Youth Centre Models
This section presents a picture of what youth centers look like, getting to know each one’s understanding of what the centre is, by whom they are operated and what their equipment is like. This way we want to display a variety of implementations of European ways of doing youth work depending on national perspectives but also on each of their capacities and resources.
YOUTH CENTRES MODELS
OPERATOR
Udruzenje Zravo da Ste
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
We are a youth centre from Bosnia and Herzegovina, city Banja Luka. As the university, economic, finance, political and administrative center of the Republic of Srpska, which is one of the two entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Banja Luka is the second biggest city of the country with the population of 180.053 inhabitants (results of the 2013 census of population and housing units).
DATE OF OPENING
09.04.1996
FURTHER INFORMATION
We are opened in post war period and our idea is to be open youth centre whose work in based on DROP In concept.
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
NGO, association
FUNDING
International agency and municipality.
AGE OF USERS
10 to 35 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
Open centre beneficiaries are really various.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
We are a group of professionals, volunteers and dedicated individuals who help people in need and those in need of development support. We support the right to development of children, youth and adults through group and development activities that we implement on the territory of our country. We believe that by supporting group, we will help the development of individuals and contribute to community improve.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
Actitivies which support: quality leisure time, volunteer programme, youth mobility programme and life skills strengthening programme.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
8
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
Youth is actively participating in most of our activities and planning.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
We have 135 m2 and park around us.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“It is the only place of this kind in our city.”
WEBSITE
www.zdravodaste.org
https://www.facebook.com/zds.centar/
https://www.instagram.com/zdravodaste/
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drJOK9SjGE8&ab_channel=ZdravoDaSte
OPERATOR
Rakvere Youth Centre
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
In Estonia little city named Rakvere City, west side. Here is living around 14000- 16000 people. Rakvere has 6 schools and many hobbycentres.
DATE OF OPENING
26.10.2000 (Re-opening. They were moving one place to another.)
FURTHER INFORMATION
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
Public, municipality
FUNDING
Rakvere city government is our support. Our budget is under city government.
AGE OF USERS
10 to 26 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All.
USERS’ PROFILE
Estonia law is saying that the youth centres are for youngsters who are in age range 7-26. It’s open for everyone.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
We are a group of professionals, volunteers and dedicated individuals who help people in need and those in need of development support. We support the right to development of children, youth and adults through group and development activities that we implement on the territory of our country. We believe that by supporting group, we will help the development of individuals and contribute to community improve.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
The Youth Center is a professional platform for young people to create opportunities to realize their ideas and expand their knowledge of the information they need. Involvement of 15+ young people in youth work.
Developing young people’s digital competences.
Development of international youth work.
Developing youth policy and assisting the youth council.
We raise and support youth initiative. Self-development of youth workers (training, level 4 vocation for youth workers).
Continuous cooperation between youth centers and other institutions.
Organizing youth events at all levels.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
8
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
Our activities are dependig on words like this:
-Openness – cooperation with other institutions and organizations; every young person has the opportunity to participate, to change, to develop.
-Professionalism – we develop ourselves and we can bring it to young people, involving professionals in our field.
-Modernity, innovation.
-Entrepreneurship.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
We have enough resources.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“Our youth centre is special because we have big rooms and two floors with big sport hall. Our government has big budget and thats why we have more oppurtunities to do lots of things (Projects, events, gifts and so on). We have young crew. 5 workers and everyone is 19-27 age range. We understand youngsters and they are more open to us.”
YOUNGSTERS’ TESTIMONIAL
Henry, 13: Rakvere Open Youth Center is a cool place because you can calmly chill out here. In addition, the music can still be heard loudly here. The staff is fun and can play different games with them and other young people. The Youth Center also organizes very cool events!
Gregor, 13: I like Youth, because there are many interesting hobby groups here. My favorite is the drone group. I also like the gym. There you can play football, basketball and volleyball. we could be more outdoors, otherwise it’s still cool!
Viktor, 23: I like the Rakvere Youth Center. Here are the cool staff. I think this is the best place to spend time in Rakvere.
WEBSITE
http://www.rakverenoortekeskus.ee
https://www.facebook.com/RakvereAvatudNoortekeskus/
https://www.instagram.com/rakvererank/
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCysKc26R6GNcWgKNrEp-WwA/featured
OPERATOR
Roter Baum Berlin UG
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
The youth centre is located in the district Marzahn-Hellersdorf of Berlin. Marzahn is a big district of 260.000 inhabitants. The youth center is located in the large housing estate which has a high proportion of people living in difficult economic conditions. Many families find it difficult to raise their children in a healthy and educational manner that enables them to develop in a balanced way.The youth centre is located next to a big park with playground and sport facilities.
DATE OF OPENING
04.05.2001
FURTHER INFORMATION
The youth center was built together with a new housing estate. The investor was obliged by means of an urban development contract to erect the building and to hand it over to the local government of Marzahn-Hellersdorf. It was then operated as a municipal youth facility. Till today the building is owned by the municipality but since 2010 it is operated by us as an NGO, which won a call among 19 applying NGO.
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
NGO, association.
FUNDING
Main source of funding is the municipality. By means of a performance contract, they finance almost all costs of the youth center. The personnel costs, operating costs and building maintenance are covered with a sum of 260,000 euros. Additional funds are acquired for specific projects.
AGE OF USERS
10 to 27 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
There is no special profile of the users. According to the German Youth Welfare Act, all young people up to the age of 27 have the right to individual development through open youth work. Our visitors are correspondingly diverse. However, we have a relatively high proportion of young people who have financial concerns or difficulties in family life. Some young people refuse to attend school. These young people also have great difficulties in starting their careers.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
Our goal is to support young people in their personal development. In doing so, we want to enable the young people as much self-determination as a group. For us, this means that we always adapt our offers to the interests of young people. In order to enable young people to achieve a high degree of self-determination, we educate them to understand social and political relationships. This includes in particular that they understand how to be considerate of other people, but also political decision-making processes are discussed. It is important to us to convey values to young people. We attach particular importance to the fact that all people have the same rights and obligations. Our work takes always care to the self-perception of our NGO: We are multifaceted and creatively active, in order to educate young people, provide them with competences and promote our values. We deeply believe that every individual is valuable and has to have a chance to realize their own potential regardless of their ethnic, social, and cultural background. Therefore, we are interested in each person and threat him or her with respect.We want to discern the world in order to apply the acquired knowledge to the benefit of people and nature. We verify our actions and define our goals for the future in the knowledge of the successes and mistakes of our ancestors. We know that this society deprives thenatural and social livelihoods of many people and we fight for this reason active against existing injustices. We are confident that we can improve the world through our actions. We want to be a cultural, social and political home for young people.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
In the open area, young people can chill, cook, dance, listen to the music, play, play football, play billiards or table tennis. Simply enjoy FREE time. If they feel like playing music, playing an instrument, just want to try it out or write lyrics, they can use our rehearsal room. Our musically experienced staff will support them.If youngsters like to draw and want to let their creativity run free, they can let off steam in the Anna creative room and with a little practice they will soon embellish our graffiti wall! We also have experienced employees for this. We have also established a partnership with a freelance artist, himself a former user of the youth center. The sports facilities next to the youth center (soccer, basketball, volleyball) are used as well as the dance room. We cook together with the young people. Our kitchen is designed to cook healthy and sustainable with groups. It is important to us that young people can have a say in what happens to us. That is why they come to the AnnaRat and tell us their wishes. Together with them we can plan projects, conduct workshops or even create completely new opportunities.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
7
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
The youngsters can decide about and even create daily activities, common projects and the shape of the youth centre. They also have no budget that they can use for home furnishings. The young people have no influence on personal questions or any questions that concern the contract of the youth center with the youth welfare office. You determine the rules of the house together with the employees, taking into account legal rules.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
The youth center has a pedagogical floor space of 750 square meters. These include two band rehearsal rooms, a music studio, a dance room, two creative rooms, a kitchen, a room that is constantly transformed and designed by the youth, the kitchen, a workshop that can be used by young people, and the central room. This is used as an open meeting place but can also be used for concerts and other events. The building was built as a purpose building for youth work and takes almost all needs for this form of work into account. The site also includes 300o square meters of outdoor space.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
WEBSITE
https://www.roter-baum-berlin.de/de/anna-landsberger/
https://www.facebook.com/AnnaLandsbergerIJZ/
https://www.instagram.com/annalandsberger/
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbsSxid6PPMiGbtqV0sK5rg
https://www.youtube.com/user/roterbaumberlin/videos
OPERATOR
Rossana Chillemi / Arci
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Associazione Centopassi was born in Torregrotta (ME), it is 15 years old and and it is active in the municipality of torregrotta, based in an old train station.
DATE OF OPENING
10.03.2005
FURTHER INFORMATION
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
NGO, non-profit company
FUNDING
Self-financed.
AGE OF USERS
10 to 35 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
Most of the young people that are in our youth centre are studying or working, generally they love music and play in music bands. Some of them are writers and others are studying theatre. All of them love reading.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
The centopassi association is a center of cultural aggregation, its purpose is to make up for the non-existence of spaces where young people can express their ideas and creativity. There are also moments of social or political debates and we try to place young people, who have difficulty integrating, in a non-hostile environment.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
Concerts, cineforum, reading groups, assemblies, social inclusion projects, children’s activities, web TV.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
6
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
The participation in our youth centre is very high and the young people who participate in our activities are motivated and determined because we create the opportunity to express themselves in all their aspects, through art, writing, reading.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
We have got a registered office in an old train station, with two rooms. Ones a week we make a concert or a debat and other activities. The works are divided into groups and each participant has his own task and organizes their/her/himself to be able to carry out an event together with his own work group.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“What makes my youth centre special, is the fact that everyone who participates in our activities and becomes part of our reality, is free to be himself, to propose, to learn and above all to grow together with us.”
WEBSITE
https://www.facebook.com/arcitorregrotta/?ref=bookmarks
https://www.instagram.com/arcicentopassi/
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXbYiJ2AKQgVGw0UAAhOJ3w
OPERATOR
Strauss APS – Arcistrauss
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Strauss APS is situated in a small village in the centre of Sicily. Our little village, Mussomeli, presents conditions of geographical, economic and social underdevelopment. However, it has potential for history, culture and traditions. There is a high rate of brain drain and it is not easy to find a job, most young people emigrate to study and work. The economy is mainly based on agriculture.
DATE OF OPENING
07.06.1999
FURTHER INFORMATION
Since 2014, Strauss APS has rented a historic building from the municipality of Mussomeli to provide space and more opportunities for volunteers, staff and local youth. The building is 650 sqm big, it is allocated in 2 floors, hosting the office, the house of volunteers and a space lab for activities and meetings. It’s called European Centre of Culture “Francesca Sorce” and provides opportunities for leisure, training and education to all young people of our community. It currently counts on the constant participation of about 40 young people.
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
NGO, association.
FUNDING
Strauss APS finances the youth centre entirely with its own resources. It does not rely on local, regional or national funding.
AGE OF USERS
6 to 30 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
The centre is frequented by children, young students, youth and workers who want to engage and contribute to the growth of their community, doing leisure activities, training, education. Despite the few opportunities offered by the social context and institutions, they have the opportunity to carry out activities that allow them to develop useful skills both in private life and at work.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
Through the Youth Centre “Francesca Sorce”, Strauss wants to promote opportunities for young people, especially those with fewer opportunities, who otherwise wouldn’t have any. The main objectives are to promote a multicultural and multiethnic society, to spread the culture and values of the European community and to support and sustain young people in learning skills and attitudes, contributing to the development of the community.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
The services and local activities offered by Strauss through the Youth Centre to support young people range from local to international level. In the local context of Mussomeli, Strauss manages the following services and carries out the following activities:
– Information centre, Strauss runs InfoYOUTH desk, Europe desk that includes the Eurodesk Local Agency, Crea-Impresa desk. The desks provide young people with information, support and tools they need for orientation in the fields of study, work, training and leisure. Users can use the counter for free consultation of job offers, masters, internships, training courses, competitions and guidance on business creation.
– Language conversation clubs: Among the local activities, aimed at young people and the local community, language conversation clubs are workshops promoted by Strauss to improve the level of English and Spanish and other languages in society. The activity involves the collaboration of ESC volunteers hosted by Strauss who, with conversations and historical-didactic paths, support the organization and implementation of language, culture and traditions workshops.
– Care of the environment: Local activities of cleaning, care and beautification of a public green space. The organization is committed to promoting recycling workshops, gardening and flower arrangement contests, graffiti workshops, awareness raising activities and promotion of “days for the environment” that can somehow help to safeguard and develop the public green of the small Sicilian town.
– Art and cooking classes, activities and workshops; Journalistic, digital and social media labs and workshops.
– Organisation of events, conferences and exhibitions on different topics, as culture, cinema, music, books, antimafia.
To the activities upon mentioned we add the chance for the YC users to get in contact with activities and opportunities related to the international dimension: Erasmus+ Key Action 1 projects (Youth Exchanges, Youth Initiatives, Training Courses, Seminars, Mobility of Youth Workers, Study Visits); European Solidarity Corps and Volunteering Activities.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
8
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
Despite the various initial difficulties in making ourselves known and making the community aware of our reality, the level of participation is really high, both from young people and adolescents and from adults. The activities, mainly proposed by centre’s users, have found unexpected results, so much so that we have also received proposals from the community on activities that could be carried out, proposals that we have we have already implemented or which might be implemented in the next future.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
Within our youth centre the facilities are limited. The centre has a space at the first floor used as an activity room. One of the difficulties encountered is the lack of sufficient space and often alternative spaces are adapted and used as an activity area, such as part of the office or the terrace in the house of volunteers.
Regarding resources, Strauss does not receive local, regional or national funding. Although it is sometimes possible to access funding projects, this is not sufficient to ensure that the activities will continue over the years.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“Strauss is one of those places that can change people’s life. It allows you to experience a whole new world, and once you enter this world, you never want to leave it. It gives the opportunity to expand knowledge, thanks to the various activities offered by the organization and also gives the chance not only to get to know new cultures and new worlds thanks to the foreign volunteers it hosts but gives the opportunity to experience these places promoting ideas and sense of initiative for young people. Answering the question ‘what makes your youth centre special’ I say that what makes it special is the fact that besides all the possibilities or varieties offered by Strauss, the most important thing is that within the organization, we are all one big family.”
YOUNGSTERS’ TESTIMONIAL
1. “Living in a small village in the centre of Sicily and almost disconnected from the rest of the world, the YC is the only place where I feel I am part of something bigger, even if I don’t move from Mussomeli, I have the chance to know other cultures, people and learn by doing. I attend this centre because since I started it has always given me so much without wanting anything in return and also because it has managed to bring a little bit of Europe within our community.”
2. “One of the reasons why I go to Strauss is because the projects they have and propose seem interesting and constructive to me. In addition, people who had already participated in them in the past seemed enthusiastic about the experience and so I decided to give it a try. Since then I have always participated in local and foreign activities proposed by Strauss because they have always exceeded my expectations.”
WEBSITE
http://www.arcistrauss.it/
https://www.facebook.com/StraussAPS/
https://www.instagram.com/strauss_aps
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFXka3ImM_zjMYxJJG-jAQw
OPERATOR
Tedacà
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Bellarte is a structure of 400 square meters. It has a music room, a dance room and a theatre. It also has a lounge room with a bar. It is located in the 4th district in Turin, in the north suburb.
DATE OF OPENING
17.04.2006
FURTHER INFORMATION
Bellarte was an underwear factory. After a period of building renovation, it was inaugurated in 2006 as a youth centre.
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
NGO, association.
FUNDING
Tedacà answer public calls to sustain the expenses of the youth centre and the different projects managed by the association. Tedacà has also an internal fundraiser and some private sponsor. It is also specialized in business education and the creation of mass performances for private companies.
AGE OF USERS
5 to 35 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
The young people who use the youth centre have different age, from 5 to 35 years old (and over). They come from families with different income brackets, especially from the lower ones; this is the reason why the prices of our courses are always accessible.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
Bellarte is managed by Tedacà, an Under 35 association and cultural company, recognized by Regione Piemonte (a large regional institution in Northern-west Italy), that works in the field of performing arts in Turin since 2002. At the moment Tedacà counts more than 450 members and 13 workers.
