Strengthening Social Cohesion to Empower Girls and Young Women In a world increasingly shaped by social, economic and humanitarian challenges, social cohesion and solidarity are more important than ever. They are not only ethical values, but essential foundations for resilience, stability and inclusive development. This is the vision at the heart of ENHANCE – Empowering Girls and Young…
Building Bridges is a youth-centered project focused on promoting the European Youth Goals, intercultural understanding, and essential soft skills like critical thinking, public speaking, and digital communication using the restorative justice values of power sharing, equality, dignity and respect.
About the project
The Building Bridges project is an innovative transnational initiative that brings together organizations from Europe and Africa to empower and engage young people from diverse socio-economic, cultural, and geographic backgrounds.
The project addresses global challenges such as climate change, inequality, and the digital divide, while promoting digital literacy, intercultural understanding, and active civic participation. Its main purpose is to create accessible international and intercultural educational opportunities, especially for youth who face barriers to physical mobility due to geographical isolation, conflict, or economic hardship.
Through a multilingual eLearning program and facilitated virtual exchanges, Building Bridges aims to deepen young people’s understanding of and participation in achieving the European Youth Goals (EYG) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), thus fostering a generation of informed and engaged global citizens.
Expected Results
The Building Bridges project will empower young people to develop stronger digital skills and intercultural understanding, enabling them to thrive in a connected and diverse world. It will inspire youth-led initiatives that align with the EU Youth Goals and Sustainable Development Goals, encouraging young people to take action in their communities and beyond, informed by restorative justice values.
Through the program, participants will grow their soft skills, such as critical thinking, public speaking, and campaigning, preparing them to become confident leaders and changemakers.
At the same time, the project will strengthen the capacity of partner organizations to provide inclusive, high-quality, and digitally driven youth work. By the end of the project, it will have created a sustainable model for virtual youth exchanges that can be adapted and replicated across different countries and contexts.
News and events
Building Bridges: Empowering Youth Workers for Global Impact
Building Bridges: Empowering Youth Workers for Global Impact The second edition of the Building Bridges Newsletter highlights how youth workers are at the heart of change—guiding, mentoring,
Building Bridges project: Training Event in Tanzania
Building Bridges project: Training Event in Tanzania An exciting training event is set to take place in Tanzania, bringing together youth workers and facilitators for
Partners
GA Number: 101193453 | Duration: 36 months
Project Coordinator: ASOCIATIA ‘ASSOCIATION COLOUR YOUR DREAMS’ (ACYD)
Website: buildingbridgesP.eu
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinionsexpressed are however those of the author(s) only anddo not necessarily reflect those of the European Unionor the European Education and Culture Executive Agency(EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can beheld responsible for them.
We are excited to announce that we are part of the Erasmus+ project “Building Bridges” (Project No. 101193453), coordinated by ACYD – Association Colour Your Dreams in Romania! This 36-month initiative brings together youth organisations from Romania, Italy, Cyprus, Kenya, Tanzania, and Somalia to empower young people through virtual exchanges, intercultural dialogue, and digital learning….
"RRiS”Restoring Respect in Sports
Project Code 101185144
Project Duration 01/01/2025 – 31/03/2026
Project Coordinator Social Cooperative Activities for Vulnerable Groups (EDRA)
Website: www.rj4allsports.org
About the project
The Restoring Respect in Sports (RRiS) project is a timely initiative aimed at addressing the rise of hate incidents and violence, including racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and intolerance, within European sports. Each year, new reports of these harmful behaviours emerge, underscoring the urgent need for action to protect the core values of fairness, equality, and inclusion within the sporting community.
Supported by a strategic partnership of leading NGOs from Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Türkiye, RRiS is dedicated to addressing and preventing the rise of hate-driven incidents in sports through restorative justice practices. With a focus on research-driven and evidence-based interventions, the project is aligned with key EU policies on anti-discrimination and draws upon existing legal frameworks to create a lasting and sustainable impact. RRiS is designed to create change at regional, national, and European levels, ensuring that its outcomes benefit both the sports sector and the broader European community.
