What was it about?
For three days, the participants focused on a practical question: how can youth organisations use digital tools in a way that actually improves their work?
The programme took place in three different venues in Samobor and Zagreb. The first day was hosted at Mali Tehnopolis Samobor, a space dedicated to creativity and innovation for young people. The group discussed digital transformation in youth work and how organisations can use technology without losing the human part of their work.
The second day took place at Centar za mlade Bunker in Zagreb, where each partner organisation presented one good practice from its own experience. The practices covered different areas, from AI literacy and digital communication to school-based projects, internal administration, and project management.
ARYAS presented its own practice: Automatic Project Folder and Contract Generator. This is a digital system developed to reduce repetitive administrative work in Erasmus+ projects. Based on basic project information, the system can automatically create a Google Drive folder structure and generate pre-filled documents such as partnership agreements, reimbursement forms, dissemination templates, evaluation tools, and reporting folders. Partners fill in one online form, and the system creates the needed documents and shared folders.
For ARYAS, this practice came from a very concrete need. Erasmus+ projects often involve many repeated administrative steps. When these are done manually every time, they take time, create space for mistakes, and make coordination more difficult. Automating part of this work does not replace the project team. It simply removes some of the repetitive tasks, so more time can be used for coordination, communication with partners, and activities with young people.
The third day was hosted by Tehničko veleučilište Zagreb, on the Borongaj campus. Participants explored STEM tools and discussed how they can be used in educational and youth work contexts. The focus was again practical: how can digital and STEM methods be brought closer to young people, especially in activities where they are invited to create, test, reflect, and work together?
One of the results of the activity is the guide Good Practices in Youth Work Digitalisation, which brings together seven practices shared by partner organisations. The guide includes examples from Romania, Turkey, Slovakia, Sweden, Lithuania, Georgia, and Croatia. Each practice explains what was done, why it matters for youth work, and how another organisation could adapt it.
For ARYAS, this activity was also connected to a direction we have been following for several years: making our work more practical, better organised, and closer to the real needs of young people and youth organisations. Digitalisation is not only about using new tools. It is also about looking honestly at how we work, where we lose time, where mistakes appear, and how we can build clearer systems.
We returned from Croatia with new contacts, concrete examples, and a stronger interest in continuing to connect digital tools, STEM, sustainability, and youth work in our future projects.
The Good Practices Guide is available here.
—
Financed with the funds of the European Union. The expressed opinions and views reflect solely the opinion of the author and they do not have to coincide with the views of the European Union or the National Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting body cannot be held responsible for them.
Latest News
How Can Technology Change the Way Young People See Agriculture?
For many young people, agriculture is still associated mainly with physical work, rural areas and traditional methods. However, today’s agriculture increasingly involves technology, data, sensors, digital systems and solutions that can make food production more efficient and sustainable.
SEED2STEM in Action: Testing the AGRO STEM Game with Children in Albeștii de Argeș
As part of the Erasmus+ project SEED2STEM, we organised a local testing session of the AGRO STEM game to observe how children interact with the prototype and what they take away from the experience.
The Experience – what we did and What we learned?
The Romanian team, Ștefan, Daniela, and Cătălina, returned from the Erasmus+ training course “The Experience” in Ogulin, Croatia, with a clearer, more structured way of working with young people and youth workers.