Associazione Culturale Strauss

Associazione Culturale Strauss is a non-profit, self-financed organisation founded in Mussomeli, Sicily in 1999. The main objective of Strauss is the promotion of a multicultural and multiethnic society by disseminating the values of European Community in marginal and peripheral areas, such as the former province of Caltanissetta, the geographical area in which Mussomeli is. The main mission of the organisation is to understand and meet the needs of young people and to offer them all the chances and opportunities helpful and necessary for their social, professional, cultural and personal growth, guaranteeing the social inclusion of those youngsters with fewer opportunities. The target group of Strauss is mostly composed by youngsters aged from 13 to 30, with particular attention to the ones in disadvantaged situations due to many factors: economic; educational; social; geographical, physical, psychical, etc. Most of the activities are based on the Non-Formal Education methods, in which Strauss has a wide experience thanks to the management and participation in many projects in this field for over 20 years. Specifically, Strauss manages and works the following services and activities to support the reality of youth on multiple layers: · Information centre, Strauss runs InfoGiovani desk, Europe desk, Crea-Impresa desk; · Art, environment and cooking classes, activities and workshops; · Foreign Languages labs for kids and youngsters; · Journalistic, digital and social media labs and workshops; · Cultural projects for kids attending primary schools in Mussomeli; · Cultural and socio-educational projects for youngsters attending secondary and high schools in Mussomeli; · Social inclusion and integration projects in centres for “difabled” people and group homes for minors; · Maintenance and beautification of urban parks and open spaces in Mussomeli, · Cultural projects for the local community in cooperation with the Municipal Library; · Activities for touristic promotion and internationalisation of the territory; · Organisation of events, conferences and exhibitions on different topics, as culture, cinema, music, books, antimafia; · “Borsa Lavoro”, a service for minors charged with misdemeanours; · Sports activities through the cooperation and protocol agreement with the female team of the sports association ASD Don Bosco of Mussomeli; In addition to the above-mentioned activities, Strauss works and offers opportunities in the field of the Programmes Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps: · Youth Exchanges, Youth Initiatives, Training Courses, Seminars, Mobility of Youth Workers, Study Visits, European Voluntary Service as HO, SO and CO; · Strategic Partnership and Capacity Building in the Field of Youth; · Volunteering Activities as HO, SO and CO and Solidarity Projects. · VET activities for students in Sicily. Strongly believing in the power of networking by sharing competencies and expertise, Strauss can boast several affiliations and networks, as ARCI, RIVE, Consulta Locale Associazioni and Turn ON Europe. All the services provided create a continuous flow of young people asking for support and assistance on many topics, allowing Strauss to monitor constantly the youth reality and to be able to provide youngsters all those opportunities which otherwise they would not have, that could give them concrete support, through professional assistance, in satisfying their needs and fulfilling their dreams. Moreover, all the activities implemented and realised for youngsters allowed Strauss to become deeply rooted in its territory and to carve out a role of primary importance in civil society, in which Strauss is identified as an important stakeholder in the field of youth.