Be Active, Be Empowered!

Participation is a crucial concept when it comes to youth work, especially in the context of working with youngsters at risk of exclusion. As youth workers, we all want our participants to be actively involved, purposeful and driven, as well as ready to take responsibility of their own learning process and its outcomes to a high extent. However, those expectations do not always fit the realities and we are constantly challenged to see our participants being passive and demotivated. The risk in this kind of si tuat ion is to "blame" the par t icipants and get f rust rated that they do not appreciate our educational offer. In consequence, many youth workers keep using their standardize toolboxes and choose the "easier way" in which the flow of knowledge should be only from the trainers to participants. However, we choose to believe that the true answer lies in re-tailoring our own approach to participation and youth work and to think out of the box when designing our project. The only way to be able to this, however, is to deeply understand the very concept of participation and learning. Without discussing the basic concepts and defining our own theoretical and methodological standpoints, we will not be able to truly understand and implement participatory oriented activities that enhance social inclusion. Project objectives 1. Exploring theories and practice of par icipatory oriented projects in youth work, especially in the context of socially vulnerable groups (such as youth with diverse cultural background) 2. Providing participants with an indepth understanding of basic concepts related to participation (participation factors) and help them reflect how those factors can be used as a basis for designing and implement ing participatory or iented youth activities 3. Reflecting upon the connection between participation, inclusion, and active citizenship 4. Creating a ready to use tool box on participation and youth work Participants profile - Youth workers and young leaders f rom NGOs working with young people at risk of exclusion (preferably with youth with diverse cultural background) - interested in exploring the concept of participation and learning how to create particiaptory oriented projects for their beneficiaries - Motivated to take part in creating the tool kit on participation - Ready to implement follow-up projects based on the tools and methods presented during the course - Being able to communicate in English fluently