In Bellarte Tedacà organizes dozens of artistic courses. Tedacà has a professional company that produces new dramaturgy’s shows. It is also specialized in business education and the creation of mass performances.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
– Dance, theatre, music and singing courses
– A theatrical season
– Projects of performing arts with visually impaired people
– Meetings with playwrights and professional actors.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
5
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
The youth centre is managed by the association with a confrontation with the assembly of the members. There are a lot of projects and initiative suggested and managed with the youth members.
Tedacà has an elected board and a members’ assembly. The assembly approves the association’s budget and the board decides the guidelines for the management of the youth center. There are a lot of initiative organized by the members, as a talent race for the students and some convivial moments.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“Working in Bellarte means being part of a family. All the initiatives we organize are inclusive and special because they are designed with and for our members.”
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIAL
“Bellarte is a special place in our district because there is always a home atmosphere. The operators has a personal relationship with all the members of the association.”
WEBSITE
http://www.tedaca.it/
https://www.facebook.com/tedaca/
https://www.instagram.com/tedaca_bellarte/
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/user/tedaca
OPERATOR
CIRCOLO AUT
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
The “Circolo ARCI AUT” is situated in the centre of Caltanissetta, in Sicily (Italy). It can be described as a large space of coworking completely furnished and decorated by youth. All the walls have been painted by young artists and the furniture has been made by students, too.
DATE OF OPENING
15.09.2013
FURTHER INFORMATION
This youth centre was opened with the aim of giving to young people different opportunities. People can spend time together talking about general information, news and cultural issues. Furthermore students can discuss school’s themes in order to improve the school system
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
NGO, association.
FUNDING
The main financial support comes from self financing activities. In fact, students always organize a lot of events to finance and support the youth centre.
AGE OF USERS
13 to 22 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
Currently, students use the centre. Above all students committed to the school cause, so they want to work on school system, but they are also engaged to social causes such as equal rights, gender gap, education, anti-racism, anti-fascism and anti-mafia.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
Surely this youth center has a social mission: it aimed at creating a social awareness among the students. They work on the school system and student’s rights, but they also focus public attention on valid arguments related to the city.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
They organize meetings, activities, events, public debates, campaigns or demonstrations. Everything is planned by young workers.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
9
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
The level of self-determination is very high. A group of young people run the centre, but every decision must be taken in the assembly, so everybody plays its own role and can suggest which event should be organized.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
Young people can find a comfort zone to study and spend time with their mates, but they can also take some books from the open library or attend lessons peer-to-peer for free. Furthermore, at the beginning of the school year they can buy and sell school books.
YOUNGSTERS’ TESTIMONIALS
1. “I come to Circolo AUT because I read about a public meeting about school’s problems, so I wanted to join them and take part at the activities.”
2. “My Youth Centre is special because here I cn be myself, express my passions, have fun with my friends or study with them, but also love cultural meetings and events we always organize.”
3. “I come to Circolo AUT because my school mates used to spend there their free time. So I started going there every afternoon and I discovered how it is important to be actively involved in improving my city.”
WEBSITE
facebook.com/circoloAUT/
https://www.instagram.com/circoloaut/
YOUTUBE
OPERATOR
Margot APS
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Our center is located in Carmagnola, a city near Turin, Italy. We provide entertainment for young people such as concerts, djsets, ethnical dinners and also cultural and social events. Our center is very careful about major current issues, such as the environment, politics, youth and social policies. We like to introduce ourselves as a home for our partners, a place where you can relax, drink something and stay with your friends.
DATE OF OPENING
28.05.2010
FURTHER INFORMATION
Margot was opened as a youth center in the ARCI context. The first intention was to provide young people with a place to stay and be themselfs, have fun but also face up social and youth issues. It started out as a small group of teenagers and grew up to 2000 members between volunteers who carry out our daily activities and partners enjoying the center.
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
NGO, association.
FUNDING
Our main source of financial support is provided by our partners who consume our drinks and food. We also cooperate with other associations on the territory which provide us with material goods.
AGE OF USERS
14 to 35 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
Our partners and members are mostly students and young people who are facing their first jobs. There are several groups of partners divided by age and maybe school experiences but often these groups can interact with the other groups realizing an intergenerational exchange that enriches everybody.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
Our main objective is to provide support for activities that interest young people in our community. We want to help spreading and selecting informations that are as apolitical and objective as possible, enrich each one’s cultural experiences and spent time together having fun and enjoying each others knowledges.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
Our activities concern both the enrichment of the cultural fabric (therefore meetings with book authors, ethnic dinners, the creation of informal discussion and comparison groups) and the fun and diffusion of youth culture (such as live concerts, DJ sets, exhibitions of emerging artists, external activities that affect the whole community such as cleaning entire neighborhoods). We also provide music and other classes for our partners, in order to integrate the school and universities programs.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
10
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
Our center is almost entirely run by volunteers. Our only contract employee is the cook. All the rest is managed by volunteers, be it the administration of drinks or the programming of cultural and musical events. The participation of our members is therefore very lively and we are really pleased to be able to count on our members to carry out this experience of youthful protagonism in a self-managed way.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
Our center was an old cinema. We have 370 square meters to organize meetings or dance all together. We have an audio system for concerts, musical instruments such as a drums, keyboards, guitars and mixers. Then we have everything necessary for cultural meetings, therefore chairs, microphones and tables. Finally, we have everything necessary for the administration of food and drinks.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“Margot is the only place where I can always express my opinion and know that I am surrounded by people who listen to me and give me their support. Margot is also the place where I can achieve my goals or put my ideas into practice, knowing that I can count on others for any difficulty. I would say that what makes this youth center special is the center community itself.”
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIAL
“I come here because it is the only space where there is always something on the program, be it a cultural evening or a concert. I come here to relax and chat with all the other partners and with my friends. I come here because this space is somehow mine too.”
WEBSITE
www.circolomargot.it
https://www.facebook.com/CircoloMargot
https://www.instagram.com/circolomargot/
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDISpJ09yiIBwuIRS0aWbSA
OPERATOR
Palermo Youth Center (PYC)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
PYC is an italian NGO, which now boasts two venues located in Palermo, Sicily. One takes place in Via Giuseppe De Spuches 20, very close to the historic center of Palermo, the biggest in Europe. The other one is located inside Villa Trabia, finished building in 1814 and purchased by the municipality of Palermo in 1984 after a long period of abandonment. Currently it houses a public library and numerous species of botanical interest.
DATE OF OPENING
2014
FURTHER INFORMATION
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
NGO, association.
FUNDING
Most of our income comes from donating members, from the bar or participating in activities.
AGE OF USERS
17 to 35 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
Most of young people who come to PYC are university students and young workers who like to spend their free time with their friends, meeting new people enjoying their favorite beer, creating an almost familiar environment.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
The idea behind PYC is the desire to create a space where everyone will be able to express themselves through the cultural form they prefer, in order to be able to put as many people in communication together and in this way create a social container.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
During the winter, we focus on the activities inside the Via Despuches venue, from the art exhibition and language courses to the football tournaments, and on the planning of European youth exchanges to be implemented during the summer at the Villa Trabia headquarters , between live concerts and parties.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
7
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
Our Youth workers are moved in order to create a comfortable space where they can offer leisure activities and useful services to the citizens of Palermo and welcome young visitors from all over the world, offering the typical welcome of our island.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
The headquarters in Via Despuches offers a large internal garden, where there is a cover in case of rain and numerous tables and chairs that can accommodate a large number of people, a decent level bar and an internal space equipped with multimedia tools and wifi available to members, which makes it suitable for coworking. The venue of Villa Trabia is immersed in the green of Palermo, in particular in one of the most beautiful villas of the city. The external space makes it suitable for hosting concerts and musical events, as well as outdoor screenings and group games. The bar is organized by our best bartenders, able to recreate the experience of a real cocktail bar. Overall the true PYC’s straight is out Youth workers who work hard every day to achieve what they believe in, making it possible in fact to realize the idea from which our association was born.
YOUNGSTERS TESTIMONIALS
1. “I like the youth centre where I work because I find it as a place where, alone or in company, I have the opportunity to experiment and implement activities or initiatives based on my knowledge and perspectives. Social interaction, creating projects and discussing them for a common goal, a place for recreation but also for work. In addition, the large turnout of members of different ages and from various working areas, of which we have opinions compared to what is being organized.” Giorgia. 19.
2. “I met PYC when I was 18 and had just started my university career. At first I started attending the association mainly for recreational purposes, since being very young I was enthusiastic to attend an environment full of my peers and tied to the same passions. Over time I understood what the meaning of youth associations and in general of all associations for social purposes was: from that moment on I became one of the most active members, trying to give my contribution to support the association’s activities and over the years also to support the youngest who began their journey within the PYC. Today I can say that thanks to these experiences I have developed many projects and skills, I have participated in some European design workshops, in the realization of events for social purposes and I met the National Civil Service and then became a volunteer with the Municipality of Palermo. today the PYC represents an important reality for training the youth association, since it is able to provide young people with tools and knowledge useful both in the training / professional and in the relational sphere. Today associations of all shapes and levels represent a very important tool of social cohesion: they deserve the attention of all the national community and international institutions, because thanks to these initiatives it is possible to really stimulate and improve the social fabric of ours and many other countries in the world.” Flavio, 23. Member for four years.
3. “Because it makes me feel good to spend my free time with other people. It is a place where I can say that I am at ease, usable for the most imaginative activities and with an audience of very sociable active members who create a beautiful environment.” Ruggero, 21. Member for two years.
WEBSITE
https://www.facebook.com/PalermoYouthCentre
https://www.facebook.com/Villatrabiapyc/
https://www.instagram.com/pycpalermoyouthcentre
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/user/PycPalermo
OPERATOR
Brasov County Sport and Youth Directorate – DJST Brasov
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Brașov is located in the central part of the country, about 166 kilometers north of Bucharest and 380 kilometers from the Black Sea. Surrounded by the Southern Carpathians, Brasov is one of the main touristic places in Romania. The Youth Centre is located in the old city center, next to the Tâmpa Mountain, an area highly frequented by tourists and also locals
DATE OF OPENING
04.10.2002
FURTHER INFORMATION
We started in 2002 as part of the Romanian Youth and Sport Ministry’s network of youth centres.
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
Public, regional entity.
FUNDING
The main source of funding is the Youth and Sport Ministry.
AGE OF USERS
14 to 29 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
Students, NGOs members, youngsters from the city and around (even remote areas).
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
The Youth Center is a project within the Youth Centers National Program involving the development of a set of specific activities / services for young people. Our mission is to facilitate the social insertion of young people by creating an alternative in the field of non-formal education, information and leisure for young people in Brasov.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
The main types of activities (for a youth center financed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports) are: Information, Consultancy & Counseling, Non formal education. In our case we are focusing on non formal education – different workshops and trainings (creativity, personal development, volunteering, project management, ecology), leisure activities and contests.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
5
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
We have two different situations: activities developed directly by the Youth Centre and Volunteer Centre – inspired by youngsters needs and likes (2-3 times per year we are launching open questions about the subjects and tools they want us to approach) and activities developed by our partners NGOs like the local Scout organization and a other 2 NGOs from the ecological field (also they focus on their beneficiaries and adapt everything according to them).
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
262 square meters – 6 rooms: a large meeting / leisure room, a training room, a workshop, a small team building room, a small library room a hall. Basic furniture, TV, video projector, white board, flip chart, ping pong tables, fitness equipment.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“To inspire a new generation… This was and still is our goal in the last (almost) 18 years since the opening of the Brasov Youth Center. From the very beginning, we aimed to offer young people in the area an alternative. An alternative for leisure, for information and an alternative in the field of education – non formal education. The activities within the centre are complementary to the formal education, enhanching the skills acquired in school, emphasizing on participatory methods (peer education, learning by playing). We started from a few principles that we are still relying now in our work: openness to all young people, voluntary involvement, flexibility of structure and planning, education based on the real needs and interests of young people, the possibility to “work” at different “speeds” and in different ways. The Youth Centre is a flexible and lively structure adapting to the needs and requirements of the beneficiaries and as time goes by to the external environment. Hundreds of activities, tens of thousands of beneficiaries belonging to several generations – are quantifiable results. Beyond the numbers, however, we believe that we have touched the lives of many young people / volunteers / organizations and we have opened a road that then many other youth projects in Brasov have “flourished” and have been “built”.” Catalina Tanase – DJST Brasov
“Freedom… I am involved in the activities organized by Brasov Youth Centre since 2008 when I have founded „The Brasov Volunteer Centre”, a project within Association for Social Integration and Environmental Protection Feedback Brasov. In more then 12 years we have organized a large variety of activities involving the youngsters from Brasov. We were entrusted with the keys since 2009 and we were able to create a lot of youth initiatives. This context allowed a large number of youngsters to express themself through workshops, meetings, volunteering activities, civic campaigns, networking. In 12 years I witnessed the personal growth of hundreds of young people who felt included in a active and creative group. The Youth Center is a very versatile space in city centre where a large number of NGO’s can use the space in order to organize free trainings, workshops, cultural and sport activities.” Laura Istrate
WEBSITE
http://sportsitineretbrasov.ro/
https://www.facebook.com/centruldetineretbrasov/
https://www.instagram.com/centruldetineretbrasov/
YOUTUBE
OPERATOR
Association for Development through Education, Informing and Support – D.E.I.S.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Our youth centre is located in Baia Mare, the capital of Maramueș County, in the North of Romania.
DATE OF OPENING
2007
FURTHER INFORMATION
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
A partnership between a local authority and a local NGO.
FUNDING
The Youth Centre in Baia Mare belongs to the Agency for Youth and Sport Maramures (local representatives of the Romanian Ministry for Youth and Sport in Maramures county) and the activities and services there are offered and managed by the Association for Development through Education, Information and Support – D.E.I.S.. The Agency also funds some of the projects taking place here.
AGE OF USERS
14 to 35 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
Our youth center is open for all young people age between 14 and 35. Most young people who use the youth center live in Baia Mare or the surrounding areas aged between 14 and 22.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
Our youth centre does not currently have a mission of its own. Instead, DEIS Asociation’s – the local NGO that manages the youth centre – mission is applicable to the youth centre: forming young people capable to make the best decisions for themselves and the community.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
Our activity can be separated into two categories: 1. Daily activities. Young people who joined the membership program of our youth centre can come from Monday to Friday between 2 PM and 8 PM to hang out at the youth centre. We provide an environment in which they can also study or practice hobbies (singing, playing instruments, drawing). They have access to board games and our volunteers and youth workers try to answer to as many of their needs as possible 2. Specific activities: board games, movie nights, karaoke, parties, concerts, trainings, workshops, theatre courses.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
– A daily activity room equipped with basic furniture – 2 Laptops – Free wi-fi – A small music recording studio – A rehearsal room, equipped with basic technical equipment and instruments, that is also used as a media studio, where young volunteers record their own online show – A kitchen equipped with a small fridge, an oven, a microwave, coffee machine, cutlery and basic kitchen furniture (cupboards, sink, small tables an d chairs) – Free counselling services offered by youth workers.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“One of the most important aspects of our youth centre is the fact that we involve young people as much as possible in every activity or decision. All the activities that take place in the youth centre are the result of the previous consultation with young people regarding their needs. Also, most of the activities and projects are designed and organized by young people, with the support of youth workers. To be more specific, we take care of the administrative aspects, we offer them the resources available, the general context and the counselling they need, and they have the freedom of designing and organizing the activity in whatever way they feel would best suit their needs. They take leadership positions and work in different teams, they learn from each other and we offer them support in their learning process after these experiences. What we also consider important, especially because is something that young people coming to the youth centre have mentioned several times, is the fact that this a safe place where they feel like they can be themselves without being judged. This is a place where people agree to accept and understand each other, and a place where they learn to see beyond looks and behaviours.”
