This project will provide access to quality youth work methodologies and approaches from Norway to 3 countries which are on their path of youth work development and creating the understanding of quality in this field. Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania view Norway as an example country. This cooperation will help Bulgarian, Lithuanian and Latvian partners to become youth work development agencies in their countries. In this project the partnership will create youth worker training programs which will be adapted to 3 different national contexts. The Norwegian model will be used as basis for common developments of the partners. The project will enable partners to advocate for youth work and youth worker professional recognition. This project will create the basis for efficiency and understanding of quality in youth work in Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania. The Norwegian youth workers will gain a wider context for their work and international cooperation. Norwegian youth workers will reflect on their working context and situation, and the conditions they have. Moreover, Norwegian youth work community will understand the changing context of youth work, will develop ability to change. Youth centres in Baltic states and Bulgaria were built and developed with financial support from EEA grants. This project continues work that startes with this AID direction. The project is coherent with other processes conducted by Norway internationally. Aim of the project is: To share Norwegian youth work training methodologies with youth work communities in Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania, and to provide youth workers with competencies needed for daily youth work activities. Objectives of the training course: 1. To show unique features of Norwegian youth traditions: youth work through cultural heritage, cultural expression, leisure time activities, dealing with social issues and mental health, participation. 2. To develop competencies, defined in Norwegian youth worker training programs of participants taking part in the training courses. 3. Develop understanding of quality youth work integral with European youth work values. 4. To create youth work support system for quality international youth work in the project countries. 5. To create space for cooperation of participants and ensure quality of future Erasmus + projects through developing common understanding of Youth project quality criteria: non-formal education, intercultural learning, active participation and etc. 6. Contribute to the systemic recognition of youth worker competencies gained in a non-formal way in Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania. 7. Share various Norwegian methodologies used in youth worker training programs. 8. To prepare multipliers to promote youth worker training programs and create guidelines and proposals for future youth worker training programs. Target groups: - youth workers; - youth work trainers; - civil servants dealing with youth issues; - managers of youth centre: project managers; - social workers and psychologist; - youth leaders and volunteers. The project needs to be implemented transnationally to use the benefits of different experience of partners, assess existing methodologies through international perspective. Gaining Norwegian experience in international setting will allow the partners and participants to analyze the Norwegian system, see the benefits and best ways to improve and adopt the methodology.
The KA2 project “Youth worker training: Nordic approach” (Project no. 2018-1-NO02-KA205-001233) was implemented by “Medvirkningsagentene” (Norway) in cooperation with international partners: “Politikos tyrimu ir analizes institutas” (Lithuania), “Youth Society for Peace and Development of the Balkans” (Bulgaria), “Creative minds for Culture” (Latvia). The project was implemented from beginning of June, 2018 till end of May 2019. The project provided access to quality youth worker training methodologies, youth work practices and approaches from Norway to 3 countries which are on their path of youth work development and creating the understanding of quality in this field. The project also created space to share Bulgarian, Latvian and Lithuanian youth work practices. In the frame of the project we have organized: - 2 partner meetings, one in Latvia in 2018 and one in Bulgaria in 2019; - a study visit on youth work practices in Tonsberg, Norway, September, 2019. The study visit broth 19 participants from the 4 project countries; - 2 training courses for youth workers in Lithuania in January and March 2019. Each of the training courses brought 28 participants from the 4 project countries; The project partnership together developed: - 3 reports of the educational activities of the project; - an online publication to share methodologies used in the educational activities; - a research report on the impact of youth worker training courses on the participants; - partners together initiated Youth.Work.Matters campaign to advocate for youth work and youth worker professional recognition. The campaign will continue after the end of the project. Aim of the project was: To share Norwegian youth work training methodologies with youth work communities in Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania, provide youth workers with competencies needed for daily youth work activities. Objectives of the training course were: 1. To show unique features of Norwegian youth traditions: youth work through cultural heritage, cultural expression, leisure time activities, dealing with social issues and mental health, participation. 2. To develop competencies, defined in Norwegian youth worker training programs of participants taking part in the training courses. 3. Develop understanding of quality youth work integral with European youth work values. 4. To create youth work support system for quality international youth work in the project countries. 5. To create space for cooperation of participants and ensure quality of future Erasmus + projects through developing common understanding of Youth project quality criteria: non-formal education, intercultural learning, active participation and etc. 6. Contribute to the systemic recognition of youth worker competencies gained in non-formal way in Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania. 7. Share various Norwegian methodologies used in youth worker training programs. 8. To prepare multipliers to promote youth worker training programs and create guidelines and proposals for future youth worker training programs. Target groups of the project were: - youth workers; - youth work trainers; - civil servants dealing with youth issues; - managers of youth centers: project managers; - social workers and psychologist; - youth leaders and volunteers. The project was implemented transnationally aiming to use the benefits of different experience of partners, asses existing methodologies through international perspective.