=> CONTEXT, NEEDS Learning to Participate (LEAP) is a strategic partnership project for youth involving youth organisations and universities. Findings reveal that youth participation in social and political matters is low in comparison to other age groups and addressing it is a priority in all the countries participating in the project. The assumption of this project is that behind low youth participation there are structural factors, such as the lack of opportunities and means that fit young people's definition of participation itself. "How does Project-based learning empower young people and foster participation in non-formal education?" is the research question of this project. Although a single accepted definition of Project-based Learning (PBL) does not exist (Pecore, 2015), the project takes into account the work of pedagogists such as Freinet, Kilpatrick and Dewey on this model. PBL is understood as a model that organises learning around projects, that is learner-centred and driven. PBL can promote youth empowerment, social inclusion and skills development of young people. This can counter low participation in social and political matters. In the framework of the project, empowerment is understood as the "capacity for action" intended as the opportunity, the space, the power and willingness to act. This definition is retrieved from the work of Yann Le Bossé who uses the term empowerment to refer to the capacity of people (in an individual or collective way) to exert a bigger control on what matters to them, their circle or the community/ies they identify with. =>PARTNERS Five organisations participate in this project: - University of Vienna, Austria coordinators of the project - University of Hannover, Germany - CSC Danilo Dolci, Italy - Sapere Aude, Austria - Udruga Mladi u EU, Croatia. The project lasts 2 years and ends in January 2021. =>OBJECTIVES General objectives: -Promoting youth-centred pedagogical approaches in non-formal education youth organisations. -Reinforcing young people's empowerment intended as capacity for action. Specific ones: - Introduce Project-based learning as work practice in non-formal education youth organisations. - Support young people in the development of a social and civic competences (as defined by Key competence framework). - Strengthen common European values about youth participation. - Reinforce intercultural dialogue and respect for diversity amongst young people in the participating organisations. - Establish a new form of collaboration amongst formal and non-formal education organisations participating in the project. =>METHODOLOGY In order to achieve the objectives of the project and to complete the results of the IOs, the implementation will follow a matrix of consequential steps: 1/ During the first step the goal is to impact project partners and support them in the acquisition of knowledge about PBL. This will be led by the University of Vienna, which has expertise on PBL and how it is applied in other settings. This will happen in the first month of the project and during the first Transnational Meeting. 2/ Within the second step, project partners will complete the first intermediate results within IO1, 2 and 3. The second step is to allow partners to train PBL to their youth workers. This will happen during the piloting of the training offer. 3/ During the third step, youth workers will implement PBL with young people during the learning mobility. This three-step approach, is understood as a systemic approach since it involves the direct target groups of this project (project partners, youth workers and young people). It is a systemic approach since it allows to address the key actors that have the role and the tasks to promote changes in their work with youth. => ACTIVITIES, RESULTS AND PARTICIPANTS In order to achieve the previous mentioned objectives, the partnership will elaborate a set of tools that will be experimented in the elaboration of youth mobility projects. To support the development of knowledge and skills of youth workers, the partnership will elaborate a Pedagogical Booklet on Project-based learning (IO1), a PBL Methodology for education professionals (IO2), a Training offer for youth workers (IO3), a Charter on Youth Participation and Guidelines on PBL application for young people (IO4). These results are mainly intended for youth education professionals and young people. The profile of education professionals vary in terms of age, gender, origin, background and diplomas acquired in the youth work field. Around 350 people will participate as target groups within the project. => IMPACTS The project will impact: - Partner organisations, their staff members, their resources and work practices. - Young people/youth workers skills. - A systemic level in the sector of youth in terms of youth-centred pedagogies. The project is expected to produce lasting effects in terms of youth practices and youth involvement.
Learning to Participate (LEAP) is a strategic partnership project that involved youth organisations and universities. The project was coordinated by the department of "Didactics of Civic and Citizenship Education" of the University of Vienna, Austria. Partners were the Institute of Didactics of Democracy at the University of Hannover, Germany, and three youth organisations, Sapere Aude from Austria, Udruga Mladi u EU Croatia and Centro per lo Sviluppo Creativo Danilo Dolci, Italy. The project started under the assumption that youth organisations could promote youth political participation through Project-based Learning (PBL). PBL is a methodology particularly suited for the development of civic and democratic skills and empowerment understood as "capacity for action", namely the perception of one's skills and motivation to act. The second assumption was that a definition of participation not suited to young people's understanding is a factor that prevents young people to participate. "How does Project-based Learning empower young people and foster participation in non-formal education?" is the question addressed by the project. To understand how the project answered it, it is first necessary to outline the concrete actions carried out that allowed us to work on Project-based learning (PBL) in non-formal education. PBL is an approach that organises learning around projects, and according to our work it is an holistic method that supports active and democratic citizenship. Secondly the answer to our main question will be given in relation to the project objectives. In terms of project results' and impact: - Intellectual Output (IO) 1, 2 and 4: During the project we finalised the three expected outputs. These are complementary resources that followed the "methodology" of the project. Firstly, through IO1, we elaborated a framework for PBL in non-formal education and we trained youth workers trainers and youth workers on this approach. IO1 resulted in a "Pedagogical Booklet - Project-based Learning in non-formal education" comprised of a resources' section with material to organise a training. Secondly, we created the LEAP PBL methodology to organise youth projects, either locally either within a EU mobility, which we implemented with young people online. Our experience, along with practical tools is summarised within the IO2 "Project-based Learning Methodology: from theory to practice". Lastly, we collected ideas of young people about the notion of participation and elaborated a "Youth Charter" and a video with those who participated in an online mobility (IO4). - Youth workers training: 54 youth workers participated in our trainings. Our trainings were opened to and relevant for education professionals working with young people in non-formal education. Due to the diversity of the youth sector contexts of the "countries" involved in the project, no further definition in terms of diplomas and qualification was employed. This ensures that the training can be further re-exploited on a wider EU scale and prove its impact on different contexts. - Young people's involvement: around 160 young people were involved in LEAP. They participated in events and trainings, and contributed to create the Youth Charter and video (IO4). During the project they shared their views about participation, and discussed the problems and issues of their communities. They shared their demands and needs to design youth projects to answer to the problems they identified. In this sense, the project contributed to address youth empowerment by supporting young people in reflecting on their sense of agency and capacity to act. - The project impacted several groups that were initially targeted by the project application (young people, youth workers, youth trainers, youth researchers and other education professionals) by producing educational offers, tools and resources that are relevant to address the challenges of youth participation. - During the project several dissemination activities took place and allowed to pilot and disseminate our resources to thousands of professionals. The project reached its two general objectives of promoting a youth-centred pedagogical approach in non-formal education with PBL, and reinforced young people's capacity to act by elaborating youth projects. Therefore, the answer to the question of how PBL empowers young people and fosters participation has to be found in youth projects, in the possibilities of co-constructing them with young people and in the clear framework that youth practitioners can employ. The results of the project are extremely encouraging and led the partnership in affirm that the potential benefits of this approach are numerous and impactful to the youth sector as a whole.