YOUNGSTERS’ TESTIMONIAL
1. “The youth workers that I met at the youth centre are responsible for most of my personal and professional development. I started coming here because I discovered a calm and welcoming environment. The other volunteers and youth workers were not judgemental. Everyone is open-minded and they are ready to help you at any time. When I first walked into Baia Mare’s Youth Center I was a shy girl, with no idea what I wanted to do in the future. Three years later, after many trainings and responsibilities (as I became part of the volunteer team and the leader of the PR and Communication team), I am now a youth worker and a student at Creative Writing. In time I discovered what I am good at and what I would like to do, generally. Without the trust and support from the youth workers, I would have never developed the skills I have today: communication both verbal and written, teamwork, public speaking, leadership, risk management, time management and the list can continue.” Beatrix Konyves, 19
2. I started coming to the Youth Centre 2 years ago when I discovered that this is the safest place for me. Here I can say what’s on my mind without being judged, I can do what I like most and I can develop myself with the help of the youth workers. I was a very introvert person before I came to the Youth Centre, I could not talk in public at all. After many trainings and other activities, I developed a set of skills (teamwork, communication, leadership, public speaking) that I would have not been able to develop without the Youth Centre and the youth workers. Last year I became a member of the PR team and so I discovered my passion for photography. – Jeanine Horgoș, 18
WEBSITE
http://www.dsjmaramures.ro/
YOUTUBE
OPERATOR
Curba de Cultura Association
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Since September 5th 2013, Curba de Cultura is running a local youth centre – created with the help and support of 25 young local volunteers through a 1.2 Youth in Action funded project. Even if the centre is local, many young people living in an area of 50 kms radius are participating in the activities. It is one of the few private youth centres in Romania and most likely the only one operating in a rural area. The youth centre – operating in a rural area with over 50.000 inhabitants with no relevant public youth services – is offering information services, coaching, workshops, events, open air cinema nights, a public library, international mobilities for young people and youth workers, language courses, leisure time activities and youth advocacy for about 400 young people per year with the help of 4 full time staff, 14 experts and around 50 volunteers. Since 2015 we are also hosting EVS volunteers, having a significant impact on the young people and the community.
DATE OF OPENING
05.09.2013
FURTHER INFORMATION
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
NGO, association.
FUNDING
The Centre is funded mainly through European programmes. A rough 80% of the anual turnover is generated through applying for and implementing projects with European funding.
The other source of funding is self funding through revenue generating activities, mainly through consulting and training services for other organisations and companies.
AGE OF USERS
13 to 24 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
Most of the young people attending the activities in the youth centre are aged 13 to 18. They live in rural Romania, experiencing less local travel opportunities than the average Joe and, most of them, come from a background of economic difficulties. They might be supported and guided by one parent or a close relative due to work migration. Their interests revolve around socializing, learning, traveling, biking, photography, music and movies or TV series.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
The Centre’s mission is to reduce the development gaps between urban and rural young people and to contribute to the development of teenagers and young people as an integral part of their communities, aware of being part of Romanian culture and of their role of active and responsible citizens. Our values are learning, participation, equality, diversity, teamwork, self-awareness, tolerance.
The principles that guide our work are:
– The way in which young people spend their free time is vital to their personal and professional development and to the development of their communities.
– The availability of fully diverse leisure time activities, volunteering and civic involvement is essential for young people’s development and for society generally. The activitiess should cover as much ground as possible in order to respond to young poeple’s needs and interests.
– Involving young people in decisions that impact them is a critical aspect for building a civic self and building youth ownership over the leisure time activities in which they get involved.
Creating youth supportive communities is not a piece of cake. Yet, we strongly believe it’s worth the effort.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
Curba de Cultura Youth Center hosts various activities prepared for and by young people. Those proposed by the youngsters involved vary from peer-to peer creative workshops, in which young people are exploring do it yourself, recycle and upcycle trends, to workshops, aimed at transferring skills – in photography, digital design, playing music instruments.
Big part of activities has a form of socializing events, among which cinema projections and clothes swap sessions are currently the most popular ones. Many of these activities have a multicultural character, as international volunteers hosted in long-term stages, are taking care of language and cultural exchange – informally by joining the activities as well as in the form of independent events.
Guided by the team of youth workers, structured learning opportunities for young people are on schedule regularly, in the form of trainings and workshops on diverse topics, such as communication, youth leadership and facilitation of nonformal youth activities.
On the other hand the Center’s programe leaves space for those that just want to enjoy the a cup of tea or a game of chess with a friend – or maybe prefer a loud group session of joungle speed, the most popular game in the center’s ludoteque.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
6
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
Young people cand drop in whenever they want, during opening hours: Tue – Fri 14.00 – 18.00, Sat 10.00 – 19.00.
We are organizing specific activities based on young people’s proposals. We are organizing and implementing rather large projects based on Young people’s expressed interests and needs. Young people are organizing a range of diverse activities following legality and morality norms. The centre is open to anyone within the age range.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
Staff: 4 full time.
International Volunteers: generally at least 4 hosted in the same time.
Local volunteers: around 50
Facilities: Old house in the village, 2 rooms for office and activities, 1 room for guests – 4 beds toilet, 1 summer lounge with computers for a larger number of ppl in the same time in the centre, outside garden for activities, almost fully equipped woodworking workshop, barn cinema in the attic of the workshop.
Materials and equipment: a large collection of boardgames (approx 70), a library with over 2000 volumes, 2 sets of outdoor movie projection equipment (laptop, projector, speakers, 3x4m screen), small size theatre and concert equipment, office equipment, 4 cars, etc.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“The atmosphere of Curba de Cultura is unique. While entering in the main room, which is the library, you feel the story of this youth center and the good vibes floating in the air. The place is cosy and warm, full of books and boardgames, both allow young people to have their own time reading or to spend time playing with others. Our youth center is welcoming locals and international volunteers in many ways. We organize activities and events for and with them; for the locals, we give them the opportunity of taking part in youth exchanges in Romania or abroad, and also they have the possibility to organize activities or events by themselves that they would like to see happening in their communities. For this last point, we propose them all the resources they would need to organize and implement things, meaning human, materials, space and financial resources. As well, in general idea, we are providing support, advice, and listening if they have questions about anything.
Our youth center is full of stories from approximately 62 international volunteers of 25 different nationalities, with anecdotes, projects, smiles, energy and adventures. And all that, we are sharing with our young people around the area as much as we can, in order to give them the opportunity of meeting foreigners, learning different cultures, acquiring or developing their language skills and other competences, being supported for their professional and personal development and opening their mind to get the better of themselves.
As a youth worker in Curba de Cultura, each day is different and makes me realize the amazing opportunity of being here and taking part of all those things happening for our young people.”
YOUNGSTERS TESTIMONIALS
“I go to my youth center because it helps me develop myself and I also get to meet and socialize with people from different cultures and countries, with different beliefs and visions of the world”. Andrea
“I come to Curba de Cultura because it is a place where I can relax after a hard day, make new friends, interact with a lot of people and learn new things. I like being part of such an incredible team ready to help and inspire you when you need.” Georgian
“I come there because I can be myself. I feel safe and the people around me makes me happy.” Maria
“I usually come to my local youth center because in this I find a way to change my daily routine, by meeting new and different people from abroad, the fun activities, and the non-formal education received.” Adriana
“I come to Curba de Cultură because it is a good way to develop myself, have a lot of fun and help others.” Daria
WEBSITE
http://evs.curbadecultura.ro/
https://www.facebook.com/Curba-de-Cultur%C4%83-153846781406285/
https://www.instagram.com/curbadecultura/
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoZBMuFnUN93TckaaRAKmtg/videos
OPERATOR
Caras-Severin County Youths and Sports Directorate
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
The youth centre is located in Resita, on a main street, close to one of the most renowned high schools in the county. Resita is located outside main commercial highways/ routes, it does not represent a highway, national roads or railroads hub. It is a monoindustrial area that has known development until the 1990. Following the regime change and massive reorganization, poverty and unemployment came. Most of the financial resources are being directed towards social issues and less towards education and youth.
DATE OF OPENING
01.12.2005
FURTHER INFORMATION
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
Public, regional entity
FUNDING
The Ministry of Youth and Sports is securing an anual activity budget (14.000 lei for projects and 4000 lei for maintenance in 2019). The municipality of Resita is offering the space for the centre free of charge and is as well covering for utility costs while the Volunteering Centre Resita is offering the human resources for workshops coordination.
AGE OF USERS
14 to 35 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
Most young beneficiaries are high school students that would like to do something else and not just going to school. We also have a small percentage of University students or locally employed young people that participate in activities.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
Mission: Stimulating personal development for young people in Resita
Objectives: developing knowledge and competencies through nonformal education programmes that would help young people attaing individual performance according to real life needs.
Offering a safe framework, a space for socializing as for the young poeple to make their ideas come to life, to practice their knowledge, to manage resources or to work in project teams.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
Workshops: Creativity with recycled materials, handme crafts and jewlery, music therapy, indoor climbing and sports, pottery and ceramic, street animation, meetings with diverse range of professionals, documentary film / videos and photography, other relevant workshops.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
8
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
Materials and others: 3 PCs, 2 laptops, 2 printers – 1 color, 1 A3 copier, fusball table, biliards table, electric pottery wheel, over 50 musical instruments (djembe, maracas, guitars, oceandrums etc.) WiFi amp, photo camera, steady cam, badges press etc.
WEBSITE
https://voluntariat-resina.ro/
https://www.facebook.com/centruldevoluntariat.resita/videos/1677876908900282/
https://www.facebook.com/centruldevoluntariat.resita/videos/1677878108900162/
https://www.facebook.com/centruldevoluntariat.resita/
https://www.facebook.com/centruldevoluntariat.resita/videos/1677880435566596/
https://www.instagram.com/centruldevoluntariatresita/
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHROIL-T64E
OPERATOR
SUPER TINERI (ASIRYS) Association
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Our youth center is located in Târgu Frumos, a small town in Romania, in space provided for free by a company. During the years we changed different locations, for one year our youth center was located in two public institutions, but when we couldn’t afford the rent, they kicked us out.
At the begining, we had moments in which we did not have a phisical space, so we organized our meetings in public spaces (cafeterias), schools, short-term rented places or friends. The moment in which we decided to settle down, was in 2015, when we received funding from EEA Grants, so we bought many materials and equipments needed for a youth center.
This year, in February, we will move in a bigger and modern space, which was developed after a long term effort. The new youth center, that will be called ACT House, will allow us to develop our youth center sustainability.
DATE OF OPENING
26.02.2009
FURTHER INFORMATION
Margot was opened as a youth center in the ARCI context. The first intention was to provide young people with a place to stay and be themselfs, have fun but also face up social and youth issues. It started out as a small group of teenagers and grew up to 2000 members between volunteers who carry out our daily activities and partners enjoying the center.
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
NGO, association.
FUNDING
In the last three years, our funds came mostly from Erasmus+ programme. This year we will have in implementation an ESC project. Another fund that allowed us to open the new center, came from Start-Up Plus Programme.
AGE OF USERS
10 to 35 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
We work with children, teenagers, students and young teachers. In general, the youth coming to our center are from rural area and most of them with fewer opportunities, within the center they feel accepted and supported. The youth interested of our services are willing to develop soft skills, interact with foreigners, travel via Erasmus+, get involved in organizing festivals and cultural events, attend workshops about different topics and play board-games.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
The mission of our youth centre is to engage youth in order to develop them into leaders of positive and sustainable change for their communities. We promote nonformal education, volunteering and active citizenship, the values Erasmus Programme encourage us to share.
Our motivation consists in having in our small and “unattractive” town, an active, safe, creative and productive environment in which we can all learn and develop ourselves. Our hidden desire is to start a positive wind of change in small communities, become a model and inspire other youth and organisation to invest their time voluntary based in building peaceful and enriching communities.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
Well, this is hard to define because we always change the program based on the needs, ideas, resources of the youth coming in. In the last 6 months, we provided dance, photography, chess, basketball, guitar, digital education, archaeology, English, Greek, multiple intelligence, gender equality, non-formal sports, intercultural events and workshops. It is a huge diversity and we encourage youth to develop their own ideas, workshops and events.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
8
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
It is high if we compare it with other youth center in the area, but of course, there is much more to be done. We need more prepared youth workers to reach our youth and give them personalized support. From 10 youth that are coming to our centre, only 2 or 3 will develop their own activities. In the last years we managed to increase the engagement of our active volunteers to 3 years, at the beginning was for 6-7 months.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
We have around 40 types of board games, all office supplies needed for activities, paints, crafting tools, sport equipment, photo-cameras, 2 laptops, a library with newest books (we buy the books our youth want to read), tents, video-projects, microphone & music system, in the new place we will have even shower, a fully equipped professional kitchen, a gym, a theater scene. With the help of a school at 10 minutes walk from our youth center, we have access for free to a big sport room. In general, in time we managed to buy all the things youth needs for creating their own activities.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“We are the only one in the area, we are really open to partnerships, ideas, events and activities, even sometimes we kind of burn-out because of the lack of capacity. Even though we have a bad relation with the public authorities from the town – they don’t actually understand why and what we are doing, in the last years we managed to find public partners from the villages near-by and from the schools, which increased our impact. We are champions in productivity! 🙂 Our youth center worked so far mostly based on volunteering work, we had only one employee, for two years, in the last eleven years. And with the budget our city hall organized one day artistic event, we did in one year 370 events engaging 120 volunteers and 6000 beneficiaries.”
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIAL
WEBSITE
www.supertineri.org
https://www.facebook.com/ASIRYS
https://www.instagram.com/supertineri/
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/user/supertineri
OPERATOR
Group for Children and Youth “Indigo”
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
The Community Centre is located in st. Dusana Popovica bb, across the street from the Roma settlement “Crvena Zvezda”, in Nis, Serbia.
DATE OF OPENING
01.10.2013
FURTHER INFORMATION
The Community Centre is open for different people and supports the ideas and initiatives that contribute to the development of children, individuals and the community. The Community Centre aims at enabling different actors and participants to cooperate, network and actively contribute to the community development.
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
NGO, Association
FUNDING
Group for Children and Youth “Indigo” is funded by the donors. Our main donors are UNHCR, UNICEF, REF, Open Society Fund, H.E.Stepic Charity etc.
AGE OF USERS
10 to 35 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
Most of the participants are children and youth. We are also open for other people who wish to use a computer or Internet, who need assistance or who come with an initiative. We also regularly organise parental meeting, different workshops, and other activities.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
The mission is to involve different actors in the work of the Community centre and the life of the local community by teamwork and with networking with the relevant institutions and the local community.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
Typical activities in the Community centre include assisting the children with their homework and studying. We also regularly organise psychosocial and educational workshops with the children, youth and parents. What’s more, we organise different activities that contribute to the sense of solidarity and belonging, as well as those that create opportunities for children and youth of different backgrounds to meet, interact and socialise.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
7
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
The children and youth are active participants in the design, implementation and evaluation of the activities organised in the Community Centre.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
All the relevant facilities are available in the Community Centre. We have a room with Internet access, a kitchen with hot water and a toilet. We also have a swingset, a seesaw and benches and tables in the yard.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
WEBSITE
http://www.indigo.org.rs/
https://www.facebook.com/GrupaZaDecuIMladeIndigo/
https://www.instagram.com/gdmindigo/
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCylpRadO8OQWEwFiYV_j8kA
OPERATOR
Dušan Kocoljevac
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Our space is located in Serbia, Pančevo 26101, Zmaj Jove Jovanovića 24 which we are renting. The space consists of one big/main room, two smaller rooms, a kitchen and a toilet. We also have an attic space at our desposal for storage purposes.
DATE OF OPENING
11/11/2014
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
NGO, Association
FUNDING
We cover our expenses from membership fees and our own pockets.
AGE OF USERS
16 to 35 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
Our main public is consisted of late year middle-school and university students.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
Our mission is to maintain an alternative, game oriented space for people to play and spend quality time in. We try to bring the board gaming culture to the broader public, as well.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
On a regular basis people gather to play games and spend their free time. Periodically, we organize tournaments, movie projections, miniature painting and other similar activities.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
10
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
We provide access to a vast board game collection (counting over 300 different game), a comic book library, arcade, billiard table. Also, we provide a the space itself to a number of other organisations in town.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
There is no similar place in our town, and we provide a unique activity for the local youth.
YOUTH TESTIMONIAL
“Great, cozy, friendly atmosphere, loads of games and ppl that would teach you to play and play with you. Often workshops and movie projections are organised. Nothing is charged, but sure you can help out with donations for bills and rent – since it shares this community for community method. Big love.”
FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/klubd20
OPERATOR
MIKK Murska Sobota
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
The youth center is located inside the Castle of Murska Sobota, which is located in the middle of the City park of Murska Sobota.
DATE OF OPENING
21.12.1995
FURTHER INFORMATION
The youth center has been established by the City municipality of Murska Sobota with the intention of providing a place for young people to express their ideas, creativity and fullfil the need for entertainment.
MIKK is also a strong proponent of alternative youth culture and is a very well known venue for live alternative music.
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
Public, municipality.
FUNDING
Main source of funding is the City municipality of Murska Sobota. Activities of the youth centre are also cofunded by the Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Youth under the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport. MIKK`s music programme is funded by the Ministry of culture.
AGE OF USERS
10 to 29 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
We are open to everyone. Most of our users are older schoolkids, highschoolers, students, employed and unemployed youngsters from the local area and the region of Pomurje. Our goal is to connect people from all types of backgrounds and environments.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
The mission of our youth centre is to offer equal opportunity to young people in the local community and region in the fields of nonformal education, access to culture, youth policy and entertainment.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
Activities in our youth centre range from lectures, debates, round tables on interesting and current topics, live concerts of alternative music, gaming nights which include video games and board games, music workshops (you can learn how to play the drums, guitar or sing), art exhibitions in our small gallery, workshops for developing employment skills in the fields of audio engineering, film, photography, use of graphic design software (Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator) and video design and editing software (Adobe Premier, Adobe AfterEffects) or just sitting down and relaxing while drinking coffee in the lovely park.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
7
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
A yearly plan of activities is prepared by the employees with the help of a yearly survey amongst young people and request by the young people or youth organizations. Through the whole year, young people have the ability to express their ideas and realize them with the help of youth workers. They are also provided basic funding for the realization of the idea/project.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
The House of Youth, as we named our premises in the center of Maribor, came to life in April 2018. Although our youth council has been living in these premises for almost 10 years, we thoroughly renovated the premises in 2017 and in 2018 we opened the doors to all youth organizations and young people. We were able to do this mainly thanks to the volunteers, as we did most of the renovation work ourselves. We will never forget how my team and I spent days, sometimes late at night, painting the rooms, moving and dismantling the furniture, coming up with ideas for what the individual rooms would look like and what was supposed to happen in the House of Youth (President Matic). Today, the Youth House is a modern gathering place for all young people, youth organizations, it hosts almost all major events of youth organizations (members of MMSM and others), we have arranged a support center for youth organizations (administration, production of promotional material, etc.). mainly regular activities. Every Wednesday we host psychological counseling for young people (organized by MC Indijanez), on Mondays young girls “colleagues” gather in the House of Youth (performed by the Nefiks Institute), we also offer teaching aids for young people, and various courses from foreign languages to multimedia workshops . I am proud that my team and I managed to turn the original idea of the House of Youth, as an open space for young people with various activities, into reality after almost two years and countless volunteer hours.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
Our facilities entail a gallery, lecture hall/workshop room, club room which contains a cafe and a fully outfitted stage with stage lighting and PA. Rest of the facilities contain office spaces, storage areas and a coworking place. In warmer months our activities are also carried out in the castle courtyard and the entailing city park.
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIAL
“I like to visit the house of youth because it offers The hall or lecture room, equipped with several chairs, a computer and a projector, its a multi-purpose living room, which we call simply a ‘living room’, intended for movie nights, playing board games, ‘brainstorming’ or just socializing. Because we really feel like at home. In the back room there are toilets and an ecological corner, a kitchen and an office.”
WEBSITE
http://www.mikk.si/
https://www.facebook.com/mikk.ms
https://www.instagram.com/mikk_club/
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYrl5-us6i8eodp-Rm_p8xg
OPERATOR
Zavod Kultprotur
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Gornja Radgona, a town of fairs and sparkling wines, lies in northeastern Slovenia and borders neighboring Austria along the Mura River. Vineyards are planted in the municipality along the most beautiful slopes and ridges, which give the wine-growing region above Gornja Radgona a particularly beautiful appearance.
DATE OF OPENING
01.02.2014
FURTHER INFORMATION
The Gornja Radgona Youth Center participates in several national and international programs, intended primarily for youth organizations and informal youth groups.
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
Public, municipality.
FUNDING
Gornja Radgona Youth Center was selected in a public tender of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport “Employment in the field of youth work in the youth sector” to co-finance the operation “Employment in the field of youth work in the youth sector – 1”, co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union from the European Social Fund. As part of the tender, we hired one youth worker..
AGE OF USERS
15 to 35 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
In addition to MC employees, our volunteers also play an important role, as they have been involved in various fields within the activities of the youth center for a long time. A team of volunteers is currently actively working to help implement the annual program of the youth center. Volunteers defend the interests of individuals and various organized and unorganized groups of young people from whom they come. They represent a supporting and complementary pillar of operation in the youth center. Young people who work as volunteers also actively participate in most of the activities and events that we prepare in the youth center. Volunteering is of great importance for the development and for the future of the individual as a wider society. It contributes to the development of existing systems, to the development of values, solidarity, social and other progress of society, so it needs to be nurtured and properly valued.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
The Gornja Radgona Youth Center acts as a logistical and functional center for young people in the field of development, information, education and social, cultural activities, entertainment and social inclusion of young people and young at heart. We offer advice on mobility opportunities, non-formal education, training for youth work, assistance in applying for youth tenders, planning youth projects, assistance in planning and organizing events for young people, assistance in establishing and statutory activities of youth clubs, associations, the possibility of volunteering within the youth center (promotion, events), provision of information by the municipality and other local institutions on issues that affect the lives of young people in the local community.
Objective of the operation: The objective of the operation is to encourage and ensure greater employability of young people from the target group of young people in the public tender, which increases the chances of their employment after the operation and contributes to reducing youth unemployment.
The measure to achieve the goal is an incentive for the employment of a young person from the target group of young people in a public tender in the youth sector as a youth worker in the field of youth work.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
In addition to MC employees, our volunteers also play an important role, as they have been involved in various fields within the activities of the youth center for a long time. A team of volunteers is currently actively working to help implement the annual program of the youth center.
We organise: workshops, concerts, lectures and seminars, cultural events, sporting events.
– informing the public (working with a computer: publications via the website, mailing lists, social networks, preparation of trailers, leaflets, posters, etc. promotional material).
– assistance in preparing the premises (for information, meetings and implementation of individual events).
– assistance in organizing events.
– activities in the field of informing young people and youth work, additional assistance in the implementation of annual program activities.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
7
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
We believe that the organizations and associations that, in addition to our youth center, mostly deal with young people (Student – Youth Club Klinka, Youth Council of Gornja Radgona, scouts, etc.) perform their mission very well and can be taken as an example by many municipalities. only in Pomurje, but also much wider. The results of many years of thoughtful and active work of individual organizations are clearly visible, as evidenced by the Strategy for Youth in the Municipality of Gornja Radgona 2017-2021, which was adopted last year and is already being successfully implemented. As a rule, young people connect mainly within the mentioned organizations and societies (we should not forget the older young people, who mostly gather in Kud Zrak, Kud Bunker, KGD Insane and the Tenzin Association), and the youth center itself offers them its program cooperation. premises and technical equipment for the purpose of meetings and realization of ideas and projects. We are also susceptible to informal or. officially unrelated groups of young people, as well as individuals who occasionally turn to us with some initiatives and suggestions. Of course, we try our best to help them as much as possible. One of our priority goals is to try to connect these “unorganized” young people, and at the same time actively involve them in the operation of the youth center.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
The youth center offers space for various activities and performers. There is a club space (Concert and Conference Hall) of the youth center.
The spaces and rooms of the youth center can be used free of charge by: primary school youth, pupils, students and other young people up to the age of 30, non-governmental organizations, schools, kindergartens and individuals in the field for whose organization and implementation the youth center operates, and NGOs and individuals from the fields of culture, education, sports, social and other social activities namely for: for independent, educational, research, creative work and spending free time in the premises of the youth center, for the organization and implementation of its own program contents, within the annual work plan of the youth center, which are accessible to all interested users and visitors of the youth center (events, events) under the same conditions, for the organization and implementation of their own program content, which is free for users, for all non-commercial activities, use of premises exclusively for the operation of non-governmental organizations, meetings and other forms of association meetings for the purpose of operation of the organization.
The technical equipment of the Youth Center Gornja Radgona includes: demountable stage, stage lights,
speaker set: 2 bass, 2 satellites, 4 monitors, a pair of portable speakers, smaller and larger audio mixing desk, 3 microphones, drum microphones, associated audio cables, drum set (Mapex, without cymbals), drumsticks, mounted projector, possibility of projection on the wall or screen (SiOL TV connection, computer …), Laptop, beverage refrigerator under the counter, backstage beverage refrigerator, beverage cooler for sale (commercial sale), coffee machine, table tennis table, computer for public use, darts, men’s, women’s toilet, mixed toilet – “backstage”.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“We are a really great team, so I am very satisfied when it comes to personnel matters. Especially now, when we are significantly strengthened in this area as well (three employees). When I came last September and took over the management of MC, I was the only worker, so I “breathed on my gills” for quite some time. However, if the MC wants to further develop and grow, additional job systematization will be needed in the very near future, as only some temporary forms of employment (public works, projects) that merely patch up the essentials cannot ensure truly continuous, quality and varied program, as Gornja Radgona wants and deserves.
If we touch our visitors, it is more and more obvious during the daily visit, as well as at individual events, and, as it was recently written to your media, that we are increasingly becoming an intergenerational center instead of a youth center. Which I find great. During the day, for example, children from a nearby primary school stay with us the most, and in the late afternoon and evening, and especially on weekends, the older generations predominate. It’s nice to feel the positively relaxed and connecting “rocker” spirit that branches within the club space itself with the immediate surroundings.”
YOUNGSTERS TESTIMONIALS
- “I visit my youth centre mostly so I can attend concerts with my friends, but I also enjoy going to the clothes exchange fair and donate toys or school suplies for kids in need.”
- “Mainly almost everyday after class we hang out with classmates at the youth center, because its very nice and we can do a lot of different activities. We can also organise our own activities. Sometimes we also prepare some food and almost all the time we listen to music. The youth center is very connected to music and art and thats why I like to come almost every day.”
WEBSITE
https://www.kultprotur.si/sl/mcgr
https://www.facebook.com/mcgornjaradgona
https://www.instagram.com/mc_gornjaradgona/
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTWqiNCiezQ8T3ByujVZDJw
OPERATOR
Ljudska univerza Ormož
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Youth centre Ormož is based in a small town Ormož on the Croatian border. It lies in the east part of Slovenia. The town is surrounded by a rural environment, which is full of vineyards, since this is a wine-making region. There are also a lot of bigger farms around the town. The population of town Ormož is about 2000 people. The town has a rich history and beautiful nature. Today it is lacking more sophisticated institutions like theaters, but smaller organizations offer various events for youth and adults. Although Ormož is a town it is closely connected with nature.
DATE OF OPENING
24.06.2004
FURTHER INFORMATION
It was opened to prepare quality programs for youth, since prior to its opening there weren’t any available. Besides preparing events for youth, it also presented a meeting point for youth, a place to find help and information about any topics significant to young people. In 2015 it became an organizational unit of Ljudska univerza Ormož (Adult education centre Ormož), but the focused stayed the same as before. Nowadays it represents a connecting point for young and old to create and develop various activities, it offers informal education and training for youth and offers prevention topics.
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
Public body.
FUNDING
The Youth center is co-financed by the Municipality Ormož, but it is not enough for our activities and work we do. For this reason we apply for different projects that are available. The main on is published by Office of Youth, Ministry of Education, Science and Sport. We also apply for projects published by our national agency Movit, by the local Development Agency and many others.
AGE OF USERS
15 to 29 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
Our Youth centre is available to all young people who want or need our services. The main focus is on youth from 15 to 29 years old, but we extend our work to reach to younger children and adults. Our youth are students, unemployed young people, local young farmers and entrepreneurs.
We work with local primary and secondary schools. We also work with Student club Ormož, Alternative Music Club, local Employment Agency and other organizations that work with young people.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
It represent a focus point where young people of all ages and views, without distinctions and exceptions, get a chance to create and develop various activities while they are also presented with an opportunity for involvement in preventive activities, non-formal education and youth training at the local level. Together with other institutions in the Municipality of Ormož, we strive to improve the quality of life of young people and we develop the following fields of youth work: the creative use of free time, non-formal education, youth mobility, volunteer work, active citizenship, informing and counseling. Our main activities are: coordination of youth activities and events, organization and implementation of school activities, organization and implementation of non-formal youth educational programs, organization and implementation of events of wider significance and obtaining funds for them, offering organizational and technical assistance to organizations that carry out youth activities, and gathering and providing information. Designed entirely on the needs of young people, we use exciting activities as a hook to engage individuals, using this opportunity to address serious issues, which helps facilitate personal, social and educational growth enabling them to reach their full potential in society. Our work builds resilience in young people as well as provides a safe place to engage in not only life changing experiences but fun, informative, social and educational opportunities.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
We offer various activities and it is difficult to pinpoint to just one typical activity. We prepare and organize concerts, photo exhibitions, discussions, creative workshops, language workshops, travel lectures, trivia quizzes, sewing courses, art workshops, presentations of local farmers and entrepreneurs, festivals, preventive workshops for youth, modern technology workshops (3D printer, graphic tablet), opportunities for international and local volunteering.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
5
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
Based on our experiences there are a lot of young people who are interested in working with us and attending our activities, but on the other hand there are also many of them who never attend any of our activities. A lot of primary and secondary students attend our activities because we work with schools, otherwise they do not attend. On the other hand many of them come to our youth centre to have a place for socializing.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
We are based in the castle. We have a big multi-purpose room, which is equipped with a small kitchen, computer and projector, desks and chairs (which can be removed based on the ongoing event) and sofas. The entire place is covered by free WI-FI connection. We also have a table tennis, table football, darts and many board games available.
We have an office for four youth workers which are equipped with desks, chairs, computers and printer.
We have a utility room where we store all materials needed for various workshops, speakers, sewing machines, panels for photo/drawing exhibitions and other things.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
1 “We are a small youth center and for this reason we have a more personal contact with all young people. Our activities are various and cater to the needs and ideas of young people. We have the opportunity to ask them what they want or need and we can provide this.”
2 “I work with the youth center as a volunteer. I like the diverse range of activities I can participate in. I like the relaxed atmosphere and varied activities. I always find some interesting activity for myself.”
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIAL
“After class we hang out with classmates at the youth center and wait until training. There is always something to eat in the kitchen. Sometimes we prepare warm sandwiches and something to snack on. Sometimes we do nothing, sometimes we play table football and listen to music.”
WEBSITE
https://www.mco.si/
https://www.facebook.com/mcormoz
https://www.instagram.com/mcormoz/
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYegnj7ERNmblWZsX9kPyfA/featured
OPERATOR
RIS Mansion Rakican
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
RISKO Youth Centre is located in the Rakican Mansion Research and Education Centre, which is placed in the clearing near a beautiful park. The location is very calm and peaceful, since this is a fairly rural environment and is around two kilometres away from the city of Murska Sobota, which is one of the biggest cities in this area.
DATE OF OPENING
FURTHER INFORMATION
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
Public, municipality.
FUNDING
The youth centre is a part of a public institution RIS Mansion Rakican, which was founded by the Municipality of Murska Sobota and The Association for Technical Culture of Slovenia. The RISKO youth centre is co-financed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport.
AGE OF USERS
14 to 20 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
Young people that come to the youth centre are between 14 and 20 years old. In most cases, they go to high school, some of them already study at a faculty. Most of them live at home with their parents or relatives; in case they study outside of their hometown, they live in a student’s dorm or share an apartment with other students from different regions of the country. Young people usually dedicate all their time to school and their free time activities.
