 Co-operate with your neighbouring partners. Co-operation between youth work organisations from Erasmus Plus programme countries and neighbouring countries of the European Union creates unique opportunities to develop mutual understanding between people in a spirit of openness. Such activities can create new networking opportunities and build capacities of your organisation. You can set up a training and networking project involving youth workers from Erasmus Plus programme countries and neighbouring regions. Eastern partnership, Western Balkan and South Mediterranean countries. Although only organisations from programme countries can apply to national agencies for funding, all the partner organisations involved should equally co-operate during the project development, implementation and evaluation. Good practice suggests that involving all your partners equally allows projects to contribute to the development of high quality systems that support young people in all participating countries. The mobility of youth workers is expected to enable their organisations to recognise their important role in the development of civil society. Meetings of youth workers, both volunteers and professionals, should facilitate the establishment of long lasting, high quality projects and partnerships. The impact of mobility projects between programme and neighbouring countries is inspiring. Past projects show many benefits for the personal and professional development of youth workers. Increase motivation for their work. Develop their intercultural competence. Facilitate exchange of knowledge on their target groups. Teach different methodologies and approaches to non-formal learning. Empower them to participate in political discussions about youth related decisions. Change their perspectives about youth work. Should you decide to get involved in such cooperation, you can expect to gain rich intercultural experiences, challenge your prejudice and get inspiration and ideas for activities and approaches for working with young people. However, benefits do not come with ease. Your organisation may experience some challenges that are specific to cooperation with partners from neighbouring countries of the European Union. The following challenges may also be faced in any international cooperation project. Bureaucratic challenges, such as specific rules for entering or leaving countries, visa and insurance policies. Economic differences due to the level of income and the cost of living. Communication challenges affected by cultural differences and barriers in languages. Logistics issues related to transportation, training venues or resources. Level of organisations experience in managing such projects, especially in case of new organisations. Regional Salto Youth Centres can offer support to your organisation on how to start cooperation or improve the quality of the existing partnerships. They facilitate contact-making between organisations from programme countries and EU neighbouring countries. On their website, you can find useful training guides on various aspects of cooperation and project management. To build your confidence, you can also participate in training and networking activities organised by Salto Youth Centres.