Erasmus+ Accreditation
We are excited to have been granted an Erasmus+ Accreditation, which allows us to organise mobility activities on a regular basis within the next two years together with our youth!
During this time our objectives are to prepare future youth leaders, and then organize youth mobilities where our participants take on new roles as leaders. The flexibility of the accreditation and the support of youth leaders makes it possible that we can have multiple initiative groups working on projects together at the same time. Lastly, delegating a o lot of the tasks to our youth leaders means that we can take part in more mobilities each year, in turn increasing the number of new and returning participants with experience of foster care that can take part in an Erasmus+ opportunity.
Below you can see what we’ve achieved so far!
TRAINING COURSES:
JANUARY 2026 – LAUNCHING LEADERS Training Course
After a week in Camara de Lobos in Madeira we have 11 youth leaders from Atalaya Foundation more ready to be leaders in our organization. This project aimed at developing leadership and facilitation skills, covering key competences of communication, initiative and teamwork necessary not only for Erasmus+ youth leaders, but also for those who wished to develop a general leadership mindset. This happened through practicing Non-Violent Communication, improv, psychodrama and other active learning methods throughout the project. The week was full of practical experience – being a youth leader and facilitator was part of the everyday activities. It was an opportunity for participants to test themselves, gain more confidence in these roles and, later, take on more responsibility and support other participants in future Erasmus+ projects. Thank you to our partners: Teatro Metaphora for hosting us and Globers for joining us for this adventure!
OCTOBER 2024 – LAUNCHING LEADERS mobility for people working with Youth
The week of October 14th – 19th we spent in Murzasichle, Poland where our first mobility took place, for which we partnered with “Oriel” and “Globers”!
20 participants from Poland, Spain and Italy worked on their individual goals related to taking their first steps in leadership throughout the whole week. The program was tailored so that each person could grow in their communication skills, leading a group with confidence and stepping out of their comfort zone.
They had a chance to test in practice how they feel taking on different youth leaders roles – both by rotating each day in taking care of the smooth running of scheduled activities as well as by planning and conducting activities in short Open Space blocks. These were both designed to share knowledge with the rest of the group and to try initiating ideas in a safe environment.
For our group from Poland, which consisted of young adults who regularly work with our foundation, including taking part in a few of our Erasmus+ projects before, this was an especially important trip. This mobility was a way to prepare them for taking on roles of more independent youth leaders in the future. We can confidently say that they showed a great deal of initiative and reliability and we are excited to have them as part of our team and to have seen them develop so much during this week!
During the work sessions we also learned about Non-Violent Communication, crisis management, giving and receiving feedback. Each day there was an opportunity to reflect on the highlights, challenges and key learning moments of that day.
YOUTH MOBILITIES:
MARCH 2026 – EMOTIONS IN MOTION mobility
We spent a week in Begunje na Gorenskjem with partners from Greece and Slovenia, with a group of first time Erasmus+ participants form Atalaya. It was a time of logging off a little and reconnecting with ourselves, each other, and nature. Through the activities (many of which took place outdoors), we reflected on our online habits, learned to spot digital overload, and understood how our mental health was connected to the way we lived both online and offline.
Participants learned practical tools to take care of their well-being — all while spending quality time with people from different countries and learning about their cultures during international nights. Emotions in Motion was about discovering how movement and nature could support mental health, and creating real connections that went beyond the screen.
FEBRUARY 2025 – BREAKING BARRIERS mobility
Together with our partner Globers we hosted a youth mobility that took place between the 10th and 14th of February in beautiful Comarruga, Spain.
During this mobility we explored the topic of stereotypes, which help to simplify complex ideas, but it is dangerous to take them as a representation of reality. How and how much minorities and other social groups are represented in media is still far away from reality. Music, storytelling and dancing are international languages that were used to find the common ground. We created and shared our own stories away from stereotypes.
Thank you Globers for hosting us, you can read more about the week we spend in Comarruga here.
YOUTH LEADERS IN ACTION:
OCTOBER 2025 – Our youth leaders hosted an Erasmus+ event
During the event, four Atalaya youth leaders facilitated activities designed to give those who are new to Erasmus a real taste of what they can expect from our international mobilities. From hands-on workshops to interactive simulations, participants could experience the energy, teamwork, and personal growth that come with joining our projects.
Our aim was to gather our youth who are interested in joing our Erasmus+ activities planned for 2026 and see what their expectations, motivations and readiness is to take part, so that we can select the participants for the mobilities.
MAY 2025 & SEPTEMBER 2025 – Our youth leaders taking charge during two partner mobilities
Our longtime partner Oriel from Italy invited us to two projects this year – SPEAK-UP and DECODE. We were able to send three newly trained youth leaders to these exchanges with mostly first time participants, knowing that they are in good hands.
JANUARY 2025 – Meeting with our Youth Leaders
We are getting ready for the “Breaking Barriers” mobility – our newly trained youth leaders have been organising English preparatory lessons, helping with travel plans, and reflecting on how they feel as they take on more responsibilities. They are an integral part in our future plans so together we also hosted a brainstorm session about how to support our participants even better with the mobilities we will organise in the next two years.
OUR PARTNERS:
