“Civic spark: Youth work and active citizenship”

This training course provides an opportunity to explore active citizenship education in youth work settings, ensuring that youth workers can create inclusive, participatory, and empowering environments for young people’s engagement in democratic processes. Through a combination of non-formal education methods and experiential learning, this training introduces participants to concepts of citizenship, human rights, and European identity, as well as the role of youth work in fostering active participation. The course will explore educational tools, methods, and best practices that help young people understand their rights, engage in democratic life, and develop critical thinking skills related to citizenship.

This training goes beyond traditional learning by engaging participants in interactive exercises, discussions, and hands-on activities that enhance their ability to support young people’s civic engagement, develop local-level youth work activities, and design impactful initiatives for promoting active citizenship. By the end of the training, participants will have gained practical skills, resources, and strategies to apply in their local communities, fostering youth participation and strengthening democratic values.

The training course is developed in line with Youth Goal 9: Space and Participation for All and contributes to:

Increasing youth participation and thus equal representation in the electoral process as well as in elected bodies and other decision-making organs at all levels of society.

Providing youth-friendly, relevant, comprehensive information, also developed by and with young people, in order to enable youth participation. 

The training course will be based on non-formal education methods and experiential learning approaches. The program is designed to provide participants with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to understand citizenship, human rights, and youth participation in democratic life.

The first days of the training are dedicated to building a safe learning space, fostering trust among participants, and establishing a learning alliance. These introductory sessions will include activities focusing on youth work’s role in citizenship education, European identity, and active participation, ensuring that participants feel comfortable and engaged. As the training progresses, participants will explore youth work strategies for promoting active citizenship, including examples of good practices, methods for civic engagement, and educational tools for fostering participation. They will also discuss the relationship between human rights and citizenship, reflecting on how these concepts shape youth engagement in democratic societies. In the later stages of the training, participants will work on developing local-level youth work activities that empower young people to engage in civic life. They will apply experiential learning methods to design strategies for fostering participation, tackling barriers to youth involvement, and promoting youth-friendly approaches to active citizenship.

On the final day, participants will present their local action concepts, which they can later implement in their communities. The course will conclude with a structured reflection process, evaluating learning outcomes, and recognizing participants' achievements through the Youthpass ceremony.

Objectives:

• To explore concepts and understanding of citizenship across Europe, and increase understanding of participants about youth work role in the concept of European citizenship.
• To develop understanding and knowledge of participants about connections between the human rights and citizenship.
• To develop knowledge of participants about different approaches, methods and tools of youth work for education about citizenship.
• To improve skills of participants for developing local-level educational youth work activities focused on promotion of active citizenship.