in any EU language, with English subtitles. Videos must be first posted on an online video channel (e.g. YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo). Submissions must include a text description, no more than 300 words in length, of the content highlighted in the video. Deadline: 20th January 2013 The public voting will take place between 25th January and 4th February 2013 ending at noon. Following this, the jury will decide on the top three finalists. The winners will receive respectively: 5,000 (1st prize), 3,000 (2nd prize), 2,000 (3rd prize) and will be awarded at a ceremony in Brussels on 20th March 2013. Find out more: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.video-challenge-2013 European Charlemagne Youth Prize 2013 Young people from 16 to 30 years old, from all the EU Member States, are invited to participate in a competition on EU development, integration and European identity issues. The "European Charlemagne Youth Prize" is awarded to projects which promote the European and international understanding, foster the development of a shared sense of European identity and integration, serve as a role model for young people living in Europe and offer practical examples of Europeans living together as one community. Participants can apply individually or in groups. Representatives of the 27 national projects selected will be invited to the award ceremony in Aachen, Germany on 7th May 2013. Deadline: 28th January 2013. Further details regarding the eligibility and assessment criteria, selection process and prizes are available on: http://cyp.adagio4.eu/view/en/introduction.html The competition is organised by the European Parliament and the Foundation of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen.

The Innovact Campus Awards 2013 Young students from European universities and higher education institutes, with a creative idea for a business project, are invited to join the competition, either individually or within the framework of their institution. The aim of the award is to single out the best European innovation project in terms of development, growth and employment. The finalists will be invited to participate in the 17 th edition of the European forum for innovative start-ups, Innovact 2013 (transport and accommodation free) which takes place in Reims, from 26th to 27th March 2013. This European forum will gather 1,500 professionals from 20 countries and 100 European start-ups. The winners will receive a money prize: 5,000 for the 1st prize and 1,500 for the 2nd and 3rd prize. The Awards ceremony will take place in Reims on 27 th March 2013. Deadline: 28th January 2013. Find out more: http://www.innovact.com/fr/les-innovact-campus-awards/presentationarticle18.html

Highlights
New Eurodesk Executive Committee Elected From 25 to 28 October 2012, Eurodesk partners from all over Europe met in Copenhagen for the Eurodesk Autumn Network Meeting. During these three days, Eurodesk prepared the work for 2013 and elected a new Executive Committee for the next two years. The members are Giovanni Maccioni (Italy), Evaldas Rupkus (Lithuania), Claire Conlon (France), Sofie Van Zeebroeck (Belgium) and Reinhard Schwalbach (Germany). Reinhard was also reelected as the President of the Eurodesk AISBL. Good luck to the new Executive Committee! http://www.eurodesk.eu/edesk Non-Formal Education improves employability On 26th October 2012 the European Youth Forum presented a new study The impact of Non-Formal Education in Youth Organisations on Young Peoples Employability made in cooperation with the University of Bath and GHK Consulting. The authors of the study consulted with 245 youth organisations and carried out a survey with over 1,300 young people and focus groups with employers from across Europe. Eurodesk Brussels Link was also involved in the consultation and the survey. The study assesses whether the competences and skills obtained through non-formal education in youth organisations contribute to the employability of young people. According to it, long-lasting and frequent engagement and participation in youth organisations bring high soft-skills development. Amongst the six skills mostly demanded by employers, five are also among those developed through involvement in youth organisations: communication, team work, decisionmaking, organisational skills and selfconfidence. For young people who participated in non- formal education activities abroad, this includes also higher development of language, intercultural and leadership skills. Experience in youth organisation and the skills this develops are valued by employers especially when young people have no, or very little, formal working experience, thus making the work of youth organisation an important contribution to the transition of young people from education to the labour market. The participation in youth organisation is particularly valuable in developing social capital (network and connections) and in creating new vocation paths, especially for NEETs, early school leavers and young migrants. The quality of Non-Formal Education and the accessibility of it to all young people, as well as increased mobility, are crucial factors to increase the impact in employability of young people. Employment services, employers and recruiters must be aware on the benefits from young people's involvement in youth organisations, and the skills gained be taken into account in the recruitment process. Young people should receive career-guidance, coaching and support on how to efficiently make use of the skills in recruitment processes and better present the experiences and competences gained through non- formal education and volunteering experiences in youth organisations. http://issuu.com/yomag/docs/reportn fe_print

