The internet has become an integral part of our lives, opening up many social and educational opportunities. It has become particularly important in the lives of young people who are accessing the internet more regularly, with more devices, and for longer periods. Young people are now using a diverse range of social media networks to connect and communicate with their peers. All technology these days produces both good results and notable consequences. While better connecting the world and democratizing information, the internet has also allowed individuals to hide behind masks of anonymity. The “faceless evil” of the internet is a growing threat for young people, specifically when it comes cyberbullying. We know that bullying is not a new phenomenon, but the digital landscape has fundamentally changed the way that young people are experiencing it. Bullying can take on different forms on different platforms. Young people describe cyberbullying as: Name calling or being mean online; Posting embarrassing photos or videos of others without their permission; Digitally manipulating pictures to create false impressions; Posting pointed statuses; ‘Sexting’ requests for pictures or videos; Cut and pasting pictures or status of others into group chats; Deleting someone from a group chat These can lead to several negative effects on the young people such as: Low self-esteem Violated privacy Depression and anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns, and loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy. These issues may persist into adulthood. Health complaints Decreased academic achievement—GPA and standardized test scores—and school participation. They are more likely to miss, skip, or drop out of school. The project «Stop Cyberbullying Now!» was born from the need to explore new strategies in order to analyse cyberbullying which often takes place on the internet and social networks. The major motivation behind the youth exchange is to address the effects and impacts of social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, on young people’s lives because social media is an influential part of life for many young people today. In our schools and in our universities, cyberbullying is a very modern problem, and for this reason, we want to learn new skills to stop or prevent this occurrence. Through non-formal education and focusing on the most important aspects of cyberbullying, we want to develop a better use of the internet and improve our experience of using social networks. Increasing young people’s awareness of the danger and negative effects of cyberbullying and hate speech online is the main aim of youth exchange «Stop Cyberbullying Now!». We also want to empower young people to be leaders in their local community and to discuss the impact of social media in a critical way.

Project Objectives

• To raise awareness in the community of the existence of online risks while addressing cyberbullying and hate speech online;
• To increase participant’s knowledge on how to improve the use of the internet and use social media in a positive way for own benefit;
• To raise awareness of participants on the influence of social media on behaviour with special focus to be paid to self-esteem and self-confidence;
• Development of functional and critical digital literacy and internet safety skills;
• To develop participant’s ICT skills, by creating videos, articles, Booklet by using new technologies;
• To increase participant’s competencies to protect personal information and reputation;
• To develop participant’s competencies such as communication in English, teamwork in a mix-intercultural team, problem-solving, conflict management, leadership skills of the participants in intercultural settings;
• To support creating new contacts among the participants and their organizations;
• To increase participant’s knowledge on Erasmus + Programme;

This project will connect 36 participants from Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Estonia, Slovakia and Romania.

Young, motivated and smiling participants in a good mood.

Each team will be made of 6 participants (5 + 1 Group Leader). Participants must be between 16-30 years old, except leader who can be over 30.

• Young people in age 18 to 30 residence of participant’s countries;
• Strongly interested to explore the topic of social media and how to deal with challenges connected with social media cyberbullying, spreading hate speech online, social media addiction, etc;
• Aware of the negative impact of social networks on youth development and are strongly interested to gain deeper insight into the influence of social networks on self-esteem, self-awareness;
• Interested to get to know social media practices from other countries and learn from their peers how to work with social media in an effective way e.g. in increasing awareness on certain issue/topic that is applying for them;
• Motivated to work on the development of their personal and professional
  competencies in an international setting (communication, teamwork,
  problem-solving, conflict management, facilitation, and presentation);
• Ready to work in a mix-intercultural learning environment, to contribute to successful project implementation;
• Motivated to take part in Erasmus+ project, work in an international team and share their experiences in the follow-up period;

Group leaders profile

The group leader is expected to be a person with previous experiences in youth work and Erasmus + Programme who is ready to facilitate the project activities and provide support to the participants during the whole project, especially during the implementation phase abroad but also during preparation and follow up period. Their responsibility will also be to prepare the travel plan. There is no age limit set for group leaders.

Working method

The YE will be implemented by youth workers and group leaders using non–formal educational methodology: presentations, group work, theatre-based activities, debating public speaking, peer to peer learning, learning by doing, creating presentations, learning and discussing how to cope with problems on the Internet, learning about partner countries and culture (cultural programmes and workshops proposed by participants. Leaders will be responsible for implementing the proposed programme.

Participants will be lodged in the Olde Vechte Mansion in Ommen Netherlands. https://oldevechte.com/accommodation/ the mansion is equipped with:

16 Bedrooms, 48 beds
Training room, up to 50 people (64m²)
Team room (connected to the training room)
Large cozy living room
2 Terrasses + Private forest (suitable for outdoor activities)
Fully equipped kitchen
Wi-Fi connection
Table tennis
Volleyball court
Large trampoline

Food

During the activity the participants will be provided with three meals per day. Please inform us in the application form about your food habits and needs (fast, vegetarian, vegan, food allergies)!
Alcohol is not wanted in the place and area!!!

How to get to the Netherlands?

By plane: you can check for cheap flights here:
WIZZ AIR: https://wizzair.com/#/ .
Ryanair: https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/
Easy Jet: https://www.easyjet.com/en

How to reach the Venue?

