Building Bridges: Professional Development Seminar for Youth Workers on Partnership Strengthening and Collaborative Project Design

“Building Bridges” is a Professional Development Activity (PDA) for youth workers implemented under the Erasmus+ KA151 accredited youth mobility framework by the Youth Council Prilep. This 6-day seminar brings together youth workers, project managers, and organizational leaders from across Europe and its neighborhood to develop professional competences in international partnership building and collaborative project design.

OBJECTIVES:
•    Strengthen participants’ professional competences in international youth work cooperation and project cycle management
•    Provide structured tools and methodologies for assessment needs (problem trees, Theory of Change), project design (Logical Framework), and quality assurance in youth mobility projects
•    Facilitate partnership strengthening through organisational mapping, compatibility analysis, and structured networking exercises
•    Develop concrete joint project concept notes (KA1 and/or KA2) and follow-up action plans
•    Deepen participants’ knowledge of Erasmus+ programme architecture and quality standards for youth mobility
The seminar uses non-formal education methods throughout, including visual storytelling, gallery walks, problem tree analysis, Theory of Change, Logical Framework workshops, Open Space Technology, speed-networking, study visits with structured observation, critical friend/peer review, and multi-method evaluation. All methods are designed to be participatory, experiential, and directly applicable to participants’ professional contexts.