European public consultations to be available in all EU languages The European Ombudsman called on the Commission to publish its public consultation documents in all 23 EU languages or to provide translations upon request. The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, issued the decision on a complaint from a Spanish lawyer about some public consultation documents that were available in English or in a limited number of EU languages only, even if they were intended for the general public. http://ec.europa.eu/languages/news/ 20121017-publicconsultations_en.htm

Nasrin Sotoudeh and Jafar Panahi winners of the 2012 Sakharov Prize The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2012 goes to Iranians Nasrin Sotoudeh, an imprisoned human rights defender and lawyer, and Jafar Panahi, a film director who with his work called attention to the hardships suffered by Iran's poor. EP president Martin Schulz made the announcement in plenary on Friday 26th October. The prize will be awarded on 12th December during a ceremony at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The winners will receive 50,000. http://tinyurl.com/8jer9zm

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Upcoming Events
6th-7th December 2012: Fundamental Rights Conference, Brussels, Belgium The Fundamental Rights Conference is the main annual event of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). This year the conference is hosted under the high patronage of the President of the European Parliament with the support of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The conference will focus on "Justice in austerity: challenges and opportunities for access to justice" and will examine the effects of the economic crisis on judicial systems and those seeking justice, and exploring opportunities for innovation and reform. Due to the limited capacity of the venue, participation is upon invitation only. Find out more: http://fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/frc2012 6th-7th December 2012: Young European Entrepreneurs Seminar 2012: Entrepreneurship for Everyone, Business Environment, Cross-Border Trade, Brussels, Belgium Organised by the he European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the seminar aims at building a dialogue between young entrepreneurs from European and neighbouring countries, and major EU stakeholders involved in the shaping of the European business environment. Find out more: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.events-and-activities-youngentrepreneurs-2010 13th December 2012: Europe 2020 Conference - Youth on the move, Brussels, Belgium This conference will be the first in a series of seven conferences regarding the EU flagship initiatives, which are part of the Europe 2020 Strategy organised by the Committee of the Regions (CoR). The conference will provide a platform for showcasing good practice on how to fight youth unemployment, preparing the CoRs contribution to the mid-term assessment of the Europe 2020 strategy, giving a voice to the Regions and Cities and participating in ongoing debate on youth issues. Deadline to register is 6th December 2012. Find out more: http://cor.europa.eu/en/news/events/Pages/europe-2020-conference-youth-onthe-move.aspx 12th-13th February 2013: iLearning Forum 2013, Paris, France The forum will be the place for all the demonstrations and the presentations of the latest international innovation in e-learning (simulations, interactive video, serious games, skills and management applications, the development of contents tools, social networks of learning). The access to the forum is free. Find out more: http://www.ilearningforum.org

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European Citizenship Training Courses 2013 The courses are meant to support youth workers and youth leaders developing their critical understanding of European Citizenship and encourage them to integrate the topic in their practical work. List of proposed Courses for 2013: Training Course 6: ECTC-TR in Turkey (8th-14th April 2013) Deadline: 20th January 2013; Training Course 7: ECTC-PT in Portugal (13th-19th May 2013) Deadline: 3rd February 2013; EXTRA: ECTC-FR in France (25th Febraury-3rd March 2013) Deadline: to be announced. All details are available here: http://www.salto-youth.net/rc/training-and-cooperation/tc-rcnanetworktcs/europeancitizenship Salto-Youth: Training Calendar The European Training Calendar contains current training offers of different institutions and organisations, such as SALTO, the National Agencies for the YOUTH IN ACTION Programme, non-governmental youth organisations, the European Youth Centres of the Council of Europe and the Partnership Programme on European Youth Worker Training. They are addressed to young people, group leaders, mentors, trainers and other specialists. Find out more: http://www.salto-youth.net/tools/training/find-a-training/?&pagerOffset=90

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