They mostly like listening to music and they like to be active, which means that they play or train different kinds of sports. During weekends, they like to go out and hang out with their friends at different kinds of social gatherings (concerts, smaller house parties, going for drinks at the bar etc.). They dedicate a lot of their time to the use of different kinds of social media, especially Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Young people are usually not interested in politics and don’t know a lot about what’s going on in their environment in that area. On the other hand, they are normally curious and want to learn new things, especially the things that are currently in trend in other parts of the world.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
The main goal of our youth centre is to improve the knowledge level of key competences and skills of young people, including those with fewer opportunities. We therefore want to especially encourage them to be active in their environment and society in general. We provide them with facilities, where young people can discover their capabilities, enrich their experiences, as well as learn new things in a relaxed and safe environment, under the supervision of our qualified and experienced youth workers. RISKO youth centre also organizes ERASMUS+ youth exchange programmes, which are co-financed by the European Union. Through these, young people get a chance to learn different new things; get to know different cultures, languages and people; improve their social, language, communication and other skills.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
RISKO youth centre organizes different kinds of activities for young people. The activities fall in the category of ecology and environment, personal growth, entrepreneurship, sports, culture, internet and media. We organize different kinds of lectures, round tables, practical workshops, language courses, movie nights … In the mansion, we also have a possibility of using different types of facilities, such as a computer room, outside park and playground area, big hall … One of the activities are: workshops on developing a positive self-esteem, encouraging voluntarism, healthy nutrition, intrapersonal communication etc.
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
7
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
Young people come to our youth center twice a week on average. Most young people come to us through youth project, for example Erasmus+ Youth in action. We try to include more young people from the local area to come to workshops and events for them.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
The institution, where we organize most of our activities, gives us an opportunity to use different kinds of facilities, such as the big hall, computer room, conference hall, big dining room, spacious outdoor area … Most of the funding for all of our activities are provided by the Municipality of Murska Sobota, which is also the founder of our organisation, as well as the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“Our youth centre is located in a beautiful mansion from 14th century which makes a unique location and for sure a uniqe youth centre. Our centre offers more different local, national and international programs for youngsters. We are especially proud of our Roma and family program, where different youngsters can meet, have workshops, can reach for help or just hang out. Our youth workers have many different competences and experiences in the field of youth work. In last year we are also investing a lot of new education and time for our staff to get more experience with Roma youngsters.”
YOUNGSTERS TESTIMONIALS
1. “For me youth center is like my home, because I’m really conected to it. They implement activities which are close to my interests. I found a lot of friends there. I am also happy that there are many spaces for young people to use for various activities (sports, music).” Mario
2. “At first I came to the youth center because I was studying and doing homework, but now I come to various workshops and events for young people with my friends. As it is an informal gathering, I am sure that I will come to the youth center again in the future.” Brin
WEBSITE
https://www.ris-dr.si/
https://www.facebook.com/RaziskovalnoIzobrazevalnoSredisceDvorecRakican
https://www.instagram.com/dvorecrakican/
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq1bsAKBjcJPI7YqP5sQFRA
OPERATOR
Taller d’Art, Cultura i Creació (TACC)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
The youth centre is located in the city of Sabadell, at the neighborhood of Can Rull. This is a working class neighborhood of around 20,000 inhabitants, where families from different backgrounds live.Our space is located in the community centre of Can Rull, a municipal facility that offers a wide number of services to the citizens of the neighborhood. There are different entities in the neighborhood, such as the school of functional diversity Xaloc, and they work in a network. They also run some inter-generational activities with the elderly people who go to the civic centre.
DATE OF OPENING
14.12.2004
FURTHER INFORMATION
The youth centre is located at the second floor of the civic center of Can Rull, a municipal facility where there is attention to the citizens and a meeting room for the elderly, an access connection point, an auditorium, and a place for different workshops. Also it is operated by us an NGO.
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
NGO, Association.
FUNDING
Main source of funding is the municipality. By means of a performance contract, they finance almost all costs of the youth centre, and with this budget, TACC pays the personnel costs and materials for activities. The building maintenance costs are covered as part of the municipal facility costs.
AGE OF USERS
12 to 29 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
Most of the young people who go to the youth centre are youth aged 12-18 years old, who are in high school and who belong to the geographic environment of the youth centre.
They are coming from different backgrounds: Moroccan, Senegalese, Roma community…, and also young people from social services. It is a working-class neighborhood, and there are many families with somewhat difficult economic situations. Some young people go to the youth centre because they don’t have WiFi at home.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
The mission of the youth centre of Can Rull aims at:
– Bringing young people a model of leisure, culture and art with different tools and activities.
– Internationalizing the socio-educational activity of Can Rull, with the support of European volunteers in the dynamization of activities, and participation of the young people of the space in youth exchanges organized by TACC.
– Offering a proposal of activities designed by young people.
– Using art and culture as a tool for training and social inclusion.
– Offering and facilitating a meeting space for young people.
– English workshop (cineforum of films in English, debates, etc).
– Classic board game tournaments.
– Cineforum on different topics: feminism, racism, etc.
– Sport and free time activities (ping-pong, playstation).
– Different group dynamics.
– Geo-location activities, tournaments, gymkhanas, nature.
– Space for homework.
– Some artistic disciplines’ workshops (dance, painting, handicrafts…).
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
8
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
Young people could design the activities they would like to do at the youth centre, and the youth workers facilitate them.
Currently, with the measures of the covid, the number of young people allowed daily in the youth centre is 10. Before the existence of the covid we had a capacity of 50 young people, which every day we met the full quota.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
The youth centre consists of a single room where everything needed to perform the different activities is centralized. Our facilities have:
– Computer space to make consultations or homework.
– Tables and chairs to be able to develop different activities.
– Ping-pong table.
– TV with playstation.
– International mobility advisories.
– Academic advisories.
– Labor advisories.
– Other types of advice.
– Chill-Out Sofas.
– Social networks and contact for any questions or queries.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“It is important to know that the youth centre of Can Rull is in a neighborhood of Sabadell that is not very large in terms of inhabitants. This helps us to cover practically all the young people in the neighborhood and we can have a much more personalized attention. We believe that this is an important step in terms of a youth space, to be able to dedicate the necessary time to each moment and each young person. The link that exists between young people in the youth centre is very positive even though there are different young people, different ages and motivations, we always find the same link.”
YOUNGSTERS TESTIMONIALS
“After all morning in high school, I come to the youth centre to have a good time with the people I know. The activities every day are different and I like that we can talk about everything while we do them. They are also always fun and entertaining and I would rather be here than in the park.” Thalia, 14.
“I come to the ‘espaijove’ because at home I don’t have Internet and I need to do my homework somewhere. When I finish, I take advantage of them and do the activities that I like the most, such as playing ping-pong or doing debates while watching some movies.” Ayoue, 12.
WEBSITE
https://web.sabadell.cat/xarxa-d-espais-joves
https://es-es.facebook.com/espai.jovecanrull
https://www.instagram.com/espaijovecanrull/
https://twitter.com/jovescanrull
OPERATOR
Taller d’Art, Cultura i Creació (TACC)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
The youth centre is located in the municipality of Polinyà, close to Sabadell and Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, and it has around 8,500 inhabitants. It is a dormitory town based on industry and rural area. The youth centre is in the old town, close to the church, but at the same time, at the beginning of the ‘city’. The building was in the past the school of the town. The youth centre is a place for gathering all youth from Polinyà and also youth from the neighborhoods Poble Nou and Torre Romeu that belongs to Sabadell but are on the limit.
DATE OF OPENING
01.01.1997
FURTHER INFORMATION
The place where now it is located the youth centre was a school from 1975 to 1997, and then, once it was build another school, the city council decided to use this building as a youth centre to address the young people’s needs.
KIND OF ORGANIZATION
NGO, association.
FUNDING
Main source of funding is the municipality. By means of a performance contract, they finance almost all costs of the youth centre, and with this budget, TACC pays the personnel costs and materials for activities. The building maintenance costs are covered as part of the municipal facility costs.
AGE OF USERS
12 to 29 years old.
GENDER OF TARGET GROUP
All genders.
USERS’ PROFILE
Most of the young people who go to the youth centre are youth aged 12-17 years old, being more boys than girls. That’s why the youth workers of TACC made a survey to feminize the space and to provide activities for everyone. From this survey there were implemented more artistic workshops and volleyball activities, in which more girls participate, and they remain as well dynamic and participatory activities, in which usually boys participate. It is a working-class town, and some families have difficult economic situations.
MISSION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
The mission of the youth centre El Casal aims at providing an alternative leisure activities to youth from the town, as well as a space where they feel it is theirs and where they can do their projects. It also offers the young people advisories on the ocupational and training / educational field.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES
– Sports tournaments.
– Culture and artistic activities.
– Workshops about visual arts, theatre and dance.
– Cooking workshops.
– Magic workshops (punctually).
– Pilot test of SCRIPT project (theatre & podplay).
– Music recording.
– Free time activities (ping-pong, climbing wall…).
SCALE OF PARTICIPATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION (0 – not existing / 10 – full self-governed youth centre)
7
DESCRIPTION ON THE PARTICIPATION/SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE YOUTH CENTRE
The design of the activity program of the youth centre is based on a participatory process in which youth can decide what to do in the daily activities. Youth are also encourage to run their own workshops as an engine group (some youth decided to create a dance workshop in which one of them was leading the sessions), and youth workers are open to listen to the youth’s proposals, such as doing a scape-room.
Currently, with the measures of the covid, the number of young people allowed daily in the youth centre is 100 for outside activities (before the quota was up to 400), and 6 people per room (before it was 20). The regular number of youngsters that go to the youth centre is around 20 people, while without the covid it was 40 youngsters.
FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
The youth centre was a former school, and therefore, it consists on 2 modules (with 2 rooms in each module) and 1 playground. At the module 1 there is the information point for youth, the room for study and a polivalent room for different activities, as well as a music studio for recording. At the module 2 there is a dance room and the music / concerts room with a sound system and a room for workshops, where they can do visual arts workshops, but also there is a kitchen with a hob, fridge and a grill. At the playground, there is a sports field with a big and two small football goals, a basketball cage, a volleyball net, a ping-pong table and a climbing wall.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“We believe that what makes this space special is that young people see it as a meeting point, a place to practice alternative leisure, chat or meet friends. It also makes it special because of how diverse and versatile it is by having 4 room spaces, including one for music and dance, another for workshops, another for leisure and another as an information and advice service; and a playground with a large capacity.”
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIAL
“Coming to the youth centre makes me distract myself from negative things, have a good time and it’s also cool to use the rehearsal room to do choreography”. Miquel, 17.
“For me, El Casal is the place where I go to enjoy and where I spend a large part of my time without feeling any kind of obligation. Also, there I will be able to find the support of the facilitators and a good company.” Xavi, 17.
WEBSITE
https://polinyajove.cat/
https://www.facebook.com/polinyajove
https://www.instagram.com/polinyajove/
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAHgb8Jt_o9TuwEK7Wo2Uzw
Youth Centre Activities
Here can be found a sample of the activities offered by youth centres all around Europe. These are examples of either non-formal or informal activities.
YOUTH CENTRES ACTIVITIES
DESIGNER
Rakvere Youth Centre
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Non-formal.
AGE AND GENDER
10 to 26 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
There is a skatepark in the city where young people spend time all the time, but often they also do trouble there. They needed action.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
The workshop is for young people aged 7-26 who are interested in extreme sports.
PREPARATION
It would be useful to have someone who knows about extreme sports and would like to pass on their knowledge. A outdoor place where you can do extreme sport. It is important that the participants have a vehicle such as BMX, scooter, skateboard and a safety helmet.
Look for an extreme sports maker. Set up a training plan with him, how many young people, where, for how long and how many times. It would be good if the workshop series ended with a competition or something similar.
DESCRIPTION
The implementation of the activities will change depending on the sport. It is generally important to make a general presentation with the facilitator to reassure the participants and talk about the sport that will take place.
Then make a short presentation of the participants to make them know and feel comfortable and start with an explanation of the sport.
Divide the participants into two groups to facilitate the workshop, one group will evaluate the results of the group that is doing the sport activities and then make a change, then the group that was doing the activity will now evaluate.
At the end of the activities there will be a short competition between the two teams.
The workshop will end with a short final evaluation of the day, where suggestions for the next time will be welcome.
EVALUATION
We made feedback sheets for young people’s feedback. And from the youth center, the project is managed by the project manager of the youth center and, if necessary, by youth workers.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
City government funds.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“We have young people at work who understand young people and young people trust us. The youth center has a fairly large budget, which allows for many different activities, workshops and trips.”
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
“Very cool! I’m definitely going to finish.”
“I like the teacher and the fact that he is young. I will definitely participate in competitions this year as well.”
WEBSITE
http://www.rakverenoortekeskus.ee/
DESIGNER
“Anna Landsberger” International Youth Centre – Roter Baum Berlin UG.
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Informal
AGE AND GENDER
10 to 35 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
The starting point for this activity was the need of space in the youth centres for other activities. At the same time we wanted to attract new youngsters to the youth centre. After thinking about how to deal with this, we decided to open a temporary youth centre at the place where many young people are staying but are not accepted: a shopping centre.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
The activity was designed to attract youth in age between 12 and 17 years. We tried to present all activities relevant for this target group and possible to do also in our youth centre.
PREPARATION
The selection of any resource and material from the youth centre that is movable and available to be move away temporaly, such as: Football table, studio equipment, table tennis, creative material, music system, sofas, tables, chairs etc.
DESCRIPTION
We arranged all items in an area in the shopping centre that was assigned to us. During the usual opening hours of our youth centre, we moved the entire operation of our centre to the shopping mall. The young people could chill out, play table tennis, table soccer or darts, made street art stencils, and also presented their skills at the microphone. The highlight was the consultation hour of the city council member for youth.
EVALUATION
There was no evaluation done afterwards with the youngsters. But we found that this was a great activity, which brought us many new youngsters who are now permanent visitors of the youth centre.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
No money was needed. The shopping centre gave the space for free. We used ressources and material we already had.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
WEBSITE
www.roter-baum-berlin.de
https://www.facebook.com/AnnaLandsbergerIJZ/
https://www.instagram.com/annalandsberger/
DESIGNER
“Anna Landsberger” International Youth Centre – Roter Baum Berlin UG.
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Informal
AGE AND GENDER
10 to 22 years old. All gender.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
In Autumn of 2012 several of our female visitors, some of them having eating disorders, showed interest in baking and decorating bakery products like cupcakes and chocolate candies. They asked the social workers if they could do a workshop together in this field. The youngsters showed a great intrinsic motivation and searched for recipes, ingredients and tools on their own, with little help of the social workers.
The first chocolate candy workhop was established in December 2012 in cooperation with another youth centre called “Die Klinke” and mobile youth workers from “Outreach”. In 2019 they expanded the workshops by crafting edible gifts.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
The activity was not prepared for any specific target group. The activity depends on the needs and wishes of the participants. If there are participants with special needs it is important to support and guide them which might need a higher number of youth workers for each workshop.
PREPARATION
As already mentioned, it is important to ask the participants beforehand what they want and wish for in order to set a plan and structure of the workshop. Also ask them, when the workshop should happen. The workshop itself takes around 5 hours, because you should also count in the cooling time for the sweets or cupcakes.
Although, the goal is to let the participants work freely and independently, you should still check if they need assistance or support, e.g. for financial planning or time management.
Needed materials are recipes and included ingredients, tools and material to make chocolate candies or cupcakes, boxes or even gift boxes to transport the finished prdouct.
Also, make clear of they need to pay a small amount of money in order to participate or not. Justification could be, that they get a final product which they have to pay for.
Furthermore, it is recommended to test the reciped beforehand.
When buying the ingredients, the participants should also buy snacks and drinks for themselves, because making these candies can make them become hungry easily.
Clean the kitchen, fridge, counters and tools beforehand as well.
DESCRIPTION
Most important step is to clean everything properly and make sure participants wash their hands. When there are more than 4 participants, seperate them in groups. Each group is then supposed to make different recipes. Make sure, easy and more difficult recipes are split up on the groups equally. Between steps, make sure to clean the counters or wash unused materials or tools. Let the participants work independently, offer your help but don’t force it.
Finished products should be split on the participants equally. Put them in decorated boxes.
EVALUATION
After the workshop it is important to ask the participants how they liked it and what they disliked. Ask them how the communication within the group was. Also, ask if they want to do another workshop or not. Evaluate the goup size compared to the number of social workers.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“It’s a great workshop for the weekend. The participants could craft selfmade gifts for their families and friends. The workshop allows a more direct approach to the youngsters, because of the smaller group. The workshop is non-formal and teaches the participants more about baking, physics and hygiene.”
