Best practices Exchange for youth Trainers in the field of Sharing Economy and Ecology (BETSEE) aims at exchanging best practices in the field of ecological education with a special focus on “green” sharing economy among organizations that are all expert in youth education, each with a focus on a different target group. will focus on environmental education and “green” sharing economy to improve the youth workers’ teaching competences and increase, at once, disadvantaged youth’ soft skills. The idea of implementing this exchange of best practices was born from the need observed by the project partners of supporting youth educators in adopting an innovative methodology able to teach young people how to be eco-responsible in order to tackle climate change and waste. In Europe the overconsumption of goods has reached levels that are no longer sustainable and that are bringing to major environmental issues. According to the European Commission, “we currently use 16 tons of material per person per year, of which 6 tons become waste”. Learning what new “green” practices are and how sharing economy works can also be beneficial for disadvantaged younger people who have difficulties in finding their way into the job world. By studying ecological practices and by learning what sharing economy is and its advantages for future young entrepreneurs, young people with fewer opportunities will have the chance to acquire soft skills useful for their integration in the job marker, for instance, they can develop critical thinking by reflecting on the importance to reduce waste and to avoid intensive production/consuming behaviors; they can increase their entrepreneurial skills by learning about the sharing economy businesses and so on. BETSEE will organize 4 Study Visits in each partner country to exchange good practices on how to train youth workers to give classes focusing on “green” sharing economy and green habits among youth, encouraging, at the same time the development of their soft skills to succeed in life and work. Once partners’ educators will have observed best practices implemented in the other partners’ countries, they will organize Local Activities in their communities to promote sharing economy and green habits among young people from disadvantaged groups with limited access to non-formal education offer. Thanks to the observation of best practices for teaching “green” sharing economy, the partner organizations will be able to collect the best methods for youth education in the BETSEE Green E-Manual. This Manual is the central product of the project and will include 2 sections: section 1 with the methodology and best practices on how to develop and deliver courses about “green” sharing economy and ecological practices also promoting the acquisition of soft skills among disadvantaged youth and section 2 listing the latest “green” sharing economy tools and apps in each partners’ country. Therefore, BETSEE proposes to use the best practices of experienced youth organizations, each one focusing on a specific target group of youth (young people from the suburbs, unemployed young women, young people from rural areas and foreigners and migrants), to train youth workers teaching to young people soft skills (critical thinking, entrepreneurial skills, ICTs, curiosity, communication, etc.) to develop ecological behaviors thanks to “green” sharing economy. Finally, the International training of BETSEE will help young people and youth workers to consolidate their knowledge acquired during the learning process started in the beginning of the project.
Les objectifs de BETSEE étaient les suivants : 1) améliorer les compétences pédagogiques et les connaissances en matière d’économie de partage et de bonnes pratiques environnementales des travailleurs de jeunesse afin de sensibiliser les jeunes aux habitudes écologiques et de promouvoir l'économie de partage, tout en facilitant le développement de nouvelles compétences clés ; 2) favoriser l'acquisition de “soft skills” des jeunes (entrepreneuriales, communicatives, numériques, personnelles) qui seront un atout essentiel pour l'intégration sur le marché du travail. 3) promouvoir auprès d’un public local et européen l’économie de partage et d'autres pratiques "vertes" permettant de réduire les déchets et la pollution ; 4) renforcer la coopération européenne entre les organismes de formation ciblant des apprenants issus de groupes défavorisés en développant des nouveaux outils de formations et en échangeant des bonnes pratiques pour améliorer leur offre de formation, permettant également à leurs formateurs de relever les nouveaux défis pédagogiques imposés par le changement climatique.
L’idée qui est à l’origine de BETSEE est de développer les compétences des formateurs de jeunesse dans le domaine de l’éducation environnementale et, en particulier, de l'économie de partage pour pouvoir, ainsi, transmettre ces connaissances aux nouvelles générations. En effet, dans le cadre de leur travail de formation, les organismes partenaires ont constaté que les éducateurs de jeunesse manquent parfois de connaissances conceptuelles dans l’enseignement des pratiques environnementales. Les membres du partenariat ont donc développé des outils pour répondre à ces besoins en impliquant directement les formateurs dans des visites d'étude et la rédaction du Green E-Manual BETSEE. Grâce aux échanges continus avec les éducateurs, les partenaires sont arrivés à la conclusion que pour les jeunes issus de milieux défavorisés, la participation à des cours de formation non-formelle sur l’économie de partage n’est pas seulement nécessaire afin de renforcement leurs connaissances dans le domaine environnemental, mais représente un moyen efficace de leur fournir de nouveaux outils et clés pour accéder au marché du travail, notamment des “softs skills” tels que le travail en équipe, les compétences de management et de communication, etc.