During the first EAYW, we had the pleasure to hear more from 36 contributors about their innovative and quality youth work practices. The topics of contributions ranged from digital youth work to quality in youth work. And from today on, we will be sharing twice a week three inspirational and innovative practices with you!
All of the contributions we are talking about today are dealing with new developments in youth work on different levels: from practical level to national and European level. You can read more about three practices – Culturehouse Experience, Pathways to Youth Leadership, and Building Policies and Developing Youthwork in Republic of Moldova – below!
How do we face mental health issues and people who are suffering from mental health problems? Can we see their resources and strengths, or are they just passive objects of help /measures? Can we see what kind of effects stigma has in our environment? How can we use art, communality and culture for the best of people’s mental health? These were just some of the questions which were discussed during the contribution of Marko Haimilahti, Markojuhani Rautavaara and Liisa Sippola called “Culturehouse Experience”. During the workshop, participants had the opportunity to discuss what are effects of stigmatisation in the case of promoting mental health and the development of mental health services in Finland as well as new ways of reducing stigma and increasing interaction between people. If you are interested to find out more, find the presentation and workshop report below!
Talking about developments in youth work at European level, the next contribution “Pathways to Youth Leadership: Embedding Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange in a NFE Training Course” by Alexandro Jan Lai, provided us with new insights in this area. Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange is a pilot project launched by the European Commission in 2018. Virtual Exchanges are seen as an instrument for developing transversal competences in youth, such as online intercultural communicative competence, digital literacies as well as promoting dialogue and inclusion. Participants had the opportunity to find out how to access Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange activities and to reflect together on how to engage in influencing their evolution, in order to better tailor the Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange format to the needs of the youth work field. Find out more in the workshop report and presentation below!
Developing youth work happens all the time also at national level. Therefore, we were happy to hear Ion Donea with his contribution “Building Policies & Developing Youth Work in the Republic of Moldova”. The workshop presented the experience of the Republic of Moldova regarding the development of youth work and youth policies. A particular objective of the workshop referred to the financial issue for youth work development at local level. The example of Moldova shows how a non-EU country is developing youth policies and promoting the recognition of youth work in line with ongoing trends for developments in Europe. Read more about this contribution in the workshop report and presentation!
And, don’t forget to follow us on social media! Stay with us – we still have 30 more exciting contributions to share with you, so you can get inspired and learn about new developments in youth work!