LEADERSHIP AS A VEHICLE TO YOUTH PARTICIPATION - online TC

The challenges that young people are facing are entering a dynamic era that requires youth-led responses and the activation of young people.

The narratives on active citizenship and youth participation have supported European but also international youth work not only with evidence-based conclusions but also with a diversity of guidelines, proposals and practices. Even though numerous tools and initiatives, such as Youth Forums, Digital Platforms and customized youth projects under Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps, have been introduced over the last years with an overarching goal to encourage the active participation of young people in civic society, the reality is still disconcerting, signifying that there is a lot to be done to increase the representation but also the engagement of young people. Unfortunately, specific youth groups' needs are lacking the attention (e.g. youth with fewer opportunities, NEETs, youth not involved in political parties), and young people of those groups lack the necessary support to engage and advocate.
 

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of this Training Course, which targets the needs of young people, teachers, youth leaders, youth workers, coaches, municipalities, NGOs, CSOs and sports clubs is to transfer the understanding of the importance of leadership and initiating principles within youth participation in order to support young people in becoming effective drivers of change within their local, national and European communities.

To achieve this, the project has set up the following objectives:

- To navigate into recent updates and increase interest of youth in participation and active citizenship;

- To explore different forms of leadership and their place within youth work and youth-led projects;

- To transfer competences and learn new tools applicable in the topic of leadership and participation;

- To inspire through successful examples of youth-led participation initiatives;

- To showcase “alternative” leaders operating in a wide realm of fields; 

- To offer the space for peering, networking and collaborating.

TRAINING FORMAT & DURATION

Due to the pandemic condition, the training has a duration of 8 day (11th to 18th of December) within which participants will follow 5 morning ZOOM sessions (9:30 to 13:00 Central European Time) and an asynchronous activity (at their own pace within the programme, expected to be a maximum of 1 hour per day) through the SALTO, moodle-based, platform of HOP.

The methodology of the training is the result of the principles of non-formal and experiential learning, enriched through collective and peer learning and enhanced with the use of user-friendly, interactive and fun digital and online learning and collaborating tools. We are certain that the approach of the trainers team and support they can offer, will allow the smooth and active participation of both advanced and new online/digital tools and platforms users.

TARGET GROUP

This activity is for 25 participants including young people, youth workers, youth leaders, coaches, and representatives of municipalities, NGOs, CSOs and sports clubs who already or plan to actively support youth-led activities aiming at a social impact and would like to increase and enrich their understanding of an updated and multidimensional perspective over youth participation and leadership.

We expect full participation in the training course, so please study attentively this call and the activity programme.

TRAINERS

Andreas Andreou has acquired extensive experience in the design, implementation and evaluation of youth-led initiatives with emphasis given on the exploitation of new technologies for the benefits of youth. 

Konstantinos Spatiotis has been active in the field of european youth work and non-formal learning for the last 15 years with a focus on activation of young people and the professional development of youth workers and capacity building of the civic society.

VISITING SPEAKERS

Dan Moxon is a researcher and practitioner in the field of youth participation with 20 years experience working with children and young people in the voluntary, public, for-profit and academic sectors. He is the Director of People Dialogue and Change, a consultancy organisation providing capacity building services for organisations who wish to develop their approach to youth participation. He is also a Member of the Pool of European Youth Researchers co-ordinated by the partnership between European Commission and the Council of Europe in the field of youth. Dan’s research focuses on how children and young people's participation can influence policy and strategy, as well and the development of participatory structures and processes.

Having started his career as a youth worker developing youth and play projects at local and regional level in the North West of England, he now works throughout Europe and beyond supporting civil society organisation, research bodies and local, national and international institutions to develop their approach to youth participation.

Karl Lines is a specialist in guiding people, teams and organisations through uncertain times and taking on big challenges. A former teacher, coach and CEO he led The English FA’s internationally recognised work on youth leadership before sharing knowledge globally as international relations manager. He has worked as an advisor for some of the highest profile organisations in the world including UEFA, the United Nations and the Japan 2020 Olympic Committee and is the current leadership development expert for FIFA.