Youth Council Next Generation

Youth Council Next Generation (Macedonian: Младински Совет Нова Генерација) is a non-governmental youth organization headquartered in Skopje, North Macedonia. It was founded in 2010 by youth activist Gjoko Grdanovski. The organization works in the field of youth work and non-formal education at both local and international levels, with a mission to encourage young people to develop their capacities and abilities by providing national and international opportunities for non-formal education, activism and volunteering, while promoting European values. It envisions a society of capable, active and socially responsible people. The organization's core values include solidarity, unity, diversity, equality, human dignity, active citizenship, social responsibility, democracy and the rule of law, and freedom of personal expression. Its work is grounded in the experience of its members in youth work, non-formal education, active participation and social activism, aiming to provide learning and mobility opportunities for young people in order to increase their engagement in society. Youth Council Next Generation develops youth projects within programs offered by domestic and international funds and donors. Most of its supported and implemented projects are developed within the Erasmus+ program, where the organization acts as a coordinator, host organization and partner organization on various youth-related projects. To date, it has worked with, prepared and sent over 1,000 young people from Macedonia. The organization has been a coordinator or partner in a total of 128 projects under KA1, KA2, KA3 and Erasmus Sport activities covered by the Erasmus+ program. Its target groups include adolescents aged 13 to 18, young people aged 18 to 30, and adults over 30. Notable projects include "Are You(th) sensitive enough?" (coordinator, Erasmus+ KA1, 2014), "United Against Hate Speech" (coordinator, Erasmus+ KA1, 2018), "The Art of Upcycling" (partner, Erasmus+ KA1, 2020), "The Sound of Youth" (partner, Erasmus+ KA1, 2019), "Less scrolling! More living!" (partner, Erasmus+ KA1, 2019), "YE - EQUALITY" (partner, Erasmus+ KA1, 2018), "YOUTH IN GREEN for Environmental Protection and Organizing a Green Society" (partner, Erasmus+ KA1, 2015), "Get Skilled: Get Empowered: DO Sport!" (coordinator, Erasmus+ Sport, 2020), and "Enabling Youth Workers to Work in Intercultural Sensitive Environment" (coordinator, Erasmus+ KA2, 2017). As a non-governmental organization, Youth Council Next Generation is not a commercial brand or listed company. It operates as a civil society organization funded through grants and donations, primarily from the Erasmus+ program. Its official website is nextgeneration.com.mk.

