European Academy on Youth Work - Webinar 1: Innovation in Times of Disruption

In the European Academy on Youth Work we want to support the professional development of youth workers and other professionals in youth work practice, policy and research, even in times of uncertainty, like the ones we are living today. For this reason, we are excited to invite you for a series of webinars we called Learning as a field in times of disruption and change. 

These webinars will be 2-hour long dynamic online sessions where you will explore the concept of Innovation in your practice with other colleagues from different parts of Europe. During these sessions you can expect: short and inspiring inputs by experts; interesting conversations with colleagues from other countries; and getting to know innovative practices in the field. Besides, there will be optional body activities, in case you feel tired of facing a screen all day. (We know we do !).

The series will start with the first webinar “Innovation in Times of Disruption” on 4th November.

Time: 10.00 – 12.00. (9.30 – 12.00 for those who’d like to join the optional body activities J)

The consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic require youth workers and other professionals in the field of youth work to rethink and adapt their approaches and ways of working. The webinar will offer you:

A moment of exchange among peers, drawing on the experiences of the other participants from the youth work community of practice, on questions such as:

• How do we respond to this present situation of disruption and change?
• How are we doing? Where are we?
• What are we learning from this situation?
• Are we able to innovate? And is innovation a sign of resilience? Or a matter of survival?
• Is not innovating an option?

Inspired by:

• A short input with some snapshots from recent (and not yet published!) research on innovation in youth work carried out in the frame of the EAYW, presented by members of the research team Dragan Atanasov, Miguel Belletti and Federica Demicheli
• An inspiring example of an innovative practice, by Peter Mitchell, Lernlabor, Berlin.

Lernlabor is a Berlin-based social business that creates innovative educational, cultural and artistic projects. Motivated by the idea of finding a meaningful way of making art in the context of the Covid pandemic, the project a:part showcases the collaborative work of young German and Ukrainian-based artists who performed at a live hybrid event in Berlin and Poltava, synchronised in real time through high-volume data streaming between both locations. 

Learning as a field in times of disruption and change will be facilitated by Darko Markovic, Anita Silva, Laimonas Ragauskas and Domagoj Moric.

We welcome all participants that are professionals (including volunteers!) in youth work or in a field related to it. Please register by filling in the attached "application form", in order to receive the link for the webinar.

Outlook to the whole series of webinars: Learning as a field in times of disruption and change, November 2021 – April 2022

Here are the topics we plan to cover:

1st webinar: Innovation in times of disruption – 4th November 2021, 10.00-12.00 CET

2nd webinar: Recognising larger trends, seeing interconnections with youth work – 16th December 2021, 10.00-12.00 CET

3rd webinar: Rethinking innovation – what kind of innovator are you? – 27th January 2022, 10.00-12.00 CET

4th webinar: Cultures of innovation – 10th March 2022, 10.00-12.00 CET

5th webinar: How to be future fit – 21st April 2022, 10.00-12.00 CET

Calls for registration will be opened for each webinar separately. You can register for one webinar at a time. The webinars build on each other but are also stand-alone activities. You can join one session only, or some or all of them.

The outcomes of the discussions during the webinars will feed into and form the background of the reflections during the residential European Academy on Youth Work, which will be held from 31 May to 3rd June in Slovenia. More information: www.eayw.net