Thank you COVID, I guess?

The AlwaysON for Youth Consortium - Digital Youth Work Community of Learning is pleased to announce the second online event “Thank you COVID, I guess? Non-formal education going online - lessons learned from international youth work trainers” that will count with the participation of Marcus Vrecer, trainer and facilitator of the International Youth Work Trainers Guild. The online event will take place on December 16, 2021, starting at 4 pm GMT / 5 pm CET / 6 pm EET.

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, youth work and non-formal education methods have been affected, facing challenges to adapt to new COVID-19 travel and physical regulations, such as social distancing and the digital transition. Digital solidarity has proven indispensable during this period as the demand and needs for virtual approaches have grown indubitably.

Despite all these challenges, the youth work sector is facing the opportunity to create new dynamics, partnerships and reach new audiences. At the same time, the fast adaptation to a new format has also made visible challenges coming from massive digitalisation and new forms of communication.

The online ZOOM event - “Thank you COVID, I guess? With Marcus Vrecer - aims to bring together local and national stakeholders to reflect and discuss the lessons learned on the engagement of participants in online activities; share findings from collected testimonies and surveys among youth work trainers who needed to start working online because of COVID; and create a space for open questions, challenges and opportunities for the future.

It is addressed to youth workers, non-formal education stakeholders, national agencies, representatives of youth organisations - from the youth sector and beyond.

The webinar is co-organised by the #AlwaysOn for Youth Strategic Partnership for Youth project and Marcus Vrecer, trainer and facilitator in international youth work, IYWT.org

The Digital Youth Work Community of Learning  is a component of the  “#AlwaysOn for Youth” Strategic Partnership for Youth project by Federatia Young Men’s Christian Associations România (YMCA România), as coordinator and Young Initiative Association (AYI), Sdrujenie "Nadejda-CRD" - Bulgaria (NCRD), The Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service - France (CCIVS ) and the Alliance Europeenne des YMCA - Belgium (YMCA Europe), as partners. The project is co-funded by the European Union through the Erasmus Plus program.