Get up, Stand up! A training course on democracy and active citizenship in the field of youth work

Background Since some years Europe is facing more and more challenges – economic crisis, еuroscepticism, populism and growing nationalism on political level and a lack of vision about the common European future. Moreover, these challenges have their implications on community, national and European level. How do young people understand democracy? How do they take part as active citizens in their community life? Youth work plays an important role in these contexts by empowering young people to be an active part of their communities and societies. The Get Up, Stand Up! training course supports and promotes reflections and future actions of youth workers to approach these challenges. Aim and objectives The main aim of the Get Up, Stand Up! training course is to explore and understand how democracy and active citizeship are translated into youth work practices and to support participants to better empower young people as active citizens. Democracy and active citizenship work on different levels - community, organizational, national and European. Understanding this is the first step to be an active member in a democratic society. The Get up, Stand up! TC will explore how youth workers can reflect upon and change their practices, in order to empower young people to take a stand for their future and shape their societies. The training course has the following objectives: ● To increase the understanding of the concepts of democracy and active citizenship. ● To explore how individual beliefs and values influence youth workers’ educational approach. ● To explore the challenge of being an educator in complex and ambiguous times. ● To understand how promoting democracy and active citizenship can lead to active participation of young people. ● To explore the opportunities of the Erasmus+ Youth in Action Programme to better support active citizenship among young people. What can you gain out of Get Up, Stand Up! TC The training course will create the conditions to: ● Better support young people to explore the dimensions of active citizenship in democratic contexts ● Face ambiguity, complexity and responsibility which come along with being an active member of the society ● Experience how approaches like Betzavta [democracy and peace education] and Human Rights Education work within the topic of the TC ● Know about good practices related to active participation in the field of youth work ● Explore different tools for more active participation. Participants profile The training course is directed to people active in the youth field at local, national or international level such as youth workers and youth leaders. Methodology and educational approach The educational approach and the methodology of this training course are based on the principles of non-formal learning. Participants will be invited to reflect upon their own understanding of democracy and active citizenship as individuals and professionals at different levels [organizational, local, national, European, global]. By exploring good practices and project examples, the participants will then transfer the acquired competences and reflections to their youth work realities and draft an action plan on how to better support young people in their political and active participation in the society. A range of methods, including group discussions, experiential learning activities, role-play and simulations and individual reflections will be used to explore the topic of the TC.