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
“In my opinion, the workshop was very positive, because the atmosphere among the participants was harmonic. There was enough space for everyone to work and get involved. The workshop offered a rich variety of different recipes. All in all, I had a great time.” Josy, 18 years old
“I enjoyed the workshop and had a lot of fun. We were able to talk with one another more freely than usual. I liked, that we had small christmas gifts to take with us as a finished result.” Emy, 18 years old
WEBSITE
www.roter-baum-berlin.de
https://www.facebook.com/AnnaLandsbergerIJZ/
https://www.instagram.com/annalandsberger/
DESIGNER
“Anna Landsberger” International Youth Centre – Roter Baum Berlin UG.
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Non-formal
AGE AND GENDER
13 to 27 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
The idea of the piggy bank was to give the youngsters a chance of collecting money in order to decide by own, what to do with it as a group. The idea was implemented in 2018 and since then, the youngsters collected enough money to go on a ski trip with us. The ski trip happened in February 2019 in Czech Republic. After that the youngsters decided to continue. This year, we will do a sommer vacation in Croatia in July.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
No, every youngster who is interested in going on a vacation trip with us is welcomed to join.
PREPARATION
The youngsters mainly collected money by doing BBQ stands or selling selfmade bakery products during events happening in the neighborhood. They needed to prepare the upcoming months to know, when events are going to happen in which they can participate.
DESCRIPTION
First, we asked the youngsters if they are interested in doing a vacation trip with us. They agreed and sat together to discuss how to collect money for that. With the help of the youth workers they made a plan. They decided to sell food by baking cakes or doing BBQs for upcoming events. Besides that, they collected money by leaving their deposit bottles in the youth centre in order to bring them to the supermarket to get the refund.
For one bigger event in our neighborhood Marzahn-Hellersdorf they teamed up to help constructing and deconstructing the area of the event. For that they got a big donation from the organizers of that event.
EVALUATION
We have a Facebook group in which we communicate with the youngsters on a daily basis. We ask them, what kind of activities they want to do as well as asking them, what they liked or dislikes about previous activities.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
From 2018 to 2019 they reached their goal and thus were able to go on a ski trip to Czech Republic with the youth workers. After that, we asked them if they want to continue with the piggy bank, in which they all agreed on. This year, they once again collected enough money. The youngsters decided to do a sommer vacation this time in Croatia, which will take place in July 2020. Since 2018, the group of youngsters in our youth centre changed. But even the new visitors are very motivated and joined the project.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“Our youth centre is special, because the youth workers and the youngsters work in a big team. The youngsters are included in every decisions we make regarding the youth centre. We have regular meetings in which they can decide with us. Also, the youth workers are very passionate in creating a versatile content for the visitors of the youth centre. We try to keep them busy while learning in a nonformal way.”
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
WEBSITE
www.roter-baum-berlin.de
https://www.facebook.com/AnnaLandsbergerIJZ/
https://www.instagram.com/annalandsberger/
DESIGNER
“Anna Landsberger” International Youth Centre – Roter Baum Berlin UG.
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Virtual informal.
AGE AND GENDER
From 14 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
The activity was carried out in order to have a wide range of activities for our youth centre “Anna Landsberger” also during the Corona pandemic. We wanted to offer different types of workshops online to make our activities as diverse as possible. In doing so, we also always made sure that the young people could interact with us.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
No, the activity is not prepared for any kind of target group. Make up should be for everyone, without the focus on gender, age or other criteria.
PREPARATION
In order to make a make up session, you will need a table and a mirror in front of you. Also, you will need a good lichting in the room, so the viewers can see your face proberly. Because it is supposed to be a live video via Instagram, you will have to record it with your phone. For the tools, you will need different kind of brushes, eyeshadow palletes, blushes, lipsticks and other.
DESCRIPTION
1) Prepare the table and mirror. Put your make up tools in front of you on the table, so you have easy access to everything. As already mentioned, you will have to adjust the light as well. Find a spot or a tripod to place your phone in front of you.
2) Start a live video via Instagram. Make it as interactive as possible. You can ask the viewers which colors or products to use. Also, you can do make up challenges, like painting your face in a funny way or doing your make up without the mirrors. The viewers should always be included in decision making.
3) During the process, you can answer questions in the comments or give some advices, if viewers are asking for them. Also, you should always put in words, what your steps are so the viewers can follow you easily.
EVALUATION
We have a Facebook group in which we communicate with the youngsters on a daily basis. We ask them, what kind of activities they want to do as well as asking them, what they liked or dislikes about previous activities.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
From 2018 to 2019 they reached their goal and thus were able to go on a ski trip to Czech Republic with the youth workers. After that, we asked them if they want to continue with the piggy bank, in which they all agreed on. This year, they once again collected enough money. The youngsters decided to do a sommer vacation this time in Croatia, which will take place in July 2020. Since 2018, the group of youngsters in our youth centre changed. But even the new visitors are very motivated and joined the project.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“Our youth centre is special, because the youth workers and the youngsters work in a big team. The youngsters are included in every decisions we make regarding the youth centre. We have regular meetings in which they can decide with us. Also, the youth workers are very passionate in creating a versatile content for the visitors of the youth centre. We try to keep them busy while learning in a nonformal way.”
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
WEBSITE
www.roter-baum-berlin.de
https://www.facebook.com/AnnaLandsbergerIJZ/
https://www.instagram.com/annalandsberger/
DESIGNER
Roter Baum Berlin UG through the project “Diver’R’city”.
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Non-formal.
AGE AND GENDER
15 to 27 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
Dive’R’city is a youth culture project of the social institution “Roter Baum Berlin”, which has been in existence for over ten years and enables young people to hold various open air events. The project was initiated by a holiday of our boss in Nizza, because he saw there how young people organized a youth culture event low-threshold and with little costs. The idea to implement this in Berlin was the foundation stone for the project.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
The project aims to help young people to stand up for their interests and to live out their youth culture. Especially in big cities and in times of gentrification it is all the more important to support young people in standing up for their freedom and interests.
The focus here is on every young person who wants to take advantage of this offer. There are deliberately no differences, because the offer is aimed at every young person.
PREPARATION
We support the young people in the run-up to their projects, help with the application for the respective location (application to the district green space office and public order office, as well as the environmental office), provide material (stage, music technology, toilets etc.) and funds for artists*innen & Co and help where we are brought. This happens in regular group meetings and a continuous group chat via social media channels. In addition, the respective event is advertised in advance on various channels and the respective immediate surroundings are informed. A constant contact between us employees and the participants is very important.
DESCRIPTION
The day before the respective event, everything is prepared and invited together so that everything can run smoothly on the day of the event. On the day of the event, the respective participants* meet in the morning at the event location to unload and set up everything. During this process, as well as during the event period and the dismantling, there are assigned responsibilities. (Stage construction and dismantling, technical support, artist support, catering, decoration, loading and unloading, contact persons, setting up and clearing away rubbish bins, ashtrays and toilets, etc.) Constant contact between employees and participants is also important and indispensable in this process. It is also important that there is a main person in charge who has an overview of everything and is the contact person for all departments. This person works with a checklist that has been developed in advance to be able to keep an overview.
EVALUATION
The evaluation of the respective event is first discussed among the employees and then evaluated together with the participants at a follow-up meeting. Here we discuss what went well, where there were complications and how these can be avoided at the next event. The wishes and needs of the participants are always taken into account.
For the team organizing the activity evaluation is done through an evaluation meeting after the activity, in which the preparations and implementation parts are discussed and evaluated, as well, the feedback from participants is discussed and moreover, based on the conclusions of the evaluation, further plans are made.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
The project is financially supported by the Youth Democracy Fund and the Musicboard Berlin.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
“It was a great idea to be part of the DiveRcity project to create my own event. I learned a lot of new things and was able to consolidate many more competences. I was supported and helped when necessary, but I was never restricted or ignored. The moment when the DiveRcity event you have planned finally starts and the long preparatory work and commitment finally pays off is unforgettable and not comparable. Along the way you get to know new people who share similar interests. With whom you can get together and work on further events. I would recommend everyone to visit a DiveRcity event once, because the vibe is simply made with heart and you can feel that.”
WEBSITE
https://www.facebook.com/DiveRCity.Jugendkultur/
https://www.instagram.com/divercity_open_airs/
DESIGNER
Palermo Youth Centre
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Informal
AGE AND GENDER
18 to 35 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
The activity was implemented during a period of heated political confrontation in Italy on the immigration issue. The aim of this activity was to inform and sensitize the participants about inherent issues, trying to limit the instrumentalization of the media in order to reveal the real social problem.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
No, every youngster is welcomed to join.
PREPARATION
The first thing to prepare is the place where the short films have to be showed, so chairs and the projector. In addition its possible prepare some brochure with a brief description of each short film and a poster of the event.
DESCRIPTION
After defining the details of the event with the exodos association, our partner in this activity, we produced a poster and several brochures to advertise the event inside the youth center, we prepared a post for facebook and instagram for visibility on social media. The cardholder verbally informed the members at the entrance of the organized event. When the day arrived, we prepared the sessions to welcome the participants and allow them to view the short film projected outside the villa trabia venue.
At the end of the screening, a debate started between the participants, the directon and the main actor regarding the topics covered by the short film.
EVALUATION
Following the activity, the director and the main actor explained the reasons that had prompted them to shoot the short films, telling their emotions. This resulted in a debate on the topics dealt with which allowed participants to gain greater awareness on the issue of immigration thanks to the sharing of best practices. our staff inevitably participates in all our activities, thus becoming their topics of debate and daily conversation between us, allowing us to learn something new every day.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
Yes, PYC and Exodus.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“The great peculiarity of our association is the aggregation that is created between the members with activities of all kinds, from taking care of the membership center itself to organizing cultural and environmental events, such as the cleaning of our second summer venue or the participation in events such as gay pride.” Chiara, 19, youth worker.
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
“I think cinema is the form of communication that manages to reach as many people as possible, managing to extrapolate the central point of a question so that it is easier to think about it. it was what the business was able to do, especially thanks to the presence of those who thought and made the short film.” Antonio, 25, university student.
“It was very moving. participating in this activity allowed me to see the issue from the point of view of the individual human being. know some realities behind the phenomenon of immigration, thanks to the participation of the director who told some anecdotes of the filming.” Sofia, 24.
WEBSITE
https://www.facebook.com/PalermoYouthCentre/
DESIGNER
Group of Sicilian students.
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Informal
AGE AND GENDER
15 to 30 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
The activity was implemented in order to discuss young brain-drain and the reasons why a lot of students are forced to move to continue their studies. The idea is to imagine a different model for the development of the city which sees major participation of young people.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
The activity was addressed to everybody, but especially to university students and immigrants because they are really damaged by the few opportunities and resources of the city and, very often forced to leave Sicily even if they would prefer to remain.
PREPARATION
We invite guests, advertised the event through the creation of posts on our social media, rented an audio-conference system with microphones, prepared the workshop and prepared something to eat in order to offer dinner to the participants.
DESCRIPTION
Structure of the activity:
– Introduction.
– Special guests speeches.
– Open discussion.
– Conclusions and entertaining.
After the introduction where the topic is presented, we all listen to our special guests’ speeches about brain-drain, immigration and the different opportunities for the city. Usually, we invited testimonials from social associations such as “ARCI”, “Mediterranea”, “Casa Nostra”, but a lot of other groups take part in the discussion. During the meeting both university students, immigrants and city workers compare and discuss their lifestyle and their everyday problems, but also their expectations about their future and hopes. So the workshop focuses on discussions and debates thanks to our participants and guests at the event. As a further contribution, during the debate, we usually show presentations, docufilms or introduce contents from articles or books. In the end, we use to join a multi-ethnic dinner with Sicilian Mediterranean dishes. Sometimes, there are young bands entertaining people with their music or young people doing demonstrations of street art.
I think is a very great opportunity for our city because we compare different kind of lifestyles and situations that are all linked to immigration and the obligation to move and leave the hometown.
EVALUATION
Usually, the evaluation is an informal process based on direct feedback and colloquial of participants.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
It was a self financed activity.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“Our youth centre is special because there, people can be themselves, express passions, spend time with friends, but above have the opportunity to make something great to improve the city.”
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
“This activity made me think about how different situations can be all linked by something and I was able to discuss with others and express my opinion.”
“I loved this activity! I had the opportunity to listen to a lot of people telling their stories and hopes, so I reflected on the meaning of my life and how I am blessed to find myself among them.”
WEBSITE
https://www.facebook.com/circoloAUT/
DESIGNER
STRAUSS APS
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Non-formal
AGE AND GENDER
12 to 17 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
In a context as small as our village, located in the centre of Sicily and not very connected, we felt the need to create an opportunity for our local young people, taking advantage of the presence of foreign host volunteers within our organization. The name of the activity is called Tandem because just like in tandem, you need more people to ride. So our aim is not only to allow our young people and the community to learn languages but also to allow our volunteers to learn something from our participants: language, culture, who we really are.
Tandem, was structured to have a non-formal approach designed by Strauss to deliver contents in English and Spanish but after a few months, new approaches were adopted spontaneously by volunteers who were talking other languages such as Arab, Russian or French. These new forms of tandem develop following an informal approach.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
Originally, the activity was designed for young people between the ages of 12 and 17 to give them the opportunity to learn new languages such as English and Spanish. Later, given the success of our tandems, we decided to open for adults who want to learn a new language.
PREPARATION
Our activity consists of learning English and Spanish using the methodology of non-formal education. It is an activity that can be done indoors (an activity room) or outdoors (a park). In order to prepare the workshop, it is important to decide the topic to be addressed during the workshop. After deciding the topic, we prepare the necessary materials for the lesson, using a computer and a projector or simply a flipchart and coloured paper to explain the topic, and extra tools (Dixit cards, goose play prepared by us, songs, exercises).
DESCRIPTION
The activity should follow a workshop-style pattern. The workshop will begin with a brief presentation of the topic to be covered, but before starting, an energizer or icebreaker should be made to put participants at ease and help them to be proactive. After the energizer, which will last 5 minutes, the designated topic will be addressed, using a projector and a computer or simply a flipchart and usual stationery. We will discuss it together with the group with the help of examples and exercises. This will take about 15 minutes. After the explanatory part, where the topic and the rules are well presented, it will be time to start working in groups and have fun learning concepts and words of a language under a specific topic. We will then use some extra tools (dixit cards, our own goose game, storytelling dice) to put the topic into practice, it will take 30 minutes. At the end of the workshop, there will be a debriefing on the activities where feedback is always welcome.
EVALUATION
Participants are young people and adults interested in learning languages, meet new people and get close to new cultures. The evaluation takes the form of an open discussion were elements of the learning process are presented in the group and there these are analysed and discussed, while once a month individual evaluations are operated by the youth workers responsible for the activity.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
It’s a self-funded activity.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“Our Youth Centre is a place where learning and having fun at the same time is possible. The learning paths are built modeling the working methods according to the needs and the specifics of the young people. There are no other places in our community were learning languages, having fun and meet new and interesting people is possible and is free of charge. To empower the sense of initiative and improving the group feeling, the Youth Centre is quite open to new ideas in a way that young people and volunteers could cooperate to design new activities, and these, when requested, will always receive the support of Strauss.”
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
“My experience was amazing! Thanks to Arci volunteers I’m able to speak fluently in English and Spanish. I remember when I went for the first time to a tandem. My English wasn’t great, but now I can manage to have a conversation. In every “lesson” I could always learn something interesting and new. As a matter of fact, tandem aren’t normal lesson, but I learn by talking with the volunteers and do activities or games with them. I didn’t just learn a language. I met new people from other parts of the world, that became my friends, and I was also able to know their culture and traditions. It was a journey made of fun, English, laughter and a lot of love.”
“I perfectly remember the first time I came to Arcistrauss: I wasn’t feeling comfortable when speaking English, but tandems turned out to be one of the best experiences I’ve made so far! My skills improved almost immediately but at the same time, I started to build strong connections and friendships that keep growing day by day. Months after my first approach at the Youth Centre, I worked together with a french volunteer who was speaking Arab and together with him we organized the first Tandem in Arab which saw the participation of many young people living in Mussomeli.”
