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For Your Innovation – Youth workers sharing knowledge on practical ways to improve youth work

2024-1-PT02-KA153-YOU-0002142852024Mobility of youth workersongoingGood practice
Countries: PT|ES|IT · Grant: €33,702
Quality and innovation of youth workInclusion of marginalised young peopleKey competences development

Objectives

The main purpose of this project was to empower professionals in the youth sector to respond more effectively and in a more structured manner to the persistent and worrying phenomenon of youth unemployment, with a particular focus on fishing communities, whose socioeconomic vulnerability is exacerbated by historical dynamics of devaluation of education, scarce opportunities for qualification, and a culture of resignation in the face of adversity. Through international mobility and the exchange of good practices between youth workers from different contexts, we sought to develop a space for mutual learning, experience sharing, and professional development. Our main objective was to provide participants with innovative pedagogical tools, focused on Non-Formal Education (NFE), that would enable them to design and implement, in their territories and organizations, actions with a real transformative impact on the lives of the young people they work with — especially young people at risk of exclusion. The ultimate goal was clear: to strengthen the role of youth workers as agents of change, equipping them with the skills to develop, in a creative way adapted to local contexts, lifelong learning (LLL) and entrepreneurship skills in young people. These skills are recognized by both the European Union and international organizations such as UNICEF and UNESCO as fundamental to stimulating the employability and personal, economic, and social development of young people. In this regard, the specific objectives of the project were: 1. To train Youth Workers (YW) to promote skills that facilitate employability among young people, through non-formal education methodologies, adapted to local realities and focused on valuing community and cultural resources; 2. To stimulate the development of innovative approaches in working with young people, reinforcing the role of NFE as an effective means of awakening a sense of initiative, creativity, confidence, and entrepreneurial spirit, particularly in young people outside the formal education system; 3. Encourage the exploration and enhancement of local resources as pedagogical tools, with an emphasis on the use of ancestral shipbuilding techniques—deeply rooted in the identity of fishing communities—as a starting point for promoting transversal skills and meaningful learning experiences; 4. Identify, systematize, and disseminate good practices in the use of ENF geared towards youth employability, especially in vulnerable areas, facilitating the replication and adaptation of these practices by other professionals in the sector; 5. Contribute to a systemic change in the work of youth workers, encouraging a more strategic, collaborative, and locally rooted vision that focuses on empowering young people for active, conscious, and economically sustainable citizenship; 6. Strengthen networking between European organizations, promoting transnational cooperation and the exchange of working methodologies, thus contributing to the construction of a community of practice committed to the continuous improvement of responses to the challenges faced by young people. Through the implementation of this project, we wanted TJs to develop practical and theoretical skills that would enable them to design and implement more effective and innovative projects, especially in vulnerable communities. The focus on the use of traditional knowledge and the exploitation of local resources was, from the outset, a strategic choice, not only because of its cultural relevance, but also because of its potential as a driver of economic and social development. In conclusion, this project aimed to make a concrete and structured contribution to mitigating the effects of youth unemployment by enhancing the role of the youth sector and training its professionals, promoting a more integrated, participatory, and transformative approach focused on young people and their contexts.

Project partners (3)