Strauss APS is non-profit, self-financed organisation founded in Mussomeli, Sicily in 1999. The main objective of Strauss APS is the promotion of a multicultural and multiethnic society by disseminating the values of the European Community in marginal and peripheral areas, such as the former province of Caltanissetta, the geographical area in which Mussomeli is located. The main mission of the organisation is to understand and meet the needs of young people, as well as to offer them all the chances and opportunities that are helpful and necessary for their social, professional, cultural and personal growth, hence guaranteeing the social inclusion of those youngsters with fewer opportunities.
The target group of Strauss APS is mostly composed of youngsters aged 13 to 30, with a particular focus on the ones that are in disadvantaged situations due to factors that can be: economic, educational, social, geographical, physical, etc. Most of the activities are based on Non-Formal Education methods, in which Strauss has a wide experience thanks to its management and participation to many projects in this field for over 15 years.
Specifically, Strauss manages and works with the following services and activities in order to support the reality of youth on multiple levels:
- Information centre, Strauss runs InfoYOUTH desk, Europe desk that includes the Eurodesk Local Agency, Crea-Impresa desk;
- Erasmus+ Key Action 1 projects (Youth Exchanges, Youth Initiatives, Training Courses, Seminars, Mobility of Youth Workers, Study Visits, European Voluntary Service) as HO, SO and CO;
- Erasmus+ Key Action 2 projects (Strategic Partnership and Capacity Building in the Field of Youth);
- European Solidarity Corps and Volunteering Activities as HO, SO and CO.
- “Borsa Lavoro”, a service for minors charged with misdemeanors;
- Sports activities through the cooperation and protocol agreement with the female team of the sport association ASD Don Bosco of Mussomeli;
- Foreign Languages labs for kids and youngsters;
- Art, environment and cooking classes, activities and workshops;
- Journalistic, digital and social media labs and workshops;
- Maintenance and beautification of an urban park in Mussomeli, formerly known as “Villa Aldisio” and renamed “ARCI Park”;
- 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;
- 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, such as culture, cinema, music, books, antimafia.
Strongly believing in the power of networking by sharing competencies and expertises, Strauss can boast several affiliations and networks, as ARCI, Eurodesk, RIVE 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 a concrete support, through a 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.
