In its latest 2025 impact report for the Erasmus+ funding program, the EU has recognized our solidarity project—“Skills for democracy. Engagement made easy!“—as an example of good practice. That’s great!
What is „Jugend für Europa“?
Based in Bonn, the association „Jugend für Europa“ (Youth for Europe) acts as the National Agency for the EU’s „Erasmus+” funding program, operating on behalf of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Consequently, the organization regularly publishes activity reports. The most recent report covers 2025 and was released a week ago:
https://www.jugendfuereuropa.de/news/news-detail/2025er-wirkungsbericht-erschienen-erasmus-jugend-europaeisches-solidaritaetskorps-und-erasmus-sport-zaehlen-und-bewegen
Estimating approval rates
Applicant organizations like ours find these reports valuable because the published figures allow us to estimate approval rates and average funding amounts across specific funding areas. In the „Youth“ sector—which is relevant to us—the approval rate in 2025 was just over one-quarter. When we began our Erasmus+ journey in 2023, the approval rate in this category was still just under 50%. In contrast, the „Sport“ sector—introduced only in 2023—is a hot area; the approval rate there stands at around 90%.
Examples of Good Practice
The impact report is also of interest because it showcases selected examples of outstanding projects for the various funding programs. It gives you an idea of how the funding body envisions its—usually quite formal—funding criteria being brought to life in practice. It also helps you gauge whether the effort of submitting an application makes sense for your own project idea.
Wait, is that us?
We were in for a surprise as we browsed through the PDF. On page 10, we did a double-take when we saw a photo: „Wait, is that us?“ And indeed: out of—surely—more than 100 solidarity projects, the EU had selected *our* project—“Skills for Democracy: Civic Engagement Made Easy!“—as an outstanding example in the field of solidarity projects. The page features a photo of some of the young people involved in the project posing in front of the House of the EU in Berlin, along with quotes from our evaluation report and a brief project description:
https://www.jugendfuereuropa.de/fileadmin/jugendfuereuropa/publikationen/2026/JfE_Wirkungsbericht_2025.pdf
„Skills for Democracy“
Our project, „Skills for Democracy: Civic Engagement Made Easy!“, ran from June 2024 to May 2025. We organized workshops as part of a seminar series focused on the political participation of young people. In doing so, we addressed questions such as: What avenues exist for democratic advocacy? How do you engage with the press and the public? What creative forms of protest are available? How does fundraising actually work? And, of course, there are legal frameworks to consider for all of this. It’s not easy—and certainly not something taught in German or math class at school:
https://vernetzungpartizipation.noblogs.org/post/2025/07/01/skills-for-democracy-engagement-leicht-gemacht/
EVZ Foundation Also Praised the Project
This recognition by the EU as an example of good practice is not the first time a project funder has honored one of our initiatives. Back in 2023, the EVZ Foundation praised our youth exchange project, „Human Rights in Times of War.“ At that time, we invited opponents of the war from Belarus—who had fled to Lithuania—to Berlin. Together, we visited the Bundestag and staged public performances featuring empty chairs and a plastic-film graffiti installation. Through these actions, we drew attention to the inadequate protection afforded by the fundamental right to asylum for war opponents from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. The EVZ Foundation highlighted this project in its activity report for the „Meet up!“ funding program:
https://www.stiftung-evz.de/en/what-we-support/meet-up-youth-for-partnership/online-magazine/human-rights-in-times-of-war/
Proud Playfulness
This EU honor initially sparked some playful banter in the chat group shared by our active members and alumni—comments like „Look, there’s our name!“ and „Nice photo.“ However, a sense of pride in our achievements and the recognition from the European Union soon followed. Our board is also delighted, as it means all our active members have finally seen the National Agency’s website up close.
More information:
Erasmus+ Impact Report 2025 by *Jugend für Europa* (Youth for Europe):
https://www.jugendfuereuropa.de/fileadmin/jugendfuereuropa/publikationen/2026/JfE_Wirkungsbericht_2025.pdf
Our project „Skills for Democracy: Civic Engagement Made Easy!“
https://vernetzungpartizipation.noblogs.org/post/2025/06/03/skills-for-democracy-engagement-leicht-gemacht/
Our youth exchange “Human Rights in Times of War”:
https://vernetzungpartizipation.noblogs.org/sample-page/jugendbegegnung-2023/