Inclusivity and Accessibility Guidelines for International Youth Activities

Aims of the tool

To help youth organisations and youth educators to organise their non-formal education and training activities in a more inclusive and accessible manner, therefore supporting active participation of young people with fewer opportunities1

Description of the tool

This document looks at multiple types of barriers that enable or disable young people with fewer opportunities to equally participate. By breaking them down into specific guiding questions and practical suggestions, the document supports planning and implementing non-formal education and training activities. The barriers addressed in this document include:
- Geographical obstacles
- Economic obstacles
- Social obstacles
- Educational obstacles
- Cultural obstacles
- Disability-related obstacles
- Health-related obstacles

Who is it for?
These guidelines can be used by youth organisations and youth educators (trainers, facilitators, youth workers, others) who implement non-formal education and training activities that involve young people with fewer opportunities, in either local, national or international context. Despite how much experience you have in youth work and/or non-formal education, these guidelines may inspire you to think out of the box.

How do you use it?
The guidelines can be used in both planning phase (when you are designing an activity and selecting your participants) and in the implementation phase (when you are already delivering you activity). Each type of barrier contains three main parts:
1) Short description
2) Guiding questions
3) Tips and suggestions about mechanisms that can be put in place to address overcoming a particular barrier.

Important disclaimer!
As any other publication, this document has its limitations as it does not give a full recipe for how to ensure equal participation of young people with fewer opportunities. It merely serves as a reminder of various aspects that could hinder participation from happening in the first place. Moreover, there might be more barriers than the ones in this document that you would want to consider when planning and organising your activity, so this list can vary from case to case. What is very important is to ask the participants about their needs, and never assume what they might need/want. You can do this through an online survey, in direct communication or already at the application stage.