The phenomenon of social exclusion continues to worsen in Europe and elsewhere and situations of violations rights of the most vulnerable populations are increasing, especially among youth on street situation, who are often find isolated and far from Socio-educational services. The inclusion of this public represents one of the greatest social challenges at the global level.The partners of the ASYA project thus seek to build together local responses to the increasingly global forms of exclusion. As in other parts of the world, Asian partners are confronted with contexts where inequalities are flagrant and where part of the population, completely destitute, does not benefit from adequate social protection, especially young people and children resulting from the rural exodus from poor families to large urban centers. While most of these countries have ratified the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990) and the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (2000) The application of these texts and of the national laws devoted to the protection of children poses a problem, especially with regard to young people on street situation, who are most often ignored. The ASYA project proposes to highlight this inefficiency and to promote in each country an accompaniment of marginalized groups through the methodology of the Social Street Work, approach based on educational relation and non-formal educational action that is exerted on the street (Marginalization, non employment / education / training, wandering, stigmatization, prostitution, drug or alcohol use, problems with the authorities). The methodology of Social Street Work seeks to meet youngsters on his own life area and build up an educational relationship based on trust that favoring emancipation and citizenship. In order to improve the action of youth policies in to face social exclusion, the consortium plans to set up an international strategy aimed at strengthening the capacities of Street based Yoth workers in Social Street Work field ( Micro approach) and to a better political recognition of the methodology of Social Street Work (macro approach). It also proposes, through an intense exchange and mutualisation work, a scheme allowing the creation and strengthening of networks of street based youth workers from the local, to regional and international levels (meso approach). The consortium is convinced that through an global approach of training, exchange of practices and advocacy strategies for this recognition (macro approach), it will be able to participate actively in the effort to improve local youth policies in favor of vulnerable youth people.
The project “ASYA. Advocacy for Street based Youth work and networking Action” has been carriedout by a consortium of nine organisations from European and Asian countries: Asociación NavarraNuevo Futuro (Spain), Conversas Associação Internacional (Portugal), Dynamo International(Belgium), Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (Cambodia), CPCS (Nepal), Virlanie Foundation(Philippines), Tuong Lai Centre (Vietnam), Associação de Grupo Comunidade Rural (Timor), HongKong Playground Association (Hong Kong).For 24 months, different actions have taken place at local an international level, with the main goalto improve the socio-educational action on the care and support of young people in situation ofvulnerability through the Social Street work methodology approach, based on a non-formaleducation action. The Social Street work methodology seeks to meet the young person at his place oflife and to build an educational relationship based on trust and promoting emancipation.The main objectives of the project are to strength the skills of social street workers in the field ofsocial street work, promote the Social street work methodology as an innovative tool for youthpolicies around the world and generate a multiplier effect of the actions carried out beyond theproject partners, through the sensitization of other organizations, inside and outside the network;To achieve these goals, the project has developed actions around three main aspects: thestrengthening of capacities and skills of social street youth workers (R1. Training); the reinforcementof networks of social street work at local, regional and international level, thanks to exchange andmutualisation (R.2 Networking); and social and political advocacy for a better recognition of themethodology of social street work (R3. Advocacy).