“Strengthen leadership capacity for youth participation” is a EVS project that will be part of WAGGGS’ leadership development and a variety of activities designed and implemented to foster the personal and professional skills young members. The aim of the project is to empower young people to develop their personal and professional skills through active participation in European youth work. The specific objectives of the project are: • to provide leadership and NGO management skills through an EVS experience; • to provide the volunteer with opportunities to meet and work with WAGGGS youth workers, volunteers and staff, from different countries and to develop intercultural competences; • to foster the volunteer’s awareness of gender equality, European citizenship, youth participation and the need to play an active role at all levels. Two volunteers from Scouting Slovakia and the Norwegian Guide and Scout Association will be involved for 12 months in creating, planning, delivering and evaluating European and international projects and activities which contribute to achieving WAGGGS’ Membership Development Strategy. In particular WAGGGS has identified two main projects in which the volunteers could contribute to the planning and delivery: Roverway, a large-scale event promoting European citizenship and youth commitment; and Youth participation at the European Guide Conference, focusing on “volunteering” as a theme. During the activities the volunteer will also have the possibility to participate to advocacy actions related to EU youth and gender policy making, contribute to the design and production of publications, videos and tools related to WAGGGS work, communicate and support other volunteers and Girl Guiding/scouting associations. The volunteers will be offered the opportunity to travel to attend planning meetings of the projects in which they are involved and trainings organised at European level by WAGGGS on topics of interest such as leadership development, gender equality and mainstreaming, youth participation, youth educational programmes, etc. Methods used will be based on non-formal education principles and elements of WAGGGS’ educational method, such as learning by doing, cooperative learning, connecting with the world and with other people, and self-development following own individual pace. Participants will play a key role in shaping their learning goals and tasks with the support of the project coordinator and the mentor. WAGGGS doesn’t require special abilities or qualifications for the EVS. However, volunteers should be flexible, dynamic, ready to get involved and interested in gender equality, equal opportunities, youth participation and citizenship, developing creative programmes/activities that are attractive to youth. Furthermore, the young candidates should have a desire to work in a multicultural environment and be preferably able to interact with other volunteers and staff in English and/or French. The expected impact on the two EVS participants will be the development of skills, competences and attitudes empowering them to play an active role in their associations and communities at local, national or European level. The expected learning outcomes for the EVS volunteers are: • have gained new personal and professional skills: leadership, intercultural team work, event planning and management, project management, advocacy and external relations, conflict management, fundamental rights, anti-discrimination, youth and gender equality European policies and directives; • have a clear understanding of the work and reality of international youth NGOs, active in the field of youth, gender equality and women empowerment; • have a vision of future possibilities and potential carrier development. As a result, we expect participants to contribute to changes in policies and practices in Europe, and be more competent to face and challenge the gender barriers they encounter in the society and in the labour market, bring back the learning from their experience at European level to their national organisations and contribute to innovating policies and practices in their associations. A strengthened collaboration between WAGGGS and the partners may also lead in future to projects and collaboration for the empowerment and participation of young women and men in Europe, including within the Erasmus+ programme and EU youth strategies and priorities. On the longer-term we expect that this project will contribute in the following way: • Young women’s participation in decision making within Girl Guide/Scout associations’ structure and outside the movement is improved • Young women feedback that Girl Guiding/Scouting experiences respond to their needs and expectations • Young women and men participate in sustained effort to achieve policy or practice change in line with their associations’ strategy/plans.