Training on Quality in Youth Work
Dresden & Thessaloniki

1st activity, 15-19 October 2018, Dresden, Germany
2nd activity: January 2019, Thessaloniki, Greece

30 participants from Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Poland, Portugal, Spain and United Kingdom will meet first in Dresden, Germany in October 2018 and then in Thessaloniki, Greece in December 2018/January 2019. Applicants should be able to participate in both activities- in Dresden and in Thessaloniki.

Participating countries: Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Poland, Portugal, Spain and United Kingdom

PROJECT AIMS

The LevelUp! Training Course aims to develop a common quality assurance framework for youth work in order to improve the quality of youth work and its impact on young people’s lives. LevelUp! strives to foster the recognition and validation of youth workers’ competences through innovative digital tools.

SUMMARY

Youth work can greatly contribute to young people’s personal and social development and as a result the society also grows when young people are well equipped with competences that can have a positive impact in their lives and their communities at large. There is a strong motivation for further improvement within the sector and there are a lot of significant efforts being done throughout Europe, on national, regional and local level, to enhance the quality and recognition of youth work.

We believe that youth work can be better recognised by measuring its real impact and effects on young people’s lives. Often, youth organisations focus on the quantitative and not on the qualitative outputs. In order though to ensure the credibility and the real value of youth work, a well-developed quality assurance framework is needed.

For this reason, the training course LevelUp! aims to gather youth workers, youth policy makers, youth educators and youth leaders in order to work through the exchange of best practices, experiences and expertise on the development of a common quality assurance framework that addresses certain needs of young people that have been identified in all the partner countries involved.

The participants will then work in groups in order to adapt this framework to the real needs of the young people of their communities. Furthermore, new innovative digital and online tools will be shared and tested regarding the validation and recognition of youth work. Working closely with youth organisations from different countries in Europe is an important objective of this training course so that a strong international network is built.

After the completion of the first activity in Dresden, the partner organisations and the participants will provide their feedback on the effectiveness of the quality assurance framework and the digital tools for the validation of youth work through an evaluation system developed by JKPeV. By running two activities instead of one, we will be able to better disseminate the results of our work, test these outputs and work further on improving them.

The training course is designed for youth workers who are directly involved working with Erasmus+ projects. We are going to develop a common quality assurance framework for youth work that aims to improve the quality of youth work and its impact on young people’s lives. It is aspired that the LevelUp! training course will contribute to improving the overall quality of Erasmus+ projects and to the development of competent youth and community workers at local, national and European level.

METHODS & ACTIVITIES

The LevelUp! training course comprises of interactive workshops, group work, sharing good practices through presentations, team work, study-visits and discussions. The main topics that are going to be covered are the following:

• Defining the main framework, working principles and methods of youth work in Europe.
• Identifying the main challenges of youth work in Europe and the participating countries (needs analysis) and working on addressing the needs of young people at local and European level.
• Quality development in youth work – Concept development, quality circle, dimensions of quality, participation ladder, transversal issues (gender equality, social inclusion etc.)
• Learning and testing new innovative methods and digital tools to validate and recognise youth work

The participants are expected to contribute to the course putting as a main priority sharing their knowledge, best practices and experiences regarding the topics mentioned above. The participants will be invited to reflect on their day to day work realities, as well as on the learning process during this course.

METHODS & ACTIVITIES

The training course will be based on peer-learning, interactive presentations and workshops. All activities will be based on team. Theoretical sessions, based on the most advanced scientific knowledge, will be also integrated, but performed in an interactive way.

Tools and Techniques:

• Icebreaker Activities- Games
• Team-building Activities and Energizers
• Team Activities- Assignments
• Gamification
• Plenary Sessions
• Discussion (Bar Camp method etc.)
• Presentations
• Pitching
• Feedback
• Self-assessment
• Video watching
• Study-visits
• Intercultural exchange

PARTICIPANT PROFILE

This training course is aimed at youth workers, trainers, facilitators, NGO practitioners and project managers that focus on youth projects, over 24 years old, who:

• have some experience in implementing and/or coordinating Erasmus+ projects and running youth and community projects
• are actively involved in the development of quality youth projects that address the needs of their local communities
• are willing to learn new methods and use digital tools of validating their competences

Participants should be:

• Able to communicate at a proficient level in English
• Willing to co-operate and work in a team
• Open to new knowledge, experiences and ideas
• Motivated to take part in this training course, be personally interested in its topics and take this training course seriously
• Prepared and well informed about the topics which are going to be discussed
• Able to participate in both activities in Dresden (15-19 October 2018) and Thessaloniki (December 2018/January 2019)

Preparation of the Participants before joining the Training Course

The participants who are selected should:

• Be able to describe briefly their organisations (main activities, focus, methods, target groups, funding).
• Prepare a max. 10-minute presentation in a word document or powerpoint presentation regarding the general framework (legal basis, institutions, resources), aims, methods and working principles of youth work in their countries.

What to Bring. All the participants should bring with them:

• A Laptop
• The material they are asked to prepare, as described under the title “Preparation of the participants before joining the Training Course” enclosed in this Info Pack.
• Many questions on the topics we are going to discuss and focus on.
• Their willingness to learn and have fun!

COST AND REFUND OF TRAVEL EXPENSES

Accommodation and food will be provided and paid by a grant from the National Agency of Germany of the Erasmus+ Programme. Participants should arrange by themselves their insurance. Please contact your local Health insurance provider to obtain one for free. Travel expenses for participants from Cyprus will be covered up to 360 euros.

SELECTION PROCEDURE

Fill the registration_form_level_up_2nd_january_2019 and send it to sealcyprus@gmail.com with the subject “Level Up_your name”. Selected participants will be asked to fill one more form which is obligatory by the organisers.

Project title: Level Up!
Programme: Erasmus+
Key Action: Learning Mobility of Individuals
Action Type: Training Course
Project identification/ contract number: 2018-1-DE04-KA105-016555
Dates of the activity:
1st activity, 15-19 October 2018, Dresden, Germany
2nd activity: December 2018/January 2019, Thessaloniki, Greece
Place: Dresden, Germany & Thessaloniki, Greece
Coordinator: JUGEND-& KULTURPROJEKT EV
Number of participants from SEAL CYPRUS: 2