Seminar “Identifying youth work and youth work quality”

Aims & objectives

Aim:
Assessing what approach the policy and the youth sector adopt towards youth work and come to common grounds on added value of youth work from three perspectives: policy, practice and youth.

Objectives:
 To provide a basic framework(s) of youth work and to find common grounds for youth work;
 To exchange examples of good and bad practices (analyzes);
 To set and strengthen common understanding of youth work and youth work practice;
 To share and understand different backgrounds and histories of youth work development;
 To build bridges between policy, practice and young people needs;
 To provide a tool for multiplication (output).

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

20 Youth workers, youth leaders and policy makers in/of (local, regional, national) governmental departments involved in youth work from Flanders-BE, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and youngsters who are involved in youth work, active participation in youth organizations or youth iniciative groups, youth council.

The activity was implemented under THE AGREEMENT ON COOPERATION BETWEEN FLANDERS AND THE BALTIC STATES

Trainer team: 1 trainer from Latvia, 1 from Lithuania and a report trainer

Training methods used & main activities

Input, interactive discussions, brainstorm, presentations, analysis of different realities

Outcomes of the activity

The main outcomes of the training course were presented in the report, which tryed to answer following questions:
 What are the (social) goals and characteristics (including values, ideas, competences, etc.) of youth work (definition of the youth partnership and EU as a starting point), link with history of youth and youth policy in Europe?
 What are legal aspects and structures, programs and supporting mechanisms in the different countries)?
 What are indicators to measure the quality of youth work?
 What are systems to guarantee the quality: training, standards, youth worker portfolio, European programs (EYF, YIA, ESF, ERDF, etc.)?
 What is youth work and added value of youth work?

moreover, the outcomes served to future development of youth work in the Baltic countries

Your tasks and responsibilities within the team

Lead trainer

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