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Digital Empowerment for Inclusive Youth Work

2024-1-MT01-KA153-YOU-0001986162024Mobility of youth workersongoing
Countries: MT|AM|GE|IT · Grant: €47,698
Digital youth workDigital skills and competencesInclusion of marginalised young people

Objectives

When we started developing Digital Empowerment for Inclusive Youth Work, we were responding to a very practical need visible in our everyday work with young people: digitalisation is progressing quickly, yet many youth workers who support young people with fewer opportunities still feel uncertain about how to use digital tools in ways that genuinely strengthen participation, confidence, and inclusion. In many cases digital tools are available, but not always used intentionally as educational instruments. We wanted to create a learning environment where youth workers could explore digital youth work not as a technical trend, but as a practical method for reaching young people who often feel unheard or excluded from opportunities. Across the partner organisations, we work with young people facing social and economic barriers, including young people affected by displacement and conflict situations such as the war in Ukraine and the 2020 Karabakh war. Youth workers often shared that while digital environments strongly influence the lives of these young people, there is still a gap in methodologies that allow digital tools to become supportive rather than overwhelming. We therefore aimed to strengthen the capacity of youth workers to use accessible and adaptable digital approaches that can realistically be applied in everyday youth work practice, especially in organisations with limited resources. A key objective was to build practical competences of youth workers in using digital tools to encourage expression, participation, and cooperation among young people with fewer opportunities. Rather than focusing on complex technological solutions, we concentrated on tools that support communication, storytelling, collaboration, and visibility of youth voices. This included exploring how digital methods can complement non-formal learning and help create safe spaces for participation, especially for young people who may feel less confident expressing themselves in traditional learning environments. Another important objective was to create a space for exchange between practitioners from Malta, Armenia, Georgia, and Italy, allowing them to share concrete experiences of working with disadvantaged youth in different social realities. While contexts differ, youth workers face similar challenges related to digital exclusion, reduced access to learning opportunities, or lack of confidence among young people in using digital tools constructively. Through peer learning and collaborative reflection, participants were able to better understand how inclusion challenges appear in different environments and how digital youth work can be adapted accordingly. We also aimed to strengthen cooperation between partner organisations by building a network of practitioners who can continue exchanging methods and experiences beyond the training activity. This cooperation aspect was important in ensuring that the learning process would continue influencing everyday youth work practice after the mobility. An additional objective was to jointly identify digital tools that are realistic for everyday youth work settings and structure them into a practical output that can be used beyond the duration of the activity. As part of this process, partners contributed to the creation of an Inclusive Digital Resource Hub (https://catalystngo.weebly.com/inclusive-digital-resource-hub-mt-2025.html)– an online space where tested tools, methods, and examples collected during the training are accessible for youth workers who want to strengthen inclusive digital practice in their local context. The intention was to ensure that the learning generated during the training remains usable and transferable also for colleagues and organisations outside the partnership. Overall, we wanted participants to leave the activity with increased confidence in using digital tools as part of inclusive youth work, strengthened professional connections across partner countries, and concrete ideas that could be realistically applied in their local work. The project aimed to support youth workers in making digital environments more accessible and meaningful for young people with fewer opportunities, ensuring that digitalisation becomes a tool for participation rather than an additional barrier.

Project partners (4)