At the core of RRiS is the application of restorative justice—a transformative, non-punitive approach that focuses on repairing harm, promoting dialogue, and fostering mutual understanding. While restorative justice has long been used in criminal justice and educational settings, its potential in sports remains largely untapped. RRiS seeks to bridge this gap by equipping sports professionals with innovative tools, practical knowledge, and effective strategies to proactively address and prevent hate incidents effectively, creating safer and more inclusive environments for all participants.
By focusing on specialised training, capacity-building, and cross-sector collaboration, RRiS aims to foster a more respectful and tolerant sporting culture to uphold the principles of equality, human dignity and respect. The project also supports the implementation of the EU’s 2012 Victims’ Directive, which highlights the role of restorative practices in addressing hate incidents, ensuring that every participant’s right to equality and respect is upheld.
Our approach
We have evidence to believe that sports serve as a powerful vehicle for positive change. At RJ4All, we insist that in order to address disadvantage and rebalance power in society in a more equal way, we must adopt a holistic approach. By leveraging the universal language of sports, we bring communities together, address marginalisation and cohesion issues, and enhance overall well-being and health outcomes. That’s why we proudly present “RJ4All Sports” – our dedicated brand aimed at harnessing the potential of sports for social impact.
Objectives
The RRiS project is designed to meet several key objectives that align with both societal and legal frameworks in Europe. These include:
1. Addressing the Rise in Hate Incidents: The project aims to identify, document and tackle hate incidents and violence in all its forms within the sports sector, particularly racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and gender inequality. By analysing current manifestations of hate faced by marginalised groups in sports, RRiS will develop a user-led, evidence-based educational programme on preventing and addressing such incidents of hate and intolerance.
2. Promoting Restorative Justice in Sports: A key component of the RRiS educational programme will be its use of restorative justice principles in line with the EU’s Victim’s Directive. This comprehensive educational and training programme will be catered to sports professionals, including coaches, players, referees, and other, and guide them on how to effectively integrate restorative justice to prevent, address, and resolve hate-driven incidents in sports.
3. Building Strategic Partnerships: The project will bring together a diverse network of stakeholders from various sectors, including sports organisations, anti-discrimination NGOs, human rights groups, law enforcement, and grassroots community leaders. These partnerships will foster collaboration and ensure a comprehensive and coordinated approach to tackling hate incidents in sports.
4. Raising Awareness and Building Capacity: RRiS will increase awareness of the role sports can play in promoting inclusion, diversity, and equality. It will also enhance the skills and capacity of professionals to handle hate-related incidents effectively, using restorative justice best practices to resolve conflicts and promote social cohesion.
5. Creating a Lasting Impact: RRiS will develop accessible digital training tools, including an online platform and e-book, to ensure the long-term sustainability and impact of its efforts. The project’s outputs will be widely disseminated across Europe and beyond, influencing policy and best practices at national and international levels.
Project activities and Outcomes
To achieve its objectives, RRiS will implement a series of targeted activities across Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Türkiye, including:
1. Research and Analysis:A key activity of the project is conducting research to understand the current manifestations of hate and intolerance in sports across partner countries as well as the role of restorative justice and dialogue in addressing these issues. The research will explore existing best practices for addressing hate incidents in sports by identifying and evaluating restorative justice approaches already implemented in partner countries, assessing their effectiveness and potential for broader application within the sports sector. This will involve user-led fieldwork, followed by the creation of national and comparative reports to lay the scientific groundwork for the project.
2. E-Book Publication: RRiS will publish the research findings, including the national reports and the comparative analyses, in an accessible e-book format. The e-book will be disseminated across institutions worldwide and leveraged for EU policymaking in the partnership countries.
3. Development of the Educational Programme: RRiS will develop a comprehensive educational programme, both in-person and online, aimed at preventing hate incidents in sports, focusing on racism, misogyny, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance. Based on restorative justice and the Victim’s Directive, it will target sports professionals and stakeholders, using evidence-based tools informed by the national research reports. It will be available in multiple languages and provide a CPD accreditation.
4. Campaigns and Awareness: RRiS will develop a communication strategy to raise awareness on hate incidents in sports and promote the project activities and ensure the widespread impact and sustainability of the project horizontally. This will include social media campaigns and the creation of visual materials to be disseminated at both national and EU levels to maximise its impact.
