Study Visit "Open Doors"

With the “Open Doors” project we would like to study one of the unique youth work examples in Europe: Aventura Marão Clube (AMC) which is run by Casa de Juventude Amarante (CJ), a unique example of a sustainable youth centre and co-management system working at the local level. CJ was initially opened as a local youth centre, and it is the first and the only example when an NGO runs and develops a municipal property. At the moment CJ offers the following opportunities to the young people: participation in the local activities for the benefit of the community, educational programmes for personal and professional development, promotion of fair trade, and promotion of a sustainable life style, for instance: all the food is eco, grown in the garden of CJ with the help of local and international volunteers, all electricity comes from solar batteries, almost everything is recycled together with the young people of Amarante. In addition to the local youth work CJ is open to international cooperation; they host international events and work extensively under Erasmus + programme. Having such a youth centre is a dream for many youth NGOs, as this is not just a place for meetings of young people, but also a link between young people and other stakeholders, as well as a huge learning opportunity. In 2015 Case de Juventude received a quality label from the Council of Europe. Apart from exploring CJ as a study case, their way of running and maintaining the youth centre, we will also explore some of their projects such as sustainable garden, innovative ways of being transparent with all stakeholders and the community, street activities, fair trade projects, etc. Participants of this Study Visit will also get a chance to build partnerships and plan new joint initiatives. Moreover, there will be an opportunity to learn from the local youth initiatives and street work, as well as share the best practices in terms of successful youth engagement in Europe. As a result of this project, the empowered youth workers will be able to implement the practices of CJ in their respective local communities, which will entail better quality of youth work and better relationships with authorities and will ultimately lead to the recognition of youth activities. In addition, among other expected outcomes are the development of follow up ideas and establishment of new partnerships.