Active participation of unemployed young people facing economic obstacles

Aims & objectives

Youth in Action project, Action 3.1 by name “Active participation of unemployed young people facing economic obstacles” was gathered 28 participants facing social exclusion and discrimination originating in their families low-income status.

Objectives of this project were:
- the project promoted active participation among those young people who are in fact passive and provided them with motivation and tools to become more active citizens and more active job-seekers;
- the project gave access to young people with fewer opportunities (young people facing economic obstacles) to the Youth in Action Programme and its services;
- the project involved young people from migrant, ethnic and religious backgrounds thus raising young people's awareness of everyone’s responsibility in tackling poverty and marginalization as well as at promoting the inclusion of young people with fewer economic opportunities who were actually the main target group of the project;
- the project tackled the issue of youth unemployment and stimulate young unemployed people's active participation in society.

Unemployed young people facing serious economic obstacles aren’t that very much motivated to actively participate in civic or social processes in communities they live in as they, understandably perhaps, don’t see a reason to participate in these processes gathering other young people when this involvement usually doesn’t generate any income for them.

This project has positively influenced these young people motivating them for active participation and making them realize potential benefits for overcoming of personal economic disabilities (among other things) through active participation in lives of their communities. By steering them towards active participation trainers helped them to become more employable as youth participation brings practical benefits to youngsters as it offers chances for personal development, new acquaintances and strengthening of ties with various actors in communities in which they live in.

Target group & international/intercultural composition of the group & team

The project targeted young people who are long-term unemployed, those whose families receive social welfare and those who live in some form of poverty. In all, young people with fewer opportunities, usually are not aware about these sorts of projects ever happening, and especially those who never had a chance to participate in any type of non-formal education event.

These young people are on this occasion had a unique opportunity to participate in an 8-day international training that was organized for them in City of Nis, Republic of Serbia.

The countries involved in the project were: Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Romania.
Total number of participants was: 28

Training methods used & main activities

The training was conducted using an interactive and participative approach.
Team of 3 experienced trainers were carried out the program of the training based on the experiences, needs and knowledge of the participants. Participants were invited to contribute actively to the running of the course, especially during workshops and other interactive sessions. Active participation, group-work and teamwork, as well as theoretical inputs were characterised the program of the training.

Following working methods were applied during the training: inputs from participants; the use of real-life scenarios coming from the participants’ experience with youth participation and social exclusion, discrimination and unemployment; different exercises (interviews, role-plays) – mainly based on real-life cases; work in smaller groups; debriefing (and evaluation) using systems questioning and appreciative inquiry.

Outcomes of the activity

This project positively influenced young people motivating them for active participation and making them to realize potential benefits for overcoming of personal economic disabilities through active participation in lives of their communities.

At the end of this training course participants became more motivated for participation in civic and social processes and they got greater understanding of different measures they can undertake to improve their-own economic and social standings through participation in civic and social processes, as well as independent of that.

Also, they acquired more self-confidence and personal strength, especially when they were confronted with discrimination and social exclusion in their personal lives.

Finally, they became able to recognize, more effectively, the opportunities for advancement of their personal development through programs such as Youth in Action Programme, and eventually utilize these opportunities by involving themselves in different youth participation processes.

Short description of training course with photos on: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150614799305298.691467.611450297&l=54b89c9c3e&type=1

Training course supported by Council of Europe and Youth in Action Programme and organized by Association People's Parliament from Leskovac http://www.parlament.org.rs/ and http://www.ngoserbia.com/

Your tasks and responsibilities within the team

I was trainer in this training course. In total 3 trainers from Serbia were responsible for implementation of training course activities. My task was to lead sessions that are related to social inclusion and workshops about different types of discrimination towards unemployed young people. Also, I have presented to participants their possibilities with Youth in Action Programme, application process and workshops about creating project proposals.

With great cooperation with my co - trainers and everyday meetings after each working day, this training course was sucessfully implemented.

I worked on this training for 8 days as a full time trainer.