<< Background >>We applied for this project since we want to find new solutions to old problems. For decades, the number of young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEETs) have remained at high levels. Instead of blaming them for not being job-ready for another decade to come, this project wants to raise the question; how could we improve our own modus operandi, making our activities more relevant for NEETs in question? Thus, in spite of the project title NEETs for NEETs, the main target group of this project concerns our staff members working with young adults (i.e., NEETs). By applying for this project, we want to give these staff members the opportunity to work co-creatively with their target groups, by embarking a journey consisting of pilot trainings and Learning, Teaching and Training activities (LTTs) on self-empowerment activities for - but (most significantly) with- and even by - NEETs themselves. Thanks to years of work experience, together with the collection of data through research publications - as well as the voices of NEETs themselves, obtained thanks to conducted meetings with focus groups - we are convinced that the modus operandi of public administrations, educational sectors, and civil society organisations (CSOs) will become a lot more relevant according to NEETs if we start including themselves in formulating the problems and challenges affecting them. When NEETs start to fully understand their potential as driving forces in their own lives, an opportunity appears where they are capable of becoming subjects in shaping their own futures, instead of mere objects targeted by professionals and experts, who decide which activities lead to empowerment and which do not.<< Objectives >>For eliminating these above mentioned obstacles - and thus facilitating conditions for NEETs to finish school or obtaining long-term employment - the main project idea is to solve the problems together with the ones affected by them. In other words; creating with rather than creating for the target group. With the NEETs for NEETs-project, partners from Sweden, Germany and Norway aim to exchange best practices and commonly develop/improve new and innovative instruments and activities - formed together with the target group. Taking its starting point in best practice, the project will broaden and modify the ReACT Self-Empowerment model, developed by Save the Children Sweden and the refugee organisation Support Group Network (SGN). The purpose of the ReACT model is to support self-organisation and strategic collaboration for better integration. ReACT was first used by SGN in asylum-seeking accommodations in Sweden. The mobilisation process of SGN resulted in refugees living in camps initiating, implementing and coordinating activities themselves. ReACT was later on embraced by Stuttgart city, used as an embedded method throughout activities within the EaSI-project FIER - Fast Track Integration in European Regions 2018-2020 coordinated by the applicant of this proposal. The proposed NEETs for NEETs project will learn from these experiences and practices, adapting them to the challenges and possibilities of our target group (NEETs), thus improving the ReACT model by making its co-creative and innovative approach applicable to new segments of disadvantaged citizens throughout Europe.<< Implementation >>We feel confident in adopting the ReACT model on new organisational settings, thanks to the innovative move initiated by the city of Stuttgart, using the ReACT model as embedded method throughout activities within the EASI-project FIER - Fast Track Integration in European Regions 2018-2020. Thus, the city of Stuttgart is currently engaged in self-empowerment work with asylum seekers, based on ReACT. The proposed NEETs for NEETs project will learn from these experiences and practices, adapting them to the challenges and possibilities of the target group of our educational and guidance staff, thus improving the ReACT model by making its co-creative and innovative approach applicable to new administrative and educational sectors - and thus new segments of disadvantaged citizens throughout Europe. We do not want to reinvent the wheel, by only initiating completely new co-creative workshops, instruments and activities (solely) on a general level. Instead, we have decided to stick to already existing local initiatives, but improving them by adding innovative components, characterised by co-creation and co-design, critical thinking, intuition-spurring training initiatives and methods on building trust and active citizenship. These components will be possible to upscale, regardless of organisational setting (civil society organisation, public administration or educational institution, etc.). In accordance with regional needs and type of organisational structure, the partners’ activities will entail, in short: - Improving and broadening the ReACT model for self-empowerment developed by Support Group Network / Save the Children to include NEETs in activities on issues affecting them. - Encouraging, supporting and safeguarding prerequisites for the involvement of young adults in forming co-creative activities and instruments at European, national, regional and local level. - Exchanging best practices of competence improvement among professionals, especially regarding examples of co-creative processes together with NEETs. This will be done practically by carrying out local pilot trainings, as well as (most significantly) two Learning, Teaching and Training Activities (LTTs): 1. The first one will take place in Stuttgart, where a total of 16 selected NEETs and 16 selected staff members gather from all eight partners EARLALL excluded taking part in activities where 1.) trainers are training NEETs and staff members working with NEETs, related to output no. 4). 2. The second one will take place in Borås Stad, where 8 selected NEETs (trained by trainers in LTT no. 1) gather from all partner countries, training 16 other “new” NEETs and 24 “new” project staff members at European level (related to output no. 1, 2, & 3). Moreover, as mentioned above, pilot trainings are expected to be held by each partner organisation at national level, where NEETs are taking part in activities where 3.) NEETs are training NEETs at local level, and 4.) NEETs are training experts (related to outputs no. 1 & 2).<< Results >>The NEETs for NEETs project will face numerous interesting project results (i.e., outputs) at local, regional, national as well as European level - with different characteristics depending, again, on organisational setting. For example, educational institutions (such as municipal adult education and folk high schools, job centres, departments for working life) have the ambition to provide pilot trainings related to courses where NEETs become included in the co-creation of curricula and other teaching materials, while, e.g. labour and welfare administrations have the ambition to elaborate on pilots involving labour market accession initiatives together with their target group affected by the initiatives in question (that is: NEETs). Civil society organisations, in turn, will improve their self-empowerment and guidance services, making them applicable to NEETs. Eventually, pilot training and (most significantly) LTTs will result in compendiums and/or curriculums as well. With all this being said, we are able to depict five outputs (1-5): 1. A compendium on a training concept “NEETs training NEETs at local level” 2. A compendium on a training concept “NEETs training experts” 3. A compendium on a training concept “NEETs training NEETs at European level” 4. A concept for a low-threshold Train-the-Trainer workshop concept for NEETs. 5. A handbook with guidelines on how to implement reverse training concepts with NEETs. The guidelines will provide adult education centres and other institutions working with NEETs with know-how and inspiration. The handbook also summarises best practice approaches as tested during the project lifetime. The guidelines will be published in the form of an e-book with 80 pages that will be available in pdf format. Moreover, at this current stage, we envisage four main outcomes (with C. functioning more as a long-term impact) as positive implications of the above mentioned project outputs, correlating with each and every output (1 correlates with A, 2 correlates with B, and so forth). A. Increased sense of coherence at local and national level among NEETs themselves, strengthening young adults’ democratic engagement, and thus enabling active citizenship. B. Establishing a change in perspective, where a reversal of roles has taken place. I.e., NEETs become architects of their own lives, while staff around NEETs adapt to their new roles as disciples, learning from the life experience and expertise of NEETs in question; thus strengthening the relevance of their initiatives vis-a-vis their target groups (i.e., NEETs). C. In a long-term perspective, NEETs are becoming more active in their role as EU citizens, with gained trust towards European institutions and supranational democratic governance overall. D. A broadening and improvement - and in some sense a reinvention - of the ReACT model has taken place, now applicable on self-empowerment activities vis-a-vis NEETs as well. Thus, consortium members’ organisational and administrative staff has been provided with an innovative approach as regards co-creative self-empowering initiatives together with their target group (NEETs) instead of activities for NEETs. E. Better integration of best practices have taken place transnationally among one of the project countries’ key actors on inclusion of diversified young adults. An increase in attractiveness of participating in education, training and other activities has taken place, making them more inclusive and relevant for NEETs.