Activating Youth VII (AY7) is an European Voluntary Service project promoted by ECOS - Cooperative of Education, Cooperation andDevelopment, CRL within the European Commission Program Erasmus +. This 7th edition of the EVS project sustains and reinforcesits main goal of developing a new culture of inclusive youth participation at a local level in Faro and at a regional level in Algarve.The activities will take place in the city of Faro, region of Algarve, Portugal and will last 12 months (from October 2016 to September2017) with 6 volunteers from Spain, Lithuania and Greece.Through Ay7 we expect to:- Host meaningful EVS projects that can stimulate the acquisition of competences, considering the personal development and the future professional integration of the volunteers;- Contribute for the capacity building of the organisations working with youth through their interaction with the innovation and creative spirit of the EVS volunteers, by sharing and being involved in the network of diverse organisations working with youth, as well as through the access to information about mobility and other learning opportunities;- Motivate and promote the access to volunteering, learning and mobility experiences to young people as a way to promote their active participation in the issues of their local community, their sense of entrepreneurship and their professional and social competences.Activating Youth VII has a special focus on Youth Participation in three spheres: “Non formal learning and Mobility”, “Active Citizenship” and “Inclusion”.The project foresees to achieve these objectives, comprising ECOS together with CCVA (Centro de Ciência Viva do Algarve) and a network of local partners, through the following activities:- Youth Mobility and Initiatives Centre - for the information of youth on mobility opportunities, including Erasmus + and to promoteactive participation of young people at a local level.Inclusive Science Programme - for the development of a new educational programme aiming to bring science closer to young people with mental disabilities and to youth from the local Roma community.- Networking for Youth Participation at Local Level - a project that fosters youth participation in decision making at local level through working together with the local youth council, local public schools and by supporting the team working on the "Network of Democratic Citizenship Schools" project.- Video Forum Faro - weekly video projections, followed by structured discussions and debates on social issues.- Workshops - occasional learning boosts for the volunteers and other local youngsters and organizations involved.- Impressions of Faro (collective project of video creations that explore and promote Faro as a place that does not only have tourism)The methodologies planned for the project are diversified, but mostly founded in two main axes: non formal learning dimension, inregards to the volunteers’ personal and professional development, and the participative approaches employed in each differentactivity.The results and expected outcomes can be summarized as:- Creation and development of sustainable local and international synergies and cooperation.- Personal and professional development of people directly involved in the projects (EVS volunteers, local community, with focuson the young people).- Enhanced information on education, training, mobility and science towards youth.- Capacity building of local youth associations, associations working for and with youth and youth informal groups, particularly approaching disadvantaged groups (youth with mental disabilities and Roma youth).Within a long term perspective, we envision creating in Faro a youth friendly and inclusive culture, where there are spaces for youth participation in decision making, and where young people have the opportunity to express themselves, as well as to be an active element of their own development and construction of their local community. We visualize Faro becoming a model city for youth participation and youth initiatives and become an inspiring example and practice for others to follow.