The Outreach of South Youth Workers (OSYW) - South Youth Workers forum towards the European Academy on Youth Work (EAYW)

BACKGROUND

After the first edition of the European Academy on Youth Work (EAYW) in 2019, the network of the Erasmus+: Youth National Agencies of the South took the decision to invest in a preparatory process that would support and strengthen the quality participation of youth workers from Southern countries, in the second edition of EAYW in November 2021.

The new activity promoted by the South NAs network aims

• to make a specific focus on youth work, the role of the youth worker and possible common educational policies in the South countries
• to converge towards a coordinated effort to bring the South educational approach into pan European events on youth work
• to prepare a content-wise contribution to the 2nd edition of the European Academy on Youth Work

CONTEXT

Innovation is a crucial component of youth work. Flexibility, continuous analysis of practice and adaptation ability of the youth workers are the bases for the development of their competences and professionalism. Socio-educational context, professional framework and competences development, and structures supporting youth work are elements that can influence, accelerate or slow down, enrich or hinder the evolution of youth work. These contextual elements in Europe can differ greatly from country to country and between regions.

Assuming that innovation is not only determined by these elements, but it is also influenced/characterised by cultural factors, which of them are specific for Southern countries?   

The Outreach of South Youth Workers (OSYW) will be a unique opportunity to engage 50 youth workers, trainers, researchers and youth policy makers from Southern countries to focus on this question. To investigate through a participatory process if it is possible to outline a set of peculiarities and conditions that can be called South Factor.

 OSYW’s aim

Contributing to strengthen the role (in terms of acknowledgement and competences) of youth workers from the Southern countries, developing synergies with stakeholders outside the youth sector, as well as preparing a content-wise contribution to the second edition of the European Academy on Youth Work.

 OSYW’s objectives

• Identify common needs, current trends and policies relating to the role of youth work and the role of youth workers in the Southern region
• Exchange experiences and explore innovative approaches on the role of the youth worker in the Southern region as to support the development of quality youth work
• Foster the capacity of youth workers in the Southern region to identify and introduce innovative elements in their youth work practice
• Collect elements in view to prepare a contribution to the European Academy on Youth Work

OSYW’s structure

OSYW will take place online, from 12th to 16th of July 2021. It will be organized over 5 mornings and 1 afternoon (so July 16th will be all day). The architecture adopted will be that of a forum and will allow, through an evolutionary structure, to carry on a discussion focused every day on a guiding dimension connected to the following ones. With the help of a team of rapporteurs, who will follow all the activities, on June 18th afternoon it will be possible to have an overall restitution of what emerged and to draw OSWY conclusions, to be brought to the EAYW in November 2021.

A different keynote speaker will introduce each morning a different dimension, that will be proposed as an analysis matrix for the work during the session

current trends in South youth work 

recognizing the impact of innovation 

exploring innovation in South youth work

identifying emerging needs of South youth work

During each session 1 youth work experience will be presented in plenary. Experiences will be selected among those proposed by the participants during the application phase. They will be the subject of the analysis to be done in small groups, applying the matrix introduced by the keynote speaker, investigating the proposed dimension.

OSYW’s participants profile

The working language of the activity will be English therefore the participants should be comfortable working in English. Applications are open for participants who have an interest in sharing their experience in youth work (youth workers, trainers, educators as well as people dealing with youth policy and research in the youth field) and who have an interest in contributing to identify possible cultural dimensions that, in the South countries, may have favoured triggers and trends of innovation in youth work. People from different sectors such as public and private are invited to apply. 

Engagement to participate to all working sessions is fundamental, to ensure continuity in the reflection and content to be brought to the EAYW.

Participants admitted must be active in one of the following countries:

Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, Northern Republic of Macedonia, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Turkey and in the South-Mediterranean countries

The first edition of The Outreach of South Youth Workers (OSYW) is connected with the second edition of the European Academy on Youth Work (EAYW) and it is completely dedicated to youth workers, educators, researchers and policy makers living in Southern countries. The OSYW aims to contribute to the quality implementation of the EAYW and therefore participants who will be selected for the OSYW may be prioritised in the selection of the national/regional delegations taking part to the EAYW 2021.   

Experiences proposed by participants

Applicants are invited to apply describing an experience coming from the youth field that can witness the ability to address continuous changes and challenges in society in a way that preserves and fosters the well-being and educational growth of young people, despite lack of specific policies, recognition, qualifications paths, difficulties and limited resources. 4 experiences (might be an educational practice, a local policy or programme or a specific research) will be selected, prepared with the support of the OSYW's team, and presented during one of the morning sessions. 

If interested to present your local/regional experience, please answer carefully to the following questions:

Can you describe your innovative experience / practice / initiative / policy / research? Please give details about the main target group.

Can you refer to the timeframe under which it took place?

What actors or stakeholders were involved in its implementation?

What and how many resources were needed and how did you find them?

What challenges/difficulties have you encountered and how you managed them?

What impact did it have? What change did it bring?