This project is a training course, addressed to people working in the youth field (youth workers, members, volunteers and staff of youth organisations, youth leaders etc) and derives from the mutual recognition of the partner organisations of the need to promote the significance of youth work and of the use of non-formal learning by youth workers in order to support their target groups in developing skills and competences at personal, interpersonal, social and professional levels that will lead to their empowerment and the improvement of their position in the labour market, especially where youth with fewer opportunities are concerned. The central idea behind this project is a result of the successful training course that was organized by our organization under the Youth in Action 4.3 action in November 2012 with the title “Formal Education meets Non Formal Learning: The Competence Based Approach”. It is one of the follow-up actions that were designed during this training course and is believed to take the aforementioned training to the next level, providing the participants with the appropriate tools and methods for them to be able to use Non Formal Education in their daily work. It is also part of the cycle of activities that our organization has planned in order to promote the recognition of Non Formal Education, of youth work as well as the importance of lifelong learning and adult education and the amelioration of youth structures through the training and development of skills of those who are working in the youth field. The proposed training course that has a two-fold aim: On the one hand, it aspires to raise awareness on the nature of youth work and its methods, focusing on Non-Formal Education and to people that work with young people (youth workers, members, volunteers, staff of youth organisations, youth leaders etc) on how to use Non Formal Education, in order to help their target groups to develop personal, interpersonal and professional competencies. On the other hand, it wishes to foster a closer collaboration between European countries and southern Mediterranean countries in the youth field, in a way that it will facilitate the mutual exchange of know-how and experiences as well as the development of common activities in the youth field. Secondary objectives are also to: - support the participants in developing and acquiring skills and competencies that will assist them in improving the quality of their work with the young people, and especially with young people with fewer opportunities - provide the participants with Non-Formal Education tools and methods that will allow them to promote and facilitate the active participation as well as support their target group, especially when it comes to young people with fewer opportunities, on a personal, educational and social level - facilitate the sharing of methods and experiences in the field of youth work, between the participating organizations - raise awareness on the different challenges organisations working with young people face in the different countries and exchange good practices on how to battle these challenges - promote mutual understanding and foster long-lasting collaborations between organisations and young people within the European Union and between EU and neighbouring countries All activities are designed in a way that contributes to achieving the objectives of the training course and, more importantly, that facilitates the best possible learning outcomes for the participants. Methods and tools of non-formal learning will be mainly used, whereas in order to create a theoretical background formal learning methods might be used, while for the reinforcement of the intercultural learning of the participants (for example) informal learning will take place (eg. during the intercultural night). In the long-term, we aspire this project to contribute to the development of the professionalism of organisations and individuals working in the youth field, as well as in the creation of a common strategy for Youth and of a wider recognition of the skills and competences developed through non-formal learning at European as well as International levels. This project will take place in Kalamata, Greece from the 6th to the 14th of December 2014 and in it will participate 24 representatives of youth organisations (youth workers, volunteers, youth leaders, etc) from 12 EU and Northern Mediterranean countries (Greece, Croatia France, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Romania, UK, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia) as well as 2 trainers that will design and facilitate the learning process.