History

Connect Europ was formed by Mike Stokes as an independent international agency in early 1992.  Originally based in Scotland, the agency moved to the Lake District, in North-west England, in 1994.  Mike operates Connect Europ within the legal framework of a Sole Trader and established Connect Europ Limited (Company No. 7155684 registered in England and Wales) in February 2010.  The aim is for Connect Europ Limited to be utilised in the running and management of European Union projects.

Connect Europ grew directly out of Mike's earlier roles within the City of Manchester and Strathclyde Regional Council Education departments and his growing involvement with the International Social and Educational Exchanges (ISEE) network, the Co-ordinating Committee for European Youth Exchanges (CC-EYE), the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg and a number of simillar international developments.  Connect Europ was initially an attempt to bring all these numerous strands together under one umbrella organisation.  Mike continued making applications to a number of European Union (EU) programmes, chief amongst them being the Tempus, Socrates and Youth in Action programmes, on behalf of both Connect Europ and ISEE. This led to Connect Europ running over fifteen sucessful EU funded projects between 1992 and 1995.  During the same period, Mike's links with the Russian Federation, which he had continued to develop since his initial visits to Moscow and Georgia in 1980 and 1982, grew rapidly and Connect Europ was asked to organise and run a  large number of projects with Russia between 1992 and 1996.  Many of these involved the organisation of a wide range of professional study tours by different Russian officials to their UK counterparts but in addition a large group of students from Yakutia spent ten months studying in the UK and a large Russian led international conference was organised in Edinburgh. Further details of these and other Connect Europ activities are given in the section 'Record of international activities.'

In recent years Connect Europ has concentrated on further developing and running two annual placement programmes of German schoolchildren in the UK on behalf of the Bayerischer Jugendring in Munich (see 'BJR Student Programme' for further information). In addition to these Mike works with the International Sonnenberg Association; is currently listed as an "Expert" on the EU Tempus, Youth in Action, Erasmus Mundus and KA4-Dissemination and Exploitation of Results programmes and is registered for work on short-term EU funded projects by a number of international agencies working in the field of education and project development.

 Other activities carried out by Connect Europ include:

• Writing funding applications, particularly for European Union programmes
  
  
• Project design, development, management, administration, support, financial management and reporting
  Identifying, developing and running international networks
  
  
• Organising and running professional study tours (into the UK and out to other countries), conferences and training courses
  
  
• Establishing and developing new links with countries in central and eastern Europe and beyond the European Union