Innovation Jam - Tools and Spaces to Innovate in Youth Work

Over the last decades, innovation processes have been studied and systematised in various professional fields. If Youth Workers learn this, they can facilitate participatory innovation processes and create better solutions for local and global problems, together with their young people and communities.

The course will provide opportunities to explore:

• Future trends, 
• Youth work challenges,
• Creative thinking techniques,
• Tools to innovate, 
• Funding Opportunities for innovation development.

Learning goals:

• To understand the benefits of creative thinking leading to youth work innovation processes.
• To understand the importance of future signals and predictable trends relevant to Youth Work.
• To experience participatory innovation tools to increase the quality of youth work and generate social change.
• To increase readiness to apply innovation tools in one’s own youth work context, namely by using Erasmus+ funding opportunities. 

Format:

• 3 full days of face-to-face learning experience.
• Onboarding online meeting with the participants’ group on the 13th of December 10:00 - 11:30 CET  
• Follow-up online meeting with the participants’ group on the 31st of January 10:00 to 11:30 CET
• Facilitated Open Online Innovation Jam, after the training course, for all of the participating organisations (optional, with the possibility to involve other colleagues) on the 16th of February from 10:00 to 12:30 CET

Methodologies:

We will focus on flexible space and time, and conditions for creativity and innovative mindset encouragement through:

• Practising creative thinking and innovation exercises.
• Approaching youth work challenges and developing possible solutions.
• Reflecting on how to be an innovation supporter in one’s own community.
• Exploring innovation funding possibilities in Eramus+ and other funding schemes.

Expected Outcomes:

• A better understanding of trends and needs for innovation in youth work.
• Knowledge and skills in using new tools to innovate in youth work.
• Increased skills in reviewing existing youth work practices and creating innovation in youth work organisations.
• Increased knowledge on using funding opportunities for innovation projects.

Team: 

Laimonas Ragauskas and Anita Silva 

Safe, accessible and sustainable

In this event, we follow the principles of a safer space. We strive to ensure that everyone is met as their own self and that no one has to fear discrimination or harassment. We want you to respect the same principle.

Our activities are accessible to people with different abilities. If you need a support person, accessible room and transport or other kind of support, we will provide it for you. You can tell your individual needs in beforehand so we can support you in your participation.

We take sustainability in consideration where we can. Since most participants have to fly over the sea to Finland, we encourage you to travel on land within Finland. We also encourage you to contact your own national agency to find out how they support low emission travelling to activities abroad.

We provide plant-based meals, or use locally grown and produced foods, as much as possible. We also respect the diets and food allergies of all participants.