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Cha-Ching Champions

2025-3-PL01-KA153-YOU-0003783042025Mobility of youth workersongoing
Countries: PL|UA|HR|HU|TR|PT|MT|FR · Grant: €42,197
Digital skills and competencesQuality and innovation of youth workKey competences development

Objectives

The project is designed with the clear ambition of strengthening youth work practice across Europe by equipping youth workers with competences that are both practical and transformative. The first goal is to enhance the professional quality of youth work by giving youth workers innovative tools that they can immediately apply in their daily interaction with young people. Many youth workers feel underprepared to address challenges such as financial literacy, social inclusion, or sustainable lifestyles. By implementing the project, the consortium seeks to close this gap, ensuring that youth workers return to their organisations with new knowledge and tested methodologies that make their work more effective and impactful. Another objective is to foster intercultural competence within the youth work sector. Bringing together participants from diverse cultural, social and economic contexts creates an environment where they not only learn about one another but also learn how to manage diversity constructively. In youth work practice, this competence is vital, as youth workers are increasingly required to facilitate groups with mixed backgrounds and identities. Through experiential learning and non-formal education methods, participants will develop sensitivity to cultural differences, the ability to bridge misunderstandings, and the confidence to create inclusive spaces. These skills will directly strengthen their capacity to support young people in multicultural communities. Other objective lies in improving the ability of youth workers to act as agents of social change. Too often, youth work is seen as limited to organising activities or filling free time, but this project aims to position youth workers as leaders who empower young people to actively shape their societies. By learning strategies for community engagement, advocacy and project design, participants will expand their roles beyond facilitation into activism and leadership. The aim is that youth workers will inspire young people to see themselves as capable of influencing local policies, tackling social problems and contributing to a more democratic Europe. Professional development in non-formal education methodologies is another central objective. Many youth workers rely on a narrow set of tools and feel they lack the creativity or structure to design engaging programmes. The project introduces them to a wide variety of participatory methods, reflective practices and experiential approaches that can be adapted to different contexts. Youth workers will not only experience these methods during the mobility but will also analyse them critically, learning how to choose the right tool for the right group. This deepens their methodological flexibility and strengthens their ability to deliver meaningful learning experiences to young people. The project also seeks to promote the recognition of youth work at the organisational and societal level. Youth workers often report that their contributions are undervalued or misunderstood by institutions and communities. By equipping them with stronger competences, validated through Youthpass and national certificates where possible, the project contributes to the professionalisation of the sector. This recognition is not only symbolic but practical: youth workers will be better positioned to secure funding, establish partnerships and advocate for the value of non-formal education. The objective is to ensure that youth work is seen as a credible, respected and indispensable part of community development. Another achievement sought through this project is to strengthen the resilience and adaptability of youth workers. In a rapidly changing Europe, youth workers face challenges such as economic instability, climate anxiety among young people, and the rise of discrimination and extremism. The project equips them with strategies to remain adaptable, to transform challenges into learning opportunities and to model resilience for the young people they support. This competence is crucial in practice, as youth workers are often the first line of response when young people face crises or feel excluded. By becoming more resilient themselves, they are better able to guide others. Last and Final objective is to build long-lasting cooperation between organisations across Europe, creating a sustainable network that continues to share resources and opportunities. For youth work practice, this means that participants are not isolated in their local realities but are connected to a European community of professionals. This connection enables them to exchange methods, seek advice and create future projects together. The outcome is not just stronger individual competences but a stronger European youth work field, one that is innovative, inclusive and united by shared values. Through these objectives, the project ensures that its impact is felt in the daily practices of youth workers and the lives of the young people they serve.

Project partners (8)