Project Call Linking Youth Up

What is it about?

The Corona crisis has a major impact on our daily lives, but the current situation and measures have an even greater impact on vulnerable children and young people. Even more than before the crisis, the fact of not having a computer threatens to widen the gap between vulnerable young people and others: school dropouts, difficulties in getting training, or difficulties in finding work.

The Linking Youth Up project call aims to provide socially vulnerable young people aged 12 to 25 with new laptops to enable them to acquire digital competences in order to continue their education, training or job search.

In addition, financial support will also be provided to organisations that support young people in acquiring and strengthening their digital skills.

For which projects?

Projects run by organisations supporting socially vulnerable young people aged between 12 and 25 in Belgium.

The projects combine the giving of laptops with individual coaching:

Gift of equipment: the organisation distributes between 10 and 40 new laptops and the young people become owners of them.
Individual counselling: the organisation offers the young people individual counselling of up to €8,000 that starts from the questions and concrete needs of the target group. These digital skills are for the benefit of continuing their education, training and job search.

For whom?

A candidate file may be submitted by any non-profit organisation or association with a social purpose, based in Belgium.
CPASs, public services and schools are not eligible for this call, but partnerships with these actors are encouraged.
Commercial projects will not be accepted.

What are the selection criteria?

Public: the organisation accompanies vulnerable young people between 12 and 25 years old in Belgium: who either live in a situation of (imminent) poverty, or have a difficult school or family trajectory (e.g. young people from special youth care, with poor language skills), or are NEET young people (who do not have a job, are not in training and no longer attend school).
Needs: the organisation must be able to demonstrate the need for computers to their target audience and clearly explain on the basis of which criteria the material will be distributed to young people without computers.
Guidance: the organisation must be able to demonstrate that it can offer individual support in order to help this target group acquire and strengthen digital skills.
Vulnerability: special attention is given to guidance on risks and vulnerabilities related to computer use (e.g. parental control, online games, scams or phishing,...). This is done in dialogue with parents or adults responsible for young people.
Duration: the projects should start in September 2020. The support focuses mainly on the 1st year, i.e. until September 2021. However, to the extent possible, projects that provide for follow-up or contact in the 2nd year are encouraged. Particular attention is paid to maintaining the equipment in order to make it long-lasting.

Timing

Launch of the call on 2 June 2020
Submission of candidate file by 2 July 2020
Announcement of selection results: 15 September 2020

Supported projects

List of organisations by region

Video's

Discover Meriam's story

Meriam is a 15-year-old girl from Brussels, the eldest in a family of three children. She plays and coaches at Molenbeek Rebels Basketball. This is a social-sports practice that promotes the personal development of girls growing up in vulnerable situations, building on their passion for basketball. In the video, Meriam gets a laptop for her efforts and her continued personal development.

Participating organisations: Molenbeek Rebels Basketball, BX Represent, Rising You

Discover Ilka's story

Ilka is a 20-year-old girl studying medicine at ULB. In her spare time, she is a scout leader. Through the organisation Schola ULB, she helps vulnerable young people from Brussels with their homework and school tasks every week. Because of health reasons, this homework help is currently done digitally.

Participating organisations: Schola ULB, La Teignouse AMO, House of the Child Herselt-Hulshout-Westerlo

Discover the story of Siebe

Siebe is 11 years old and lives with his mother and sister in a small flat in Leuven. Buurtwerk 't Lampeke is a bit like his second home. It is a good place for him to do his homework and discover his talents. And to play some more afterwards with the friends he has made there.

Buurtwerk 't Lampeke helps socially vulnerable families like Siebe's. This autumn, Buurtwerk 't Lampeke received financial support and new laptops from the P&V Group.

Participating organisations: Buurtwerk 't Lampeke, TAJO

Discover Anthony's story

The corona crisis is pushing up youth unemployment and complicating job searches, especially among short-skilled young people. Anthony lives alone at a studio in Liège, where he is trying to build a future after a difficult childhood.

At the non-profit organisation Le Monde des Possibles, he takes a Photoshop course with the aim of finding a job in the graphics sector. This autumn, Le Monde des Possibles received new laptops from the P&V Group to help their trainees with their training. Including, therefore, Anthony.

Participating organisations: Le Monde des Possibles, Masure14, MJ Sambreville

Discover Nasri's story

Nasri is almost 14 and fled Somalia because of the war. In the summer of 2019, he arrived in Belgium with his sisters and brothers. He now lives in Heist and attends classes at KTA Bruges. There, he is in the OKAN class, the reception class for non-native newcomers, where he learns Dutch. Language is essential in their integration, but due to the corona pandemic, non-native pupils have great difficulty in making their first contact with the language. Through our Linking Youth Up project, Nasri was given a laptop to further strengthen his language and digital skills. This is to realise his big dream: to become a computer programmer.

Participating organisations: Binst vzw - Duo for a Job, KTA Brugge, Rising You