VR Youth Tube- Transnational Digital Youth Advocacy

"When the whole world is silent even one voice becomes powerful."        Malala Yousafzai 

Target group: Teams should consist of 1 youth worker and 1 young person. The young people must be 18-30 years old and from the same youth organisation as the youth workers. Youth workers are invited to apply on behalf of the young adult. Individual applications will not be considered. 

Led by two experts in the fields of; youth-led self-advocacy, Seamus Quinn and digital youth work, Barry Haughey, this training is a modern, innovative, and forward-thinking opportunity designed to support young people interested in Youth Advocacy, delivered in 3 steps in varying dimensions (quite literally). Using a range of digital multiuser platforms, this program will explore digital spaces for youth advocacy, which will introduce the power of digital for wide regional youth advocacy using technology that is accessible to most, such as smartphones.

Come meet like-minded young people who want to make a difference in their own life and the lives of others. 

Objectives:

• Fully explore the potential for this three-dimensional space to fill the gap in International Youth Advocacy
• Collaborate on creating a hybrid training programme to enhance International Youth Advocacy
• Prepare to share that passion - learn how to advocate through enhancing communication and presentation skills
• To explore how European projects such as Erasmus+ can support digital youth work
• To network and connect with other youth organisations across Europe

Participants will:

• Develop experience in working with others on immersive platforms with a specific focus on VR during the residential training in Dublin
• Gain knowledge of creative and digital methods in amplifying voices of young people
• Understand the rapidly evolving world of immersive technology and how it can be beneficial to youth voice

Dates of the online training (time TBC):

On the 20th and 27th of June and 4th of July: 3 hours online session focused on self-advocacy

11th July: introduction Overview of digital youth work and VR

18th July: VR galleries and Avatars, Ready Player Me/Spatial 

25th July: Catch-up session Q&A 

1st August: Multiuser platform 1, Rec Room overview and meetup 

8th August: Multiuser platform 2, EngageVR overview and meetup

15th August: Catch-up session Q&A

Residential  training in Dublin

Participants are expected to arrive on Sunday, 20th August evening.

Departure is scheduled for Thursday, 24th of August after the breakfast

Your trainers:

Barry is the Founder of HoloGen, a digital artist and educator with over 20 years working in the UK and Irish education and youth work sectors. Throughout his career he has worked with a diverse range of harder to reach young people, striving to incorporate digital learning and future skills into his programmes. Over the past 4 years, Barry has been exploring and incorporating immersive technology, such as VR, into his educational and youth work practice using a range of multi-user platforms.

Séamus is known for his inspirational change facilitation style, combining leadership development, coaching, arts-based methods, and self-organised collaboration. He is also an expert in setting up and coaching youth led self-advocacy networks in Ireland and abroad. He is a core researcher on international projects in Human Rights and youth led media advocacy co-funded by Erasmus Plus, where he facilitates group dialogue for stakeholders that come together to navigate complexity and learn together on what matters most. He is the Founder and content creator at Quintessential Coaching

It is compulsory for the young person and the youth worker to attend all the online training sessions in order to participate in the residential meeting in Dublin.