Dealing with conflicts in youthwork

Do you face challenges in navigating conflicts in your local youth work or your international youth exchanges? Do you want to approach conflict as a natural and constructive part of your work?  Join this training to explore how you can transform conflicts into opportunities for growth.

About the Training

This training aims to support youth workers and group leaders in navigating  disagreements, tensions, and deeper conflicts in their work. Whether in international youth exchanges or local youth work, participants will improve dialogue skills, learn to manage group dynamics, understand the importance of (self) reflection and embrace conflict as a tool for positive change. 

Participant Profile

This activity is for you if

• you are 18 years or older
• you work with young people from diverse backgrounds (e.g. cultural, ethnic, socioeconomic, or identity-based diversity)
• you struggle with conflicts arising in your work and wish to increase your confidence in dealing with them proactively and constructively 
• to learn new approaches.
• you are willing to reflect on your own attitudes and values toward conflict
• you are involved or interested in Erasmus+ youth projects, such as youth exchanges or participation projects.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Be more aware and sensitive to different issues that can occur when working with young people from diverse backgrounds and/or in international settings (such as your local youth club or youth exchange) 
• Be (more) comfortable entering work with diverse young people, knowing that there will be tensions, clashes, conflicts arising 
• Be better prepared for potential conflict arising in multicultural/ international settings 
• Be more able to create supporting environments for young people to ‘sit with discomfort’ and reflect on their values and attitudes  
• Improve competences for applying a number of tools/approaches/methods of dealing with conflicts 
• Have a better understanding of conflict as a potential for change 
• Be more aware of the importance of reflecting on their own values and attitudes when it comes to conflict 

Let’s reframe conflict as an opportunity for learning, growth, and connection!

Save the date: If you are selected to participate to the training course, we expect you to join us for the online onboarding session on Monday the 13th of October, 14.00-16.00 CET.

About Utøya

On 22 July 2011, a far right-wing Norwegian extremist killed 69 people at Utøya in Norway, most of them young people attending the Norwegian Labour Party Youth’s summer camp. The terrorist asserted that people with different cultural backgrounds cannot coexist in a society and promoted the conspiracy theory that Europe is slowly being taken over by the Arabic world. Utøya carries a strong testimony of why values such as tolerance, equality and diversity cannot be taken for granted, but need to be promoted and practiced in everyday life. For this to happen there need to be more places for people to meet, not less.

Since 22 July 2011 Utøya has been rebuilt as a commemoration- and learning centre. More than 10 000 young people come to Utøya every year to take part in educational programs, seminars, conferences and summer camps. Utøya is today a remarkable example of young people’s response and resilience to terror and violence.