Youth Council Next Generation (Macedonian: Младински Совет Нова Генерација) is a non-governmental organization based in Skopje, North Macedonia. It was founded in 2010 by youth activist Gjoko Grdanovski. The organization is engaged in youth work and non-formal education at international and local levels. The mission of the organization is to encourage young people to develop their capacities and abilities by providing national and international opportunities for non-formal education, activism and volunteering, while promoting European values. The organization aims to create a new generation of educated and aware young people prepared to take active participation in the decision-making process in society. It envisions a society of capable, active and socially responsible people. Next Generation strengthens youth participation through the implementation and support of projects and initiatives aimed at youth development in the local community, as well as at national and international levels. The foundation of the organization is based on the experience of its members in youth work, non-formal education, active participation and social activism, which aim to provide learning and mobility opportunities for young people in order to increase their activity in society. The values the organization advocates are: solidarity, unity, diversity, equality, human dignity, active citizenship, social responsibility, democracy and the rule of law, freedom of personal expression. Youth Council Next Generation develops youth projects within programs offered by domestic and international funds and donors. Given the target group and field of work, most of the projects supported and implemented by the organization are developed within the Erasmus+ program. In fact, the organization acts as a coordinator and host organization, as well as a partner organization on various projects dealing with youth-related topics. To date, it has worked with, prepared and sent over 1,000 young people from Macedonia. The organization's projects target the following groups: adolescents aged 13 to 18; young people aged 18 to 30; adults over 30. Youth Council Next Generation has the role of coordinator or partner in a total of 128 projects from KA1, KA2, KA3 and Erasmus Sport activities covered by the Erasmus+ program. Erasmus+ KA1 projects: 109 projects as partner, 2 projects as coordinator. Erasmus+ KA2 projects: 14 projects as partner, 1 project as coordinator. Erasmus+ KA3 projects: 1 project as partner. Erasmus+ Sport projects: 1 project as coordinator. Some of the projects of Youth Council Next Generation include: - "Are You(th) sensitive enough?" (coordinator; Erasmus+; KA1; 2014) – The goal of the project was to train youth workers, youth leaders, teachers and social workers in the area of intercultural competence for working with different groups of people. - "United Against Hate Speech" (coordinator; Erasmus+; KA1; 2018) – The project addressed challenges not only in Macedonian society but also in the societies of participating countries related to discrimination and rising extremism. In addition, the project reflected the needs of participants to develop their skills for effectively dealing with hate speech in their communities and to contribute to creating a society without hate. - "The Art of Upcycling" (partner; Erasmus+; KA1; 2020) – The goal of the project was to minimize resource consumption at the individual level by motivating young people to turn their unwanted items into useful objects, thereby promoting their creativity and sustainable way of thinking. - "The Sound of Youth" (partner; Erasmus+; KA1; 2019) – The goal of the project was to teach young people about uniting people through the power of music regardless of their background or affiliation. The project helped participants appreciate their differences and use them to their advantage. - "Less scrolling! More living!" (partner; Erasmus+; KA1; 2019) – A youth exchange with the main goal of establishing a debate on the impact of social media and raising awareness about safe and positive use of social media by young people, including involvement in decision-making or solving community issues by young people. - "YE - EQUALITY" (partner; Erasmus+; KA1; 2018) – Raised participants' understanding of gender and gender issues and made participants gender-sensitive. - "YOUTH IN GREEN for Environmental Protection and Organizing a Green Society" (partner; Erasmus+; KA1; 2015) – The goal of the project activities was to discover, protect and improve nature, bring different perspectives to overcome these problems and develop awareness among young people about environmental issues. - "Get Skilled: Get Empowered: DO Sport!" (coordinator; Erasmus+ Sport program; 2020) – The project aimed to explore the opportunities that sport offers and its role in youth development; to develop the capacities of organizations to include sport in their skills development practices; raising public awareness about the importance of sport in the youth development process and empowering youth: creating a network between organizations representing youth and sports sectors. - "Enabling Youth Workers to Work in Intercultural Sensitive Environment" (coordinator; Erasmus+; KA2; 2017) – The goal of this project was to train youth workers, youth leaders, teachers, social workers, etc. in using the intercultural sensitivity model created by Milton J. Bennett in their everyday work.

• 2020

  Projects "The Art of Upcycling" (partner, KA1) and "Get Skilled: Get Empowered: DO Sport!" (coordinator, Sport) implemented under Erasmus+.

• 2019

  Projects "The Sound of Youth" and "Less scrolling! More living!" implemented as partner under Erasmus+ KA1.

• 2018

  Projects "United Against Hate Speech" (coordinator) and "YE - EQUALITY" (partner) implemented under Erasmus+ KA1.

• 2017

  Project "Enabling Youth Workers to Work in Intercultural Sensitive Environment" implemented as coordinator under Erasmus+ KA2.

• 2015

  Project "YOUTH IN GREEN for Environmental Protection and Organizing a Green Society" implemented as partner under Erasmus+ KA1.

• 2014

  Project "Are You(th) sensitive enough?" implemented as coordinator under Erasmus+ KA1.

• 2010

  Youth Council Next Generation founded in Skopje by Gjoko Grdanovski.

1. 1Next Generation Websitenextgeneration.com.mk
2. 2Youth Council Next Generation - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Младински Совет Нова Генерација - Wikipedia (Macedonian)mk.wikipedia.org