In youth work, we often are thinking about strategies and practices how to approach young people, how to work with them and how to give young people possibility to reach their full potential. Sometimes, we are the ones who are creating new strategies and practices, but sometimes we can use already existing materials. This is why in this article we want to present you three contributions dealing with tools and practices you can use in your work and are covering the topics of values, mediation and work with young people with fewer opportunities.
In the previous contributions, we already talked about the importance of ethics in youth work. You could read more about Ethical standards in youth work and Universal code of practice for youth workers. So, values have been a part of ethics and philosophy since the very beginning. Still, with the new frame of populism, propaganda and post-truth, there is also a recovery of the narrative of values as a central element for education. This recovery for a higher and long lasting impact in youth work might be the innovation. Thus, the contribution “TEVIP – Translating European Values Into Practice” is dealing with this topic. TEVIP is a project that came up from the idea of values education. Building up from personal to group and European values. And with a focus on the transfer of those values into reality. The project researches and builds up on this translation process into practice while creating methods for learning through and about values. During the workshop, participants tried to discuss the question is teaching values the right thing to do. And if you are interested to find out what was the answer to this question and what practical tools will be developed within TEVIP project, read more about it in our workshop report!
When working with young people, sometimes we are asked to resolve conflicts, or to guide them to resolve their conflicts. This topic is quite important in youth work, especially for young people who need to learn how to resolve conflicts in a meaningful way. And one tool covering the topic of communication and conflict resolution is called “First ADR Kit – Mediation in Youth Work” by Marzena Ples. The aim of the workshop was to introduce participants to the idea of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) with a special focus on mediation. Mediation is more than just resolving conflicts with the support of a third party. It is a set of useful skills that improves communication between individuals in general and supports mutual understanding. During workshop, participants had a chance to reflect on its usefulness in the context of youth work, discuss practical examples, inspiring in particular youth workers to explore this topic more and hear more about the results of the “First ADR Kit” project. One of the outcomes is “The handbook on conflict resolution education for young people”, which is an introduction to ADR in the context of youth work. It consists of twelve workshop scenarios, two educational games, a summary of the research and a list of literature devoted to the topic. Read more about the handbook and ADR in context of youth work in workshop report below!
Using cards in our everyday work has become more and more widespread. We use them to detect different feelings, values, and ideas, as well as to reflect on different issues and situations. Therefore, the contribution“My World Cards – Exploring the Everyday Life of Young People” by Kristina Šmitran uses cards to connect with young people.The method “My world cards” was developed as part of the Lunch-time seminars on social pedagogy for employees of Hackney council and interested foster carers. The aim of this method is to empower employees and foster carers who work with (vulnerable) young people to identify places where the young people spend their time and experiences that they connect to the specific places, and to explore possibilities to include them in spaces that are safe and promote a positive life style. Participants got actively involved in a simulation of the “My world cards” game. Together, we discovered the feelings, opinions and values that participants connected to the places and spaces that were surrounding us at the EAYW. Through the game, participants observed places and concluded that different places that can have a different meaning for every person. Also, participants, through the game had the opportunity to share their own personal stories and experiences. Read more about this simple but powerful method downloading the workshop report and additional materials below!
Don’t forget to check previously published contributions on our Contributions page available HERE!
See you next week in our new article! 🙂