Dear Partner,

Thank you for considering us for your project. As an organisation we always give our best in everything we do. If we do not know something – we strive to learn that. If we are experts in the field – we share our knowledge.

More importantly, we value honest & straightforward communication. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require any clarification or further information.

We speak Polish, Lithuanian, English, Russian, Turkish & Georgian.

Brief description

Strategic Partnership Institute (SPI) is a non-profit youth organisation based in Warsaw, Poland. The board members of the organisation are expatriates living in Warsaw. Thus, they know the challenges that the youth and expatriates face.

Strategic Partnership Institute aims are:
– To promote European values and include youth in European educational programs;
– To promote the active participation of young people with fewer opportunities and to develop different ways to ensure their impact on the local community by using non-formal education and intercultural learning methods;
– To promote self-fulfillment and personal development of young people through educational programs of the European Union;
– To improve the quality of life of refugees and migrant communities by working on integration through youth work;
– To provide volunteering opportunities for young people in order to develop their skills & competencies by making a positive impact on society.

Strategic Partnership Institute is working with:
– Education activities (education projects based on non-formal education methodology, focused on tackling racism and xenophobia, promoting human rights principles, active citizenship, refugee integration, youth employability);
– Intercultural activities (programs and projects of youth mobility, education on international topics, promotion of different cultures)
– Cultural events (conferences, seminars, cultural evenings of different nationalities).

We focus on youth with fewer opportunities (incl. refugees, minority groups, NEETs). By organising various non-formal education activities, we give them an opportunity to express their knowledge and share experiences and ideas in order to promote social cohesion and diversity. The main staff of the organisation is working with the Ukrainian community in Warsaw, Poland, thus, will be able to actively chip them in project activities.
This way, both the local Polish youth and partner organisations could learn more about the problems Ukrainian IDPs are facing and help find innovative solutions for them. Apart from that, the organisation united more than 15 volunteers, who are keen to organise integration events and activities in the city. The organisation is also organising various social events for local migrant communities (esp. youth).

The organisation itself already cooperates with more than 15 organisations across Europe and will organise various training sessions using non-formal education as a tool to tackle different social problems. The key staff and volunteers have vast experience in project writing and implementation; thus, are able to not only host projects in Poland but to well organise them abroad as well.

Relevant experience & activities

Regardless of the fact that SPI is a young organization, we already have an extensive background in youth work and a very good network of partner organizations with expertise in work with IDPs/Refugees. We are promoting the reintegration of IDPs/refugees and contribute to the positive social changes in the European continent. SPI’s main focus is the integration of young people with fewer opportunities. The staff of SPI has relevant experience obtained from different projects as elaborated above. Due to the cross-border cooperation, the SPI team had an opportunity to facilitate the training course „ A Million Voices’’ which was held in a conflict zone – Kramatorsk, Ukraine. Most of the projects we have taken part in were directly related to refugees, IDPs, the EU, and social inclusion.

We are confident, that we have all the expertise to organise a high-quality youth exchange since our staff has been involved in youth worker since 2014 across Europe. We are aware of how to draft a life-changing project, find relevant partners/participants, fully engage partner organisations in organizational activities, disseminate the results to the target audiences and prepare a comprehensive report. We are also lucky to have an experienced designer in our organization who will assist us to prepare high-quality video/photo materials by allowing us to reach the public and spread the positive impact after each project.

Since we have been leading various Erasmus+ projects and been involved in youth work, we have a thorough understanding of non-formal education methods, including ice-breaking & team-building activities, reflections, interactive workshops for integration, brainstorming sessions, non-formal discussions, intercultural dialogue, etc. The working approaches used by us is promoting active participation among youth in project activities, supporting self-confidence, and fostering learning from each other. These methods are fully inclusive and participatory.

The expertise of the key persons 

The key individual involved in the application and the implementation of the project is the head of the Strategic Partnership Institute – Tomaš Jenkelevič.
Tomas is a young leader with more than 5 years of experience in youth work in Lithuania, Turkey, and Poland. He has a thorough understanding of the non-formal education and Erasmus+ program. Tomas has been a facilitator of various Erasmus+ youth exchanges and training courses, such as “Blue Hearts”, ‘’A Million Voices’’, “Diversity Academy’’ etc. Most of the projects implemented by Tomas were directly related to peacebuilding, violence prevention, and social inclusion. Besides that,  Tomas has studied in Poland (BA in Political Science at the University of Warsaw), Turkey, and Lithuania and acquired the necessary knowledge and skills for communicating with people of different needs.

Tomas is accompanied by the active members of the organisation – Raul Labadze and Weronika Kędzia.

Raul Labadze is a graduate of the College of Europe where he obtained a master’s degree in European Interdisciplinary Studies, major in European Neighborhood Policy (full ENP scholarship). Raul is a young ambassador of the European Union in Georgia and has a thorough understanding of the Eastern Partnership and Erasmus+. He has been active in youth work since 2013 and has organised several projects (still under the Youth in Action scheme). He has recently organised a carnival party (various fun activities like art workshops, face painting workshops, dancing classes, and other sports activities) for refugee children visiting the College of Europe (Natolin) from the Foundation for Freedom (Fundacja „Dla Wolności“).

Weronika Kędzia is a student of International Relations with experience working on youth projects that address problems affecting disadvantaged groups in society. Weronika has implemented Erasmus+ projects promoting social inclusion and equal opportunities in sports, as well as worked on projects preventing violence and aggression in sports. Weronika is actively involved in the promotion of youth engagement in sports in her local community and is devoted to the promotion of youth participation in civil society.

Last but not least, the application has been drafted jointly by all consortium.