BeComm: Building Active Youth Communities

Aims & objectives

About BeComm:
In an increasingly digital world, young people are experiencing growing solitude and disconnection, challenging their sense of belonging and active community participation. We designed this training course to address the critical need for meaningful intercultural dialogue and engagement in an era of global uncertainty. By exploring themes of identity, diversity, and community, we aim to create a space where youth and youth workers can reflect on their role in building inclusive, active communities and develop tools for democratic participation.

The BeComm Aim
To give participants a space to reflect on identity, diversity and perception of interculturality - and to explore different tools to build an engaged community where youth feel a sense of belonging and actively participate in the democratic processes in their community.

Areas of action:
ETS Competence Model for Youth Workers
>> Displaying intercultural sensitivity and understanding your own identity and the identity of the members of your community.
>> Networking and advocating - how to reach and engage all members of the community/different relevant stakeholders/actors in the community.

BeComm Objectives

>> Explore together the concept of culture, interculturality and ambiguity.
>> Increase awareness of one’s identity within the community.
>> Empower participants to understand, and later on engage community stakeholders.
>> Support participants in feeling more ready to create active community spaces.
>> Provide tools for community building.

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

Team:
Juraj Víg - Slovakia
Alexandra Person - Germany
Carolina Caspa - Portugal/Iceland

Group:
Countries: Iceland, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Czechia, France, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia

>> Youth workers engaged in community-building activities within their local contexts.
>> Youth workers involved in international learning mobility projects under Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps.
>> Trainers, Youth leaders, Youth project managers, Youth policy makers, Volunteering mentors participating in Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps.

Training methods used & main activities

The training course adopts a learner-centered methodology that places participants' experiences, needs, and potential at the core of the learning process.
It creates an interactive, participatory environment that encourages active engagement, mutual learning, and personal reflection. By valuing each participant's unique perspective and supporting individual and collective growth, the project transforms the training into a collaborative journey of discovery, skill-building, and community empowerment.
The course uses a combination of: Learning Space Dynamics (LSD) for immersive, non-linear learning experiences; experiential methods (storytelling, journaling, visualisation); co-creation, participatory planning, and self-directed learning; and competence-based frameworks like the YOCOMO model, and Youthpass.

Outcomes of the activity

The training created a participatory learning environment where participants explored and tested practical tools for community building and youth participation. Through methods such as 1-on-1 interviews, community mapping (ABCD approach), storytelling, and council circles, participants strengthened their ability to build relationships, facilitate dialogue, and engage young people and stakeholders in their communities.

A key outcome was increased confidence in facilitating participatory processes. Several sessions allowed participants to co-create learning spaces and lead peer-learning activities, giving them direct experience with shared power and collaborative decision-making.

Participants translated their learning into practice through individual action planning, defining concrete steps to apply the methods in their local youth work and identifying opportunities for cooperation with peers from the training.

The success of the activity was reflected in the high level of engagement, positive feedback during reflection and evaluation sessions, and the concrete follow-up actions defined by participants.

Your tasks and responsibilities within the team

I was involved in the project from the very beginning, including the initial idea development, mapping the situation and needs of the target group, and exploring the context in which the training would take place. Together with the team, I co-designed the overall concept of the training.

My main responsibility was leading the process of translating the conceptual framework into the dramaturgy and concrete programme structure. I was particularly responsible for the thematic area of community organising and contributed methods connected to somatic learning and reflective practice.

During the training I facilitated several sessions, guided reflection processes, and supported participants in connecting their personal experiences with their work in communities.

At the same time, the trainers’ team functioned in a highly collaborative and equal way. As a team of three trainers participating in the SALTO Training of Trainers process, we intentionally worked in a co-creative and experimental way, using the training not only to support participants’ learning but also as a space to explore and develop our own facilitation practice and methodologies.

I worked on this training for 5 days as a full time trainer.