5. Networking and Stakeholder Engagement: RRiS will organise a national sport event in each partner country bringing together various sports actors to participate in friendly matches to promoting messages against hate and intolerance in sports. This will foster cooperation among consortium partners and key sports stakeholders, including sports clubs, NGOs, and policymakers, to work together towards restoring respect and preventing hate incidents in sports.
Through these activities, RRiS aims to create a lasting impact in the fight against hate-driven incidents in European sports, empowering sports professionals, and organisations to actively promote a culture of respect, equality, and inclusivity.
Reports
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinionsexpressed are however those of the author(s) only anddo not necessarily reflect those of the European Unionor the European Education and Culture Executive Agency(EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can beheld responsible for them.
Partners
"ENHANCE”Empowering Girls and Young Women Across Europe and the Mena Region
ERASMUS-YOUTH-2024-CB Project 101186010 — ENHANCE
Project name: Enhance girls and young women inclusion with the full support of the community
Website: enhancerj4gbv.org
Results
About the project
ENHANCE brings together a multi-agency, cross sector partnership of organisations from 3 EU (Cyprus, Italy, North Macedonia) and 3 NON-EU (Jordan, Morocco, Egypt) countries to increase their ability to tackle gender inequality and discrimination, by offering new up-to-date non formal education innovative methods and resources to ultimately foster a positive systemic change in their communities.
ENHANCE aims to tackle gender inequality and discrimination through:
-Building the capacity of NGOs and educators in EU and non-EUcountries
– Create supportive communities less prone to discriminationallowing the cross-fertilization of cultural norms, necessary toaddress barriers and stereotypes that lead to gender inequality and foster a more organised support to ensure girls and young women’sinclusion.
Our approach
Restorative justice can offer a framework for addressing gender-based violence by focusing on the redistribution of power lost by victims. Over time, some victim support groups have expressed skepticism regarding restorative justice in cases of gender-based violence due to existing power imbalances in intimate violent relationships. Critics argue that restorative justice could privatise gender-based violence, potentially revictimising women and exacerbating power imbalances (Pali and Madsen, 2011). Additionally, some view restorative justice as an “easy way forward” for offenders (Wager, 2013, p. 16; Marsh and Wager, 2015).
Objectives
The project has a focus on capacity building the partners from the non-EU countries drawing lessons and experiences from the EU based partners and the European Commission’s work on promoting gender equality.
By participating in this project, the partners will:
Enhance NON-EU organisations capacity to plan and implement localactivities to foster better local cooperation
Share updated, innovative non-formal education methods to facilitate girls and young women’s socio-economic empowerment Enlarge the number of NON-EU organisations, educators, target groups and communities using and benefitting from the project results
The project will also pilot its results among the consortium andtheir stakeholders and pursue a multiplier effect for the enhancement of youth work at a pan-European level.
Project activities and Outcomes
Transnational Project Meetings (Face-to-face contact between the partners is critical and thus we held 3 Transnational Project Meetings to take place in the participating in Cyprus, Italy, and Egypt)
- CAMPs – Training events (5 days face-to-face training events with themanagers and team leaders of the partners)
- Replicated CAMPs in Non-EU countries – Training events
- CAMPs reports
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinionsexpressed are however those of the author(s) only anddo not necessarily reflect those of the European Unionor the European Education and Culture Executive Agency(EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can beheld responsible for them.
Partners
We are thrilled to announce another significant achievement in our ongoing efforts to combat violent extremism and radicalisation: the inclusion of the RDaVR (Restorative Dialogue Against Violent Radicalisation) Project on the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) platform. RJ4All continues to lead the change in addressing these critical issues through our dedicated initiatives, which span capacity-building, research,…
We are excited to share a significant milestone achieved by RJ4All in our ongoing efforts to combat violent extremism and radicalisation. With years of dedicated work and extensive experience, RJ4All has been at the forefront of addressing these critical issues through our multi-year capacity-building, research, awareness-raising, and educational programmes. Our initiatives aim to: Explore the…