Every participant is responsible for finding a way to reach the destination.
Here are some tips:
1. Fly to one of the following airports:
● Groningen Airport (GRQ);
● Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS);
● Eindhoven Airport (EIN).
2. Catch public transport to Ommen Central Station.
3. Walk or catch a bus to the venue.
Use Google Maps for more precise planning.

Please note that only public transport is subject to reimbursement. If you travel by airplane only economy class, TAXI is not covered. Please consult us!

YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO LEAVE PROJECT ONE DAY EARLY TO CATCH YOUR FLIGHT OR BUS. PLEASE BUY YOUR TICKETS ACCORDING TO PROJECT’S DATE.

We need you to buy round trip tickets, and send us a copy by email before arriving here, so our accountant knows, and adjust the budget.

We advise you to buy your tickets as soon as possible, so that it fits in our limited budget for 100% reimbursement.

We kindly ask you to save all documents (Original tickets, boarding passes, invoices or bills with the ticket price) which are related to your travel, since the documentation background is obligatory for reimbursement. We kindly please you to buy all the tickets for the travel for both directions – return tickets (plane tickets, train tickets, bus tickets and etc.), because we will be able to reimburse only REAL EXPENSES (made expenses). IMPORTANT: We cannot refund any travel costs done by TAXI.

After sending tickets and boarding cards, participants will receive the reimbursement of their travel costs. Travel (flights, other means of transport) expenses are compensated (up to 100%), based on the actual expenses incurred and the distance from your location of residence to the location of the project. These distances must be calculated using the distance calculator supported by the European Commission. We only send money to the sender organization and sender organization will pay to participants.

We are not able to reimburse missing tickets!!!

Please note if you buy your tickets in a currency other than EUROs, we will convert to EUROs according to the exchange rates from the official European Commission web-site: http://ec.europa.eu/budget/graphs/inforeuro.html

Participants must travel from the country of the sending organization, and back. Following the guidelines of the Erasmus + programme the travel back must be realized by the participants on direct way within a maximum of 2 days.

IMPORTANT: Traveling sometimes requires an additional day for catching a flight and staying for an additional night at the city airport. We are aware of such situations, but organizers can’t cover this cost, it is participants’ own cost too. For that reason, we recommend you to use hostels http://www.hostelworld.com/ or friends https://www.couchsurfing.org/

BUDGET  TRAVEL COST (Spain): 275€

Note:

• The cost given is a limit in total PER PERSON, for both ways.
• PLEASE REMEMBER THAT ACCORDING TO ERASMUS+ RULES MONEY FOR
• TRAVEL WILL BE REIMBURSED ACCORDING TO THE REAL COST YOU SPENT, up to the amount given above per country, but not more (which means that if you spend less – you will be reimbursed the money you actually spent or if you spend more – you will get only limit)
• Before buying your ticket, please remember your cost limits, EVERYTHING THAT WILL BE MORE THAN THE LIMIT WILL BE YOUR OWN COST.
• Before booking the flight, please, make travel arrangements
  CONFIRMATION with us!

About Ommen

Ommen is a municipality and a Hanseatic city in the eastern Netherlands. It is located in the Vecht valley of the Salland region in Overijssel. Historical records first name Ommen in the early 12th century and it was officially founded as a city in 1248. The municipality had a population of 17,813.

Because Ommen is a rural municipality, tourism and agriculture are the pillars of the local economy. The forests and hilly heathlands of Ommen attract many nature-seeking visitors. The city of Ommen has several hotels and in the surrounding area there are fifteen campgrounds. Gilwell Ada’s Hoeve on the left bank of the Vecht was the first Scouting campground in the Netherlands. Ommen also has a small marina.

Ommen is famous for its Bissing fair and markets. These yearly markets have been organised on the second Tuesday of July since at least 1557. The Bissing lasted three days from Monday till Wednesday. Its success was based on the wide array of products on offer and a relaxation of excises and regulation on alcoholic consumption, attracting merchants and consumers to Ommen from far and wide. Nowadays the Bissing has become a major tourist attraction, lasting for five consecutive Wednesdays after the initial market and comprising a wide array of ceremonies, fairs, concerts, funfairs and activities.

Passport or ID
Comfortable clothes for the activities.
Please bring clothes according to the season as well and check the weather channels.
Towels and personal care products: shampoo, toothpaste etc.
Camera, laptop etc.
Pills and medicines
Positive attitude

Health and travel insurance

PLEASE, WHEN COMING TO NETHERLANDS, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A VALID EUROPEAN HEALTH INSURANCE CARD WITH YOU OR PRIVATE INSURANCE. ALSO, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU NOTIFY US OF ANY HEALTH RISK OR POSSIBLY NECESSARY MEDICINES, SPECIAL FOOD ARRANGEMENTS (AS VEGETARIANS, VEGANS, INTOLERANCES) … AND SO ON.

Preparations

All the participants will be expected to be present and active in all the activities, unless being ill. Unauthorized absence from the activities and workshops won’t be tolerated. Stress, nerves and bad mood is prohibited everywhere. Bring your best mood and a big smile with you and keep it through the exchange! Prepare for fun!

Participants Task: It’s very important to care for the schedule time, be kind, respect, be positive, destroy the borders, have maximum fun, be cheerful and try to be part of the solution.

Rules and responsabilities

Participants of the project will have to agree to the following rules for participating. They will sign a document on the first day of arrival for accepting the rules. Rules that participants should follow according Erasmus + Programme: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16m4gIg2xDGJA67Q7PPUhoww76R8RW_wd0UURiJe 5L6g/edit?usp=share_link