WEBSITE
http://www.arcistrauss.it/
https://www.instagram.com/strauss_aps/
https://www.facebook.com/straussAPS
DESIGNER
Arci Centopassi
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Non-formal.
AGE AND GENDER
16 to 30 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
To fight cyberbullying phenomenon and to stimulate the active participation in the community life. This activity, in fact, aims to provide training and educational tools to build a direct awareness of the use, in terms of cultural and social emancipation, of web technologies.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
The activity was prepared for residents in the town of Torregrotta.
PREPARATION
The materials needed are mostly multimedial devices (equipment for writing, recording, editing and transmitting products, audio and video). There is a room used as recording studio. Formats must be created for a web tv.
DESCRIPTION
First of all, in order to create such an activity, you need to create writing, recording and audio workshops to learn how to manage the web tv.
Once all this has been established, the activity takes place in the following way: you call a guest or someone who wants to talk to the listeners about a specific topic and you start to make a small presentation of the topic and then start a real interview. The whole thing will last for about an hour or so and within this interview or debate, there will be the insertion of music to make pauses between an interview and another. There may be one or more guests within the “episode”. Everything will end by thanking the listeners and our guests and giving the appointment for the next episode, in which we will anticipate who will be our guests and the topics covered. Finally, there will be the transmission of the formats created.
EVALUATION
Participants are young people interested in the projects and in the learning of the understanding of the equipment and also in the community in which they live. The operators are prepared and capable of communicating their knowledge to the young participants.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
The activity was funded by the Torregrotta municipality (Comune di Torregrotta)
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
“The fact that I can freely express my thoughts in an artistic way and the fact that I can compare myself with others on how to see things.”
“TFT is a community Web TV self-managed by the Torrese community, making its places, its history, its contradictions in a context where the lack of aggregative spaces has often made the need for confrontation and interlocution dormant. So my experience with the activity is totally positive, because I felt free to express my ideas and I felt understood. I think it is a unique opportunity to be part of a new reality but with a lot of potential.”
WEBSITE
http://www.torregrottaforumtv.it/?fbclid=IwAR2mHTkGfmn5AiV1VIgUDX6Be6kh3Ok66jix3HSqby8NgLLRh7miQj2LKLI
https://www.facebook.com/TORREGROTTAFT
DESIGNER
Brasov Youth Centre & Volunteer Centre
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Non-formal.
AGE AND GENDER
14 to 24 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
Within the Brasov Youth Centre we are focusing on non formal education activities. “BIG TAM TAM” is a very good example of a sum of little projects (all the ideas coming from the youngsters) touching a wide range of interest areas/ topics in very simple/ basic ways.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
The activity is open to anyone coming to the Youth Centre, according to their interests/ likes.
PREPARATION
BIG TAM TAM consists of various trainings and workshops. According to the topic, first we need a trainer/ facilitator and each person decides on the number of participants, needed materials and the room from the youth center he/she will use.
For example: Clay Houses Workshop – the facilitator is a South Korean living in Brasov, we decide with him about the length and frequency of the workshop. Let’s say 2 months, every Friday. He tells us how much clay does he needs and we buy it, and then he start preparing the workshop with videos for the participants, designs for the little houses, colors and so on.
DESCRIPTION
1) Launch some topics for the trainings and workshop. Let the young people answer during one month, at the end of the month see the results, including topics that they are proposing.
2) Decide about 4-5 topics, no more and find the trainers or facilitators. Meet with them and establish with each the forseen learning outcomes.
3) Decide with each trainer/ facilitator about the number of participants, frequency of meetings, needed materials. Establish a schedule (4 or 5 days per week, each time other activity).
4) Launch the activity (social media, web page) and wait for people to subscribe.
5) Have a pilot phase. In our case we had the pilot 2 months at the end of 2018.
6) Start the workshops and trainings and adapt to the participants. 7) Meet once per month with the trainers/ facilitators for evaluations.
8) At the end of each training and workshop have an evaluation with the participants.
Big Tam Tam – pilot phase – November / December 2018 – Brasov Youth Centre – 4 meetings for each topic, 6 trainers/ facilitators, 10 persons/ group.
Topics: Personal Development, Financial Education, Leadership, Communication, Project Management, Road Education for Bicycle, Phone Photography, Video Animation, Clay Houses
Big Tam Tam 2019 – January/ December 2019 – Brasov Youth Centre – 6 trainers/ facilitators, aprox. 10 persons/ group.
Topics: Financial Education (4 meetings), Project Management (4 meetings), Phone Photography (4 meetings), Video Animation (12 meetings), Clay Houses (8 meetings), Conversational English (10 meetings).
EVALUATION
With the participants – for each training/ workshop there is a 1 minute informal evaluation at the end of each session, then every time is needed in order for the trainer to adapt to the specific needs of the specific group and at the end of each training or workshop – a small project or task to fulfill and a formal evaluation, including one on the paper (multiple choice and open questions). With the trainers/ facilitators – every time is needed with each person, once per month with all (so we can adapt the schedules, needs in term of materials, make changes if needed) and in the end of each training or workshop we have a discussion with each person to know if we will continue with another group on the same topic or not.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
DJST Brasov (Ministry of Youth and Sport)
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“The idea of this activity was brought to my attention by the Volunteer Center members: they thought about an activity that has a loud name, drawing attention to the Youth Centre and with emphasis on showing youngsters what non formal education stands for. I think the activity was a success both in 2018 and 2019 and we will continue in 2020. We worked mainly with volunteer trainers / facilitators and with a lot of creativity within a small budget.” Catalina Tanase
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
WEBSITE
https://www.facebook.com/centruldetineretbrasov/
DESIGNER
Curba de Cultură Youth Centre
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Non-formal.
AGE AND GENDER
15 to 35 years old.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
The idea of such an activity came during an European Solidarity Corps project, but both young people and youth workers liked it and they used it several times, thus becoming a recurrent activity in our Youth Centre. In addition this activity not only provides the young people with a space for renewing their wardrobes without costs but also with a socializing space where they can share ideas and thoughts and receive advice and suggestions from their peers.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
The activity is open for people between 15 to 35, but usually the age group that comes to it is 15-20 from the surrounding area (the villages around and the nearby town). Since the activities does not foresee any participation fee or special preparations for it, all young people are welcomed, including the ones with fewer opportunities and special needs.
PREPARATION
For the activity there is a need for a space (heated up if it takes place in winter). The space needs to be arranged more or less like a clothes store, with tables, shelves and some rods and hangers on them. There is need for a table at the entrance for welcoming people and for receiving their clothes, that will be arranged on the shelves or hangers. And last but not least there is need for one or several fitting rooms with mirrors, as well as some mirrors in the main room.
DESCRIPTION
The activity is meant to provide a space for young people to exchange clothes and to socialize, however some rules need to be set and announced in advance, such as the length of the activity, what kind of clothes can be exchanged and what conditions they need to fulfill in order to be accepted for the clothes swap, how many pieces of clothing the participants can bring and how many they can take home, what happens with the clothes that no one takes.
The system we used so far in this activity was with coupons. Each participant receives a coupon at the entrance just for attending the activity and for each piece of clothing they will receive another coupon. For example a person that comes with 2 pieces of clothing can leave with 3. This of course means that there are some clothes at the beginning (brought by the organizers, or from previous editions of this activity).
Other than that, the activity needs to be promoted in the local community, so people know when it happens, what are its benefits and what are the conditions to take part it or what are the conditions for the clothes to be accepted.
The steps to be followed in organizing the activity:
– book the space, get the furniture and materials needed and promote the activity.
– do the shopping (if possible, it is nice to provide snacks and some drinks for participants to encourage them to socialize) and prepare the materials such as coupons, signs, decorations, a notebook for feedback or some other evaluation form.
– in the day of the activity arrange the space, the clothes and receive the participants.
– after the activity, clean arrange back the space and take the clothes left to donate them or to recycle or what other plan was made for them.
EVALUATION
For participants the evaluation is done with a short form or with a notebook/ post its where they can write how they felt, what they liked and what they did not.
For the team organizing the activity evaluation is done through an evaluation meeting after the activity, in which the preparations and implementation parts are discussed and evaluated, as well, the feedback from participants is discussed and moreover, based on the conclusions of the evaluation, further plans are made.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
European Solidarity Corps programme through a Solidarity action, or from own resources of the organization.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“I think the clothes swap worked and appealed to young people because 1. the concept fits well in the general culture and atmosphere at Curba (DIY crafts and projects, trying to use and reuse materials, resources and ideas for different activities…) 2. it gave a great excuse for young people to gather, which I think aligns with the idea that Curba provides space and resources for people to meet, socialize and interact together in sometimes unexpected ways 3. it was meaningful (reuse/recycle instead of buying/throwing away) and fun at the same time.” Heloise
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
“It was fun. The atmosphere was very welcoming and chill, so we could chat, try clothes and to be goofy like me, when I was trying clothes and accessories.” Cozo
WEBSITE
DESIGNER
Association for Development through Education, Informing and Support – D.E.I.S.
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Informal
AGE AND GENDER
14 to 35 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
Our young volunteers made us aware of the few opportunities they have to talk about their emotions. Having attended another world cafe tackling similar themes as PicniCafe, they came up with the idea of organizing it at our youth centre. Also, discussing with other young people from the community we noticed that few young people are aware of the impact youth workers can have on their development and, generally, what is a youth worker.
Therefore, the goal of PicniCafe was to create a context for the emotional development of young people. Our objectives were:
1. Rising awareness about youth workers among young people.
2. Creating a context in which young people can talk about the problems they face.
3. Developing communication competencies for 2 members of our PR and communication team.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
Our activity was prepared for all young people aged between 14 and 35 from Baia Mare or the county of Maramureșs.
PREPARATION
Needed materials: markers, papers, snacks, hot drinks (coffee, tea), juices, water.
Human resources: 5 youth workers.
Special requirements: blankets and pillows.
Due to the fact that PicniCafe is a world cafe organized as a picnic, the activity takes place outdoors. Therefore, space needs to be cleaned of any garbage, the grass needs to be cut and the ground should be dry. A corner with snacks and drinks is also required. Also, for best results, it is advised that space be in a relatively quiet area with no intense traffic of loud noises nearby.
DESCRIPTION
Before the day of the activity:
1. Choosing the 5 topics that will be discussed (ex: school problems, dreams for the future, etc.).
2. Preparing an efficient advertising campaign in social media to reach as many young people as possible.
3. Choosing 5 youth workers to facilitate the discussion.
4. Contacting the 5 youth workers and establishing the date and time of the activity.
5. Choosing 5 volunteers to assist the youth workers at the World Cafe.
6. Creating a Facebook event and starting the advertising campaign.
7. Keeping an eye on the weather forecast and thinking of alternative plans in case the weather is not favourable for the activity.
On the day of the activity:
8. Arranging the space with blankets and pillow and the snack/coffee corner.
9. Welcoming the participants and dividing them in an equal way on each topic.
10. Explaining the activity to all participants.
11. Discussions start at each blanket. The assisting volunteer takes notes while the youth worker facilitates the discussion. After 10 minutes each team goes on to the next topic. 5-minute breaks are taken every 20 minutes.
12. After all teams discussed all topics, a longer break is taken (10 – 15 minutes) while volunteers rearrange the space.
13. The assisting volunteers present the ideas and conclusions of the discussion at their blanket.
After the activity:
14. Youth workers discuss the conclusions.
15. Sharing the conclusions on social media and maybe taking the results into account when planning future youth activities.
EVALUATION
During PicniCafe, participants were encouraged to leave anonymous feedback on colourful pieces of paper that our volunteers hung on the trees. Also, youth workers asked for direct feedback at the end of the activity.
After the activity, the team had a meeting dedicated to evaluating PicniCafe and for processing the learning experience of the volunteers.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
Yes, by the Agency for Youth and Sport Maramures (representatives of the Romanian Ministry of Youth and Sport in the county of Maramures)
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“One of the most important aspects of our youth centre is the fact that we involve young people as much as possible in every activity or decision. All the activities that take place in the youth centre are the result of the previous consultation with young people regarding their needs. Also, most of the activities and projects are designed and organized by young people, with the support of youth workers. To be more specific, we take care of the administrative aspects, we offer them the resources available, the general context and the counselling they need, and they have the freedom of designing and organizing the activity in whatever way they feel would best suit their needs. They take leadership positions and work in different teams, they learn from each other and we offer them support in their learning process after these experiences.
What we also consider important, especially because is something that young people coming to the youth centre have mentioned several times, is the fact that this a safe place where they feel like they can be themselves without being judged. This is a place where people agree to accept and understand each other, and a place where they learn to see beyond looks and behaviours.
Both of these elements met in the PicniCafe event.”
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
“I believe that PicniCafe is benefic for the young participants and generally Baia Mare. It was the first time I took part in an activity of this type and I feel that it helped me become a more open person and get used to talking to other people about my problems.” Mihai Riglea, 15
“I came to PicniCafe alone, with no expectations. I remember that the first topic we discussed was “future plans”. I had the opportunity to talk openly with people who were truly listening to what I had to say – not only the youth workers but other young people who finished high school or university. I was surprised by the diversity. There were high school students, but also university students and young people who started earning their living.” Raul Horgos, 17
WEBSITE
www.facebook.com/CentrulDeTineretBaiaMare
DESIGNER
Group for Children and Youth “Indigo” (Serbia).
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Non-formal.
AGE AND GENDER
10 to 18 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
Around 65% of Roma children in Serbia complete primary education. Roma children, to a large degree, do not speak Serbian at home, so their inclusion in the education and social system is even more difficult. Their parents often neither have the time nor the means and motivation to support their children’s education, although this is the only way out of the vicious circle of intergenerational transmission of poverty for this community. Roma children are often involved in child labour at an early age, thus losing the opportunity to obtain any education and break the poverty circle. A significant number of Roma children accompany their parents for seasonal work or to go abroad, which causes temporary or permanent drop-out from the education system. Roma girls younger than 18 are often married to boys chosen by their parents, which prevents them from continuing education. Thus, Roma children need a lot of additional support to continue education.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
The activity was prepared for Roma and other marginalised children.
PREPARATION
Since our main activity includes homework and studying assistance, our educators prepare the learning materials in accordance to the school curriculum of the children. In their work with the children they use the Internet on the computers in the Community Center, notebooks, pens, colouring pens, colouring books and different didactic materials and educational board games, available in the center.
DESCRIPTION
The support is provided to the children in two groups, in line with the epidemiological situation and the instructions of the competent authorities. One group consists of the children from I to IV grade and another group consists of the children from V to VIII grade. The educator forms small studying groups, consisting of the children of the same or similar grades and assigns tasks to the volunteers. Some children sometimes work individually with a volunteer, in line with their needs. The focus is on achieving independence of the children in doing homework and studying, as the educators and volunteers work on developing their studying skills, researching skills, Internet and IT skills, etc. The peer support is also encouraged, so that the children develop a sense of solidarity and confidence.
Every Friday, in both groups, we organise workshops or other non-formal learning activities that are recreational and fully engage the children and volunteers in the choice of themes and preparation of the activity. These activities can be quizzes, lessons of Romani language held by the children for the volunteers, psychosocial workshops on the themes that are important for the development of the children, their emotional state, social and communication skills. These events can also be an opportunity for getting to know the children better, recognising their talents, interests and strengths, and further planning based on the participation of the children. Finally, this is an opportunity for the volunteers to get the practical experience of planning, implementing and assessing the effects of an activity with the children.
EVALUATION
The main monitoring and evaluation tool is the progress the children achieved in school. We regularly obtain the information from the school, so that we can plan further interventions with the parents and school teachers. The volunteers are also involved, as they evaluate their personal and professional development due to the involvement in the programme by filling out the input and output questionnaires.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
Yes, by the H. Stepic CEE Charity, Roma Education Fund and other donors.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
WEBSITE
https://www.facebook.com/GrupaZaDecuIMladeIndigo/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCylpRadO8OQWEwFiYV_j8kA
https://www.instagram.com/gdmindigo/
DESIGNER
Natalija Kosara.
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Informal.
AGE AND GENDER
16 to 35 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
We have started organizing miniature painting in 2021 in order to expand our “offer” to the local public. Since a large number of our guests play games that have miniatures involved as game pieces we thought it might be an interesting thing to do.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
No, it was free for all.
PREPARATION
We have pre-made a number of 3D printed figures and miniatures for the participants as well as paint, brushes and high volume lighting. Everything was organized in our space.
DESCRIPTION
1. Picking a date and time for the event.
2. Inviting people to the event.
3. Getting adequate supplies.
4. 3D-printing the miniatures for participants.
5. Setting up lighting and arranging the space for the event.
6. Explaining to the beginners the basics of miniature painting.
7. Handing out miniatures, brushes and paint to the participants.
8. Overseeing the activities of the participants.
9. Sharing everyone’s work on social media.
EVALUATION
We don’t do any evaluations since it’s a pretty relaxing and informal activity. If people are happy with their miniatures in the end, so are we.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
We funded it ourselves.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
We can organize any number of different and new activities spontaneously and align with a flexible schedule.
WEBSITE
https://www.facebook.com/klubd20
DESIGNER
Youth centre Risko , RIS Non-formal.
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Informal
AGE AND GENDER
15 to 20 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
In our region we have Roma people who are not employed and because of stereotypes and prejudices they are excluded from local society. During the youth project we implemented before we prepared Roma room for activities for all visitors, especially for young Roma people. In our activity we want to empower young Roma people to be more self-confident and show them how to make their own plan for the future life. Consequetnly they also become more include in local society.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
This activity is focused for the Roma community, which is a special recognised minority group in Slovenia. They are treated equal, but still have some rights which they are using for their needs. The problem is that youngsters still don’t want to apply for high schools and university. With our non formal educational workshop we wanted to motivate them to join non formal educationl workshops in the future which could lead to applying to high school and university. With a better education they could get a better chance to get a better paid job, which would also lead to a better implemenation in local surrounding.
PREPARATION
For this activity we need place, where Roma youngsters feel comfortable and for this reason we have choosen Roma room. This activity requires only paper and pencil for each participant.
DESCRIPTION
Goals:
– to identify the things / topics that are important to them;
– questions that are important to them are expressed and shared with others;
– define personal goals for future achievement.
Each complete the sentences for themselves:
– The thing that really matters to me is …
– The thing that doesn’t matter to me right now, but I have to get it done is …
– The obstacle I want to overcome or the problem I want to solve is …
In groups of four, youngsters discuss the answers. They compare similarities and differences.
With the whole group, the youth worker shares strategies for effective problem solving. E.g.:
“Whenever I make a decision, I check the pros and cons of my choices again; I never make a decision when I’m angry / sad …”
Notes:
– Sharing personal strategies for coping with life situations can presents help and alternatives to others.
– Sharing among youngsters fosters a sense of value, belonging and develops confidence.
– The youth worker should encourage youngsters to reflect on their ability to help and accepthelp from others.
– Personal achievement and recognition by peers can have a significant impact to self-image and ultimately to future life choices, including those concerning risky behavior.
Questions to conclude:
– Did you like the activity?
– How did you feel during the activity?
– What did you find most interesting about the activity?
EVALUATION
Together with participants we have created a circle where we have talked about their experience and their knowledge that they have achieved. We have talked about competences and about what they liked and what they didn’t like. Open talk was a really nice move to motivate them to share their opinion and to open up towards facilitators.
Facilitators have made their evaluation with a short meeting in our Cafe, to make it more relaxed and to share our new experience. It was important part of sharing our point of views and what should we improve in the next workshops.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
Activity was funded by our own organisation RIS Mansion Rakican.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“Our youth centre is located in a beautiful mansion from 14th century which makes a unique location and for sure a uniqe youth centre. Our centre offers more different local, national and international programs for youngsters. We are especially proud of our Roma and family program, where different youngsters can meet, have workshops, can reach for help or just hang out.
Our youth workers have many different competences and experiences in the field of youth work. In last year we are also investing a lot of new education and time for our staff to get more experience with Roma youngsters.”
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
“My experience was nice, I was really shy in the begining, because I am very afraid of public speaking. The activities with short energizers and games have motivated me to keep trying and steping out of my comfort zone. I have learned how to achieve my goals and how to follow my dreams. I think that the fact that I am a Roma person, can not stop me to follow my dreams and to finish high school one day.” Valentino.
“I really liked the activities, because it motivated me to keep trying with learning for life. Because of good cooperation of local youth organisations I had an oportunity to join some international youth projects, but I have never learned english. After this activity I will try to achieve my goal to learn english and to be more active in next international youth projects.” Zlatko
WEBSITE
DESIGNER
Youth Centre Ormož
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Non-formal.
AGE AND GENDER
18 to 29 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
We have chosen the main topic of youth exchange because all the participating organizations face similar challenges in their environment, for young unemployed to move to urban centers or abroad to find employment, but do not see an opportunity for self-employment at home, especially not in the field. agriculture and tourism. We also face the fact that young people view farming in a stereotypical way and do not recognize professional opportunities. The main goal of our AgiCooltur exchange: Today’s youth for sustainable agriculture of the future was to bring young people closer to modern farming trends, turning to a sustainable, sustainable, eco-friendly way of thinking and acting, while utilizing the latest technological and digital acquisitions both in agriculture and in business, promotion and marketing.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
This exchange included 4 partners from Slovenia, Greece, Italy and the Czech Republic. Twenty-four young people aged 18 to 29 (20 young participants and 4 youth leaders) attended the exchange.It included young people facing economic barriers – most with student status but living at a financial minimum and without the support of their families at risk of poverty, some of them facing educational barriers as they repeat the year or pausing, some they are thinking about changing their study direction. Some of them face social barriers as they come from separate families, which has made it difficult for them to grow up emotionally and socially and gain independence. There was only one participant with health problems who had developed allergies and lactose and gluten intolerance. Geographic barriers have already been learned to deal with well, and despite the fact that some live in more remote places than geographical and urban centers, they have more skillfully arranged travel to the place of exchange.
PREPARATION
–
DESCRIPTION
The applied project was fully implemented in accordance with the planned and approved application. In the exchange carried out with a preliminary preparatory visit (APV), all the planned objectives of the project were met. With the quality implementation of the exchange, which is the result of the effort and responsible work of all participating organizations, youth leaders, young participants, external collaborators and employees of the host organization, all planned goals were achieved. We brought young people closer to modern trends in farming, which turns to a sustainable, sustainable, ecological way of thinking and working, while using the latest technological and digital acquisitions in farming as well as in business, promotion and marketing. We acquainted young people with the latest trends in the fields of farming, agritourism and business planning, equip them with the necessary knowledge, skills, ideas and motivation to develop an individual business path in the domestic rural environment. Our educated young, external project collaborators who presented their successful business stories, e.g. graduate ethnologist and anthropologist – a block child who started successfully in herbalism, a civil engineer who breeds organic cattle, an oenologist who started producing beer in a wine-growing country, a farmer who became a vegetarian from meat production and one of the first in our place started with organic farming of vegetable production and processing, slavist who founded the institute and deals with cooking and mobile catering and other interesting and inspiring stories achieved their purpose, motivated and enthralled young people who began to think outside the box . They also received new knowledge from experts from the Faculty of Agriculture and Biosystem Sciences, which we visited and who prepared interactive lectures and workshops and passed on the latest expertise, information and trends in digital, technological and biosystem development.
They also learned how to prepare a good business plan for starting an agricultural activity, promoting a farm and selling products, so under the guidance and monitoring of an expert from a local business incubator, they prepared and presented 4 different but interesting and feasible business plans in four nationally mixed groups.
EVALUATION
The goals and results of the project, the achieved learning outcomes and the effects of the project were measured by ongoing daily evaluations and by evaluations in the form of a questionnaire, which we did at the beginning and end of the youth exchange. Based on the analysis of the results, we also accepted the assessment that the project was successfully and qualitatively implemented. At the end of each day, the evaluation meeting was also held by the youth leaders, who regularly determined whether we were achieving the planned goals and results, and in accordance with the findings, planned the implementation and possible adjustments for the next day. After the exchange, we also asked the project partners for a feedback assessment of the success of the project implementation and partnership, who wrote down their performance assessments in an e-mail. All were extremely satisfied and gave the best marks from the participants, youth leaders and those responsible in the partner organizations. They said we exceeded their expectations. In the phase of dissemination of project results, we checked publications in the media and social networks, and thus also on the basis of media announcements, number of views, characters and shares of FB posts and views on Instagram profile, we measured and determined the success of the project.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
This Youth excange is a Erasmus+ project funded by the European Union.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
The most important result, of course, is that the host organization conducted its first international youth exchange with a preliminary preparatory visit in our home environment, which brought us important experience. We strengthened youth international competences of employed youth workers and youth leaders, improved international project partnerships, confirmed and strengthened with new tests, improved project planning, coordination and organization skills, as well as leadership, international and intercultural teamwork. We also strengthened our local business partnerships with our external partners and raised the profile of our youth work in the wider local, regional and national levels through media announcements and dissemination of information in all project phases. All participants in the youth exchange as well as the public reached by our publications and information on the exchange have gained important information on the situation of modern farming, breaking down prejudices about the profession, work and life of farmers today. Participants, youth workers and youth leaders involved have acquired specific expertise in entrepreneurship, tourism and farming that will benefit them in their lives, as well as in the further work, counseling and guidance of young people in their youth work.”
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
“The youth exchange was a great experience for me. I met a lot of new friends from other countries. Learned how to make a business plan. Get to know local providers and the agricultural field.”
WEBSITE
https://mco.si/
https://www.instagram.com/mcormoz/
https://www.facebook.com/mcormoz
DESIGNER
MIKK Murska Sobota (Youth Centre, Slovenia).
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Non-Formal
AGE AND GENDER
15 to 35 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
After conducting yearly surveys among youth, we have detected a need for a relaxed nonstructured activity with the focus on socialising and meeting new friends using board games, video games and table football.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
The activity is intended to be fully inclusive, so there is no specific target group.
PREPARATION
Needed materials depend on the focus of the activity. For basic use you need a few card game decks, a few board games and/or a table football. For the videogame part a gaming console and a projector or TV is recommended. It is also a bonus if a local game store/society is included in preparation, since they can carry part of the financial burden
DESCRIPTION
There are 3 types of activities:
-Board game night,
-Videogame night,
-Table football tournament.
Depending on your capabilities you can choose either of them or combine them for maximum effect. The underlying goal of the activities is to connect young people by using a medium of relatable and fun activities to induce a sense of belonging and a possible opportunity for further development.
All three activities also offer possibilites for development of certain skills and can promote entrepreneurship. For example: board game nights can inspire youngsters into creating their own board games, videogames can bring young people together, raise their competetive spirit and drive them to E-sports, which is becoming a big deal in the whole world, with potential for becoming a full time job. Table football is the least impactful of the trio, but it can allow for many opportunities for social gathering and can also be a competetive sport with amateur and even proffesional leagues and tournaments around the world. All these activities can include a wide variety of young people and with no need for athletic prowess.
EVALUATION
The evaluation process with participants involves interviews and short questionaires about suitability of a certain activity and interest for further development.
Evaluation among staff relates mostly to the number of participants and summary of participants reactions.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
Activity is funded by ourselves, MIKK Murska Sobota.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
WEBSITE
http://www.mikk.si/
https://www.facebook.com/mikk.ms
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYrl5-us6i8eodp-Rm_p8xg
DESIGNER
Mestni Mladinski Svet Maribor (Youth Centre)
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Non-Formal
AGE AND GENDER
15 to 30 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
Who are the “Mladiborčani”? These are young volunteers who care about Maribor and will therefore take matters into their own hands. “Mladiborčani” strive for changes in city.
In 2018, the Maribor City Youth Council launched the “Mladiborčani” project, which became the central volunteer project for young people in Maribor. Thus, in 2018 they carried out the first volunteer action on the Old Bridge – they cleaned it of rubbish, graffiti and remnants of stickers from the fence, removed weeds along the curbs and symbolically painted part of the fence of the Main Bridge.
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
With the desire for the sustainability of the project, we wanted to establish a base of young volunteers who will collect volunteer hours at various campaigns and will also be rewarded with symbolic sponsorship awards for their efforts. In this way, they became part of the “Mladiborčani” community, and their affiliation among young people have also been strengthened by receiving a membership card and a “Mladiborčan ‘sn” bracelet.
PREPARATION
For the activity we need different materials. Our youth center offers many equipment for various workshops. With support of the government, different projects and our municipality we also buy material that is needed for the campaigns and events.
DESCRIPTION
The project became permanent and was continued in the coming months with a number of campaigns around the city also in 2019 and 2020. At the same time, all young people who would like to help, public companies, as well as sponsors, are invited to participate so that the implementation of many campaigns can succeed also in the future. The main activity should be implemented by the idea of volunteers and staff, find a problem and a great name for the activity. Next step is to organise it, to make a plan and divide the work. Than start to promote the idea and the activity. Make a great team that will help you and realise the activity. What is left is just to pick a date and implement the activity in a specific place.
EVALUATION
Day after the activity we meet at our youth center and we talk about the activity or the event. We maily speak how to improve future events and we also talk about all good things that happened during the activity, because we want to motivate our volunteers and workers to be better in our future activities.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“Our youth center is special because its like second home to our users. Our living room became like a second home for our volunteers and for our staff. It is also a nice center for meeting with friends and making a lot of workshops and spending some quality free time.”
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
“I am happy that I can visit youth house almost every day. Also I am very happy to be part of the team as a volunteer and help our town with some activities and events. The activity “Mladiborčani” was a great experience and also it contributed that many young people joined our project and also to our NGO as volunteers.”
“The activity brought me new connections and new friends, I am very happy that I was part of this experience. I hope that after this covid-19 we will be able to make new and more amazing projects!”
WEBSITE
DESIGNER
Gornja Radgona Mladinski Youth Center
TYPE OF ACTIVITY
Non-Formal
AGE AND GENDER
16 to 30 years old. All genders.
CONTEXTUALIZATION
We want to offer our visitors as many quality concerts, lectures, exhibitions, travel, film and social evenings, performances, workshops, music workshops, jam sessions, children’s performances etc.. We encourage creativity, activism and social criticism. We want our users not only to be consumers, but also to co-create program content with us. The youth center is a very important part of the extremely rich cultural events in Gornja Radgona, which is at a really enviable level. However, we must constantly consolidate and upgrade this role with hard work
IS IT FOR AN SPECIFIC TARGET GROUP?
All our activities are prepared for everyone. Our aim is to connect all young people from the local environment and also on regional level. We want equality for everyone and one of our mains goals is also including people with fewer opportunities. We treat them equal as everyone else and we don’t take into account to much for them. We offer them to create activities with us and also we offer them extra help if they ask for it.
PREPARATION
For each activity we need different materials. Our youth center offers many equipment for various workshops. With support of the government, different projects and our municipality we also buy needed materials for our activities. Our volunteers and youth will get required materials for free if it’s not to big activity.
DESCRIPTION
We offer our help with our youth worker, who is working on preparing the activities with our volunteers and youth from Gornja Radgona and surroundings. Firstly we are having some meetings and brainstroming activites for getting new ideas for our acitivities. After meetings we are starting to realise the idea and we get all needed materials and we also make some online news about the event or activity. Mainly we are using our Facebook profile and our email addresses.
EVALUATION
The evaluation process with participants involves interviews and short questionaires about suitability of a certain activity and interest for further development.
Evaluation among staff relates mostly to the number of participants and summary of participants reactions.
WAS FUNDED? BY WHOM?
Yes, by municipality of Gornja Radgona, various EU programmes, Ministry of Education, Science and Sport and also Ministry of culture.
YOUTH WORKER TESTIMONIAL
“Our youth center is special because its different than the others by our events and activities. Our youth center is mainly visited by youngsters who like music and art. So its very artistic youth center, which gives us a very diverse point of view.”
YOUNGSTER TESTIMONIALS
“I am happy that I can visit Gornja Radgona youth center almost every day. Also I am very happy to be part of the team as a volunteers and help our small city with some activities and events. Despite that our city of the city of big fairs, its sadly also a city that youngsters usually leave after school. So we can create a better place for young people.”
WEBSITE
Research on Youth Work
Here you will find a selection of diverse studies and intellectual outputs reliable in the field of non-formal and informal youth work, youth workers and centres.