From December 4 to 7, 2018 in Budapest, the Arete Youth Foundation-Bulgaria participated in the first meeting of project partners ,, Earning by Learning” project, funded by the European Economic Area, as part of a Youth Employment Program. The project will last 4 years and will involve five NGOs from Bulgaria, Hungary, Spain and Romania.

The aim of the project is to increase the educational level and employability of young people aged 15-29 through career orientation, motivation, training for personal and professional development, the return of early school drop-outs, mentoring, support for mobility, facilitating access to employment.

The project activities were outlined at the meeting, a detailed plan for the coming months was drawn up, the partners agreed on the common goals and vision for the strategic partnership.

The EEA financial mechanism includes the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to a greener, more competitive and more inclusive Europe. It has two main objectives: reducing social and economic inequalities in Europe and strengthening bilateral relations between donor countries and 15 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic region. The three donor countries are working closely with the EU on the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement. Donors provided € 3.3 billion through successive grant schemes from 1994 to 2014. For the period 2014-2021, the funding under the EEA-Norway Financial Mechanism amounts to € 2.8 billion.