L’École des Valeurs Announces New Initiatives to Boost Youth Engagement

L'École des Valeurs (the School of Values) is a Luxembourg-based non-profit organisation aiming to create a hub for innovation, education and personal development for youth.

Founded at the beginning of 2023 in the Grand Duchy, L'École des Valeurs was inspired by the philosophy and methods of “Scoala de Valori”, a non-profit organisation created in 2010 in Romania. L’Ecole des Valeurs has been a beneficiary of Erasmus (Anefore) projects since March 2023, two months after its legal establishment. Currently, the initiative has six Erasmus+ projects ongoing and the organisers noted they are looking for further opportunities to expand their reach.

The L'École des Valeurs projects are in line with the EU priorities in education, the non-profit organisation added. Several workshops have already been organised in Luxembourg, such as “The Power of a Good Trainer” in Echternach, in partnership with associations from Luxembourg, France, Italy, Lithuania, and Romania, “I Can Have the Job I Want” in partnership with associations from the Grand Duchy, Poland, Romania, and Turkey, and “UpSkill YOUth” in partnership with associations from Luxembourg, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, The Republic of North Macedonia and Romania.

Elena Vasilica, President of the L'École des Valeurs, spoke to Chronicle.lu about one of the non-profit organisation's current initiatives: “In addition to life skills development projects for young people, in a broader sense, we have received funding to support Romanian language and cultural identity courses and the project is supported by the Luxembourg Ministry of Education through an official partnership.”

Nadia Eatough, responsible for communications, spoke about how she found out about the initiative through a friend who was working with her at the RomLux Business Forum asbl: “She introduced me to the project ‘L'École des Valeurs’, brought over from Romania to Luxembourg (...) L'École des Valeurs was initiated by a group of parents who wanted to offer their children something other than just the school curriculum – the school of life. They collaborate with teachers and trainers from various EU countries, and depending on the projects, they may be financed through Erasmus, the European Commission or other similar entities.”

Its future projects in the pipeline include “Digital Innovation in Youth Work” (September 2024), scheduled to take place in Luxembourg and “HeartGuard: Empowering Youth Against Bullying”, (from 1 February 2024 to 31 July 2025), with similar activities in France and Luxembourg, aiming to raise awareness on bullying and its impact among at least 120 young people through art, drama methods and workshops.

Empower to impact

This project aims to educate around 200 community members on active citizenship and community participation over seventeen months. By creating a safe space and supportive environment for youth to discuss different issues and interact with leaders, L’École des Valeurs strives to foster a sense of belonging and enhance the student’s soft skills for future success. Following a framework that encourages all voices to be heard and valued, the project also aims to foster multiculturalism and active participation.

The non-profit organisation is currently looking for trainers, teachers and decision-makers as well as, specifically, fifteen “young leaders” aged sixteen to nineteen, with skills in volunteering, workshop hosting and media, passionate about civic engagement, inclusion and community development (accompanied by adult trainers throughout) and around 60 people aged thirteen to 30, regardless of gender identity, educational background, socio-economic status, or cultural background, to take part in the workshops.

More information on the project/s is available at: https://lecoledesvaleurs.eu/empower-to-impact/.