EUknow.it offers practical and affordable tools to bring even nonspecialists closer to European planning. Let’s find out how, with Matteo Sisto
Our fellow travelers: the experience of Matteo Sisto, project manager and European design expert for youth organizations
European design is an exciting but often lonely journey, amid deadlines, forms to fill out, and partners to coordinate. We want to tell you how the new Guide can accompany you on your European design journey, and to do so we have chosen exceptional traveling companions from the world of European design, academia, local government and civil society, as well as our partners.
In this third installment, Matteo Sisto, project manager and founder of Europiamo, a network of youth organizations active in the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programs, tells us why the Guide can be a key tool for engaging young and inexperienced people in European planning.
Matteo Sisto is a professional who has been active for more than eight years in European planning, facilitation and organizational development in the Third Sector. After several international experiences, he started a consulting business with which he supports Italian and European organizations in writing, managing and reporting on EU-funded projects, especially Erasmus+, ESC, CERV and other lines dedicated to civil society. In 2020 he co-founded Europiamo ETS, the largest Italian network of young people, youth workers and youth organizations active in European programs. Within the organization he coordinates youth participation projects, training paths and capacity building initiatives, helping to spread knowledge about European youth policies and build links between local organisations and European institutions. As a trainer and facilitator, he has designed and led over 200 nonformal education sessions and workshops on European planning, youth participation and networking. He collaborates on an ongoing basis with European organizations and networks and has overseen transnational processes dedicated to the development of methodologies, toolkits and guidelines for the field. She believes deeply in the transformative value of European programs and the role of design as a tool for empowerment, innovation and active citizenship. Her work focuses on making EU projects and funding accessible, clear and useful to young people, organizations and communities who want to generate real impact.
The Guide: engaging resources to support those taking their first steps in European design
EUknow.co.uk is a valuable resource for those working to bring non-specialist audiences, such as young people and less experienced organizations, into European design. If you reflect yourself in this profile, let’s try to learn more: here are some reasons why the Guide is the tool for you.
- EUknow.it offers tools to explain in a simple and straightforward way what European design is. The series of 10 videopills, in the audio and video section, are designed to offer in a few minutes the basic knowledge to build good projects. In the Handbook, you will find useful resources for finding your way around European funds, understanding what European projects are, tips on how to work on projects, from preparation to structuring, reporting to monitoring. And, if you need clear definitions to explain European project terms, you can use the regularly updated Glossary.
- The Guide provides tools to help young people and non-specialists navigate the world of European funds and programs. All European programs are described in aseparate section, with a fact sheet for each program that briefly and easy-to-read key aspects such as program objectives, who can participate, what types of activities are funded, with links to official sources. Community programs designed for young people, such as Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps, and programs, such as Creative Europe and CERV, that have focuses related to youth participation can be explored in depth.
- A collection of stories of organizations and best practices makes it possible to popularize European design among young people, telling them about European design in a concrete way to help them understand what the challenges may be and how to overcome them. Stories also come from small organizations, including those working with youth and children. The thematic search by tags in the in-depth section gives access to all articles published in the youth and mobility sector to keep up with newly published content.
- EUknow.it keeps you informed about accompanying opportunities for European planning that less experienced organizations, young people and non-specialists might struggle to intercept. Initiatives in the local organisations carried out by the Guide’s partner foundations and the experience of different European actors in the territories. The Guide also regularly selects and shares free multimedia resources and online sources suitable for different audiences.
- And, in order to answer the most common doubts about European project design for those who want to submit a project but are new to it, the Guide offers a section with a list of questions and answers accompanied by in-depth articles: from starter questions such as “Are European projects for me?” to more operational questions and answers, such as how to register to participate in a European project.
These are just some of the resources you can find by browsing EUknow.co.uk. Subscribing to the Newsletter allows you to stay informed about new content being published. Keep following us in the next videopills to discover the sections and contents of the Guide, along with new fellow travelers.
