Erasmus+ Capacity Building youth – Western Balkans
Funded by: Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA)
Project duration: 01/08/2018 – 30/04/2019
Summary:
We live in society where interethnic and other differences among people cause prejudice, hatred, fear and exclusion in everyday life. As all of the partners promote inclusion and intercultural acceptance in society, we are all concerned with the situation in our communities nowadays, with increase of the discrimination and intolerance. We believe that European level cooperation and youth sport work projects can contribute to improving the situation with acceptance of diversity among all parts of society, and especially youth. Sport actively shows young people that learning, trying new things, encountering new people, and stepping into new situations can be fun rather than a threat.
Unfortunately, when trying to organise education of our youth workers in youth sport work before this project, the partners could not have found enough youth trainers experienced in the topic and principles of using sport activities as methods in non-formal education (NFE) /youth work. That is why we have decided to develop and implement this project.
Project aimed at: Building capacity of youth (work) organisations, their youth trainers and youth workers in NFE for youth SPORT work for intercultural dialogue and accepting diversity among youngsters in our communities and encouraging usage of sport and outdoor activities in youth work for acceptance of diversity.
Project consisted of following activities:
- Online Skype preparation meeting in August 2018 (and regular Skype meetings throughout the project)
- Activity 1: Preparatory meeting, September 2018 in Serbia
- Activity 2 (Mobility activity): Training of trainers “Youth sport work for intercultural learning and acceptance of diversity”, with 25 participants (12 with fewer opportunities) from 5 countries (Serbia, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy); 16th till 25th November 2018, in Croatia
- Output 1: Guidebook with Curriculum “Youth sport work for intercultural learning and acceptance of diversity”; November/December 2018
- Output 2: Booklet of youth sport work activities / games for intercultural learning and acceptance of diversity; December 2018/January 2019
- Activity 3: Local/National dissemination conference/workshops for youth workers and other stakeholders, March/April 2019
- Activity 4 (Mobility activity): Evaluation meeting, with 20 participants (11 with fewer opportunities) from Serbia, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy; 22-27 April 2019 in Serbia
- Dissemination and reporting activities
Project contributed to capacity building and knowledge management of partner organisations, and we hope that it will be useful also to other youth (work) organisations and respective youth workers and trainers. Project results contribute to developing sense of tolerance and understanding of diversity, not only among participants, but also among further beneficiaries of different youth sport work activities (with mainstream and marginalised groups) that will be lead and managed by participants of this project activities.
Outcome and results:
OUTPUT 1: Guidebook with Curriculum “Youth sport work for intercultural learning and acceptance of diversity” is made for future education of additional youth trainers and youth workers in youth sport work methodology for intercultural learning and acceptance, while using innovative and creative adapted sport methodology. Thus, the Guidebook with Curriculum is basis for quality knowledge management and future capacity building in our organisations (and other interested organisations), as it will allow us to organise proper education of those new future youth trainers and youth workers that will join our organisations later. This publication consists of two parts: A) Guidebook with advices for youth trainers when approaching the relevant topics; B) Curriculum of sessions useful for organising training courses for future trainers and youth workers.
As there is a severe lack of youth NFE trainers and youth workers with experience of using sport activities as methods in non-formal education of young people, youth workers need the encouragement in this field. Hopefully, this guidebook with curriculum will inspