PROJECT PARTNER
Independent Youth Association Croatia
Independent Youth Association (IYA) is a non-governmental non-profit organization founded by the YOUTH, is independently run by the YOUTH, and works with the YOUTH and for the YOUTH.
We have been active since 2002 when a certain group of young people had an idea which reminded them of a problem. There was not enough activity for the young people, there were no initiatives nor/or programmes for the young people in Lepoglava. Those young people did not wait for the problem to sort itself out or for someone else to solve it, but they used their adventurous spirit, knowledge, skills, and free time to solve it. They made a step in the right direction. That is still the principle today. What guides us are the values of transparency, team effort, togetherness, activism, involvement, and equality – and the most important one – listening!
We listen to young people, their needs, problems, suggestions, and ideas. We work on their well-being, development, and achieving their potential, active engagement in the community, encouraging positive changes, and sustainability of the community and the society they belong to.
The base for good and successful participation is connection and networking so we are connected to various organisations, youth organisations, institutions, associations, and such. IYA is one of the founding members of the Youth Network Croatia, and a member of the Information Centres Association in Croatia.
Project Erasmus+ would not be the same if IYA did not have at least one youth exchange in a year or the mobility of the people who work with the young. We have substantial knowledgeof implementing projects as a user or a partner on a European level. All projects are focused on the young and their participation in the social life of Europe. We are working on bringing that Europe into Lepoglava to introduce Lepoglava to phrases such as “intercultural night”, “energizer” and “informal education”, but also to the values that the European Union promotes.
The Jailhouse Festival sounds familiar. That’s us! We offer our visitors an opportunity to spend a part of their August in a quality way, inspired by culture, fun, sport, and anything else that encourages youth activity and spending their time in a quality way.
The Jailhouse Festival
The Jailhouse Festival is a festival that was founded by the young from Lepoglava and the surrounding areas. The tradition started because of the lack of cultural, fun, and sporting activities, emptiness, and unattractiveness of the town in the summer. The Jailhouse Festival is organised by the young who try to refresh the hot summer days with a rich programme forseven days and more than 20 different activities. We give an opportunity to the locals and the visitors to enjoy the various activities without searching for them in the surrounding area.
Join us in our effort to refresh Lepoglava and visit some of the events that will satisfy every aspiration of various profiles of visitors. All the events are free, and we can thank thehardworking volunteers who are at the heart of the Jailhouse festival, the main sponsor – the city of Lepoglava, the co-organizer - Tourist and Information Centre, and numerous sponsors and donors from the private sector. The fact that it is based on volunteering is the highest value of the Jailhouse Festival, it enables the young volunteers proactive participation in stimulating and positive changes in the local community.
Erasmus accreditation in the field of youth
Project: 5th May 2021 – 31st December 2027
Project: Erasmus accreditation is a tool for organisations that want to enrol in inter-border exchange and cooperation, encourage young people's participation, and encourage the strengthening of the people’s capacity who work with the young and organisations for working with the young by having mobility activities whose goal is learning. Erasmus Youth accreditation makes the learning mobility activities in the field of youth easier. It givesaccredited organisations simplified and flexible alternative forms of activity implementations.
Independent Youth Association is one of the seven accredited organizations that can apply for non-refundable grants for young mobility activities and mobility of people who work with the young, and the activities are based on a previously approved accreditation plan. Erasmus accreditation enables Independent Youth Association a simplified approach to finance sources from Key Activity 1 during the complete project period (2021-2027).
The main purpose of the implemented and future activities in Erasmus accreditation is the education of the young and strengthening the capacity of people who work with the young. The purpose is also to enhance the quality of work of youth associations.
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