A promising start and Kick-off meeting to the Erasmus+ K2 project ““Visibility and Dissemination Toolbox for NGOs’’“ took place in Marburg, Germany, from November 25 to 27, 2024.
During the three days we managed to establish a strong foundation for collaboration, defined project milestones, and outlined the next steps. The meeting also allowed us to share expertise and ideas, ensuring the project’s innovative and impactful approach.
This fruitful gathering sets the stage for an exciting journey of empowering youth associations across Europe. Stay updated for more news and developments!
We recently held our second Transnational Project Meeting for the “Visibility and Dissemination Toolbox for NGOs” in Vigo, Spain. Partners from across Europe convened to refine the 101 Cards concept, explore platform developments, and finalize our communication strategy. This two-day gathering provided a dynamic forum for fresh ideas, ensuring each partner’s contributions shape a stronger, more impactful set of tools for NGOs.
We also began preparing for our upcoming LTTA (Learning Teaching Training Activity) in November, where we will further develop participants’ skills and deepen collaboration across the project partnership.
By the end of the meeting, we had clear tasks ahead—and renewed enthusiasm to empower organizations across Europe in their visibility and outreach efforts.
“Spread your cause like a lemonade on a hot day – refreshing and impossible to ignore!”
This catchphrase and other lemon-related wisdom was the spirit of a training course for youth workers in Madeira in November 2024. During five days, 20 representatives of various organisations from Germany, Estonia, Spain and Portugal learned and practiced tools to enhance visibility, improve dissemination efforts, and strengthen the impact of their good work.
The lemon theme was chosen on purpose – to give color and content to the Easy Visi cards and platform the project team is creating: short for Easy Visibility, the wordplay suggests that dissemination and visibility can be easy peasy lemon squeezy. The lemons were everywhere: on a plate and in the participants’ hands during energizers, the new workbook created for this event, stickers and handouts, and of course in poncha – a traditional Madeira drink.
Beginning with the presentation of the Erasmus+ Programme, introductions and team-building activities, the training emphasised the importance of visibility for nonprofits and how it contributes to organizational growth and outreach.
One of the key sessions explored how organizations present themselves online, offering participants an opportunity to conduct visibility audits of their respective groups. This practical exercise highlighted areas for improvement and set the stage for more in-depth discussions on public relations and communication strategies.
Workshops covered topics such as external communication, working with traditional media, and leveraging digital tools. Participants also examined ways to improve internal communication and community management, emphasizing the role of teams in amplifying an organization’s message.
Visiting iconic spots of Madeira and accomplishing lemon-related missions allowed the participants to calmly analyse what they’d learned so far and connect it with their work back home.
The final day focused on developing communication strategies for the months ahead, presenting a mentorship program, and evaluating the design of the Easy Visi cards and website. Participants left with actionable plans and a clearer understanding of media literacy, public relations, and the effective use of communication channels.
During the training course, the team aimed to ‘grow’ a lemon tree – to add leaves, flowers and lemons to a poster with a tree that has ten branches, each symbolising one area of the program. Populating the tree with lemons would mean that the participants appreciated the training course content. “Team communication assessment list was very helpful”. “Fundraising was interesting, it gave a different perspective, nice to know things can be done with a small budget”. “Storytelling as a promotional tool was very useful”. “Elevator pitch great. Structure great.” – these and other comments were left by the participants on the improvised lemon tree.
These materials were created within the framework of the project "Visibility and Dissemination Toolbox for NGOs" implemented by TERRA TECH Förderprojekte e.V. from Germany, LifeZone Group from Estonia, My Madeira Island from Portugal and Clictic S.L. from Spain.