ESC: Tune In - Enabling EU Youth to participate in Further Education Opportunities

YEU Cyprus stands for Youth for Exchange and Understanding Cyprus and it is a non- political, non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Nicosia, Cyprus. It was established in 1995 with the aim to advocate for young people of ages 18-35 raising their voice in society. To do so YEU Cyprus promotes the fostering of close cooperation and better understanding among young people of the world through the exchange of information, experiences and ideas. YEU Cyprus strives to encourage young people to become active members of our society on a local, national and European level. It is one of the biggest youth organizations in Cyprus numbering more than 500 members and considered to be one of the most active organizations of the island realizing several activities both on international and local level, mainly based on non formal education. The mission of YEU Cyprus is to provide young people with the opportunity to become social actors on a local and global level through a participatory and inclusive course of action. It focuses on establishing synergies to further raise awareness on important societal issues, advocate for youth rights through a bottom-up approach and offer educational opportunities through non-formal education (NFE) and experiential learning. It’s vision is to empower and engage young people to create the change they want to see in our societies and the world. In the past five years YEU Cyprus has focused on projects that deal with active citizenship, remembrance, volunteerism, intercultural education, cultural heritage, human rights education, mental health education, sustainability and peace building through the use of non formal methods and then implementation of a variety of local and International projects. YEU Cyprus advocates on the rights of young people with regards to having a voice in the Cypriot society and beyond; specifically on matters of human rights, sustainable development, intercultural education and youth participation. This is achieved by coordinating and collaborating in various international and local activities and events through mobilities and other local and European projects. On an international level, YEU Cyprus organizes and delivers training courses, youth exchanges, youth participation projects, and ESC projects on different topics, focusing always on youth development, awareness raising and capacity building. On a local level, the organization implements workshops, seminars, activities and offers internships to further promote youth empowerment and support young people in their progress. To do so we provide opportunities for all young people that reside in Cyprus to participate and engage in matters related to social, economical, cultural development of themselves and their communities. Through non-formal education and experiential learning we implement creative activities to engage young people in finding a more healthy lifestyle, employment and respond to the issues that youth is facing in our societies and in Europe at large. The organization has great experience in NFE, since it is one of the first youth organizations implementing NF methods in Cyprus, advocates for NFE on a national level and supports lifelong learning through its actions. The organization is currently represented in the board of the Cyprus Youth Council and in the board of the Youth Council of the Municipality of Nicosia, advocating on behalf of young people for better representation and a number of other youth related issues. Through both representations the organization had the opportunity to represent Cyprus not only on a European level in various conferences, but also on a National level in a series of stakeholder meetings with Municipalities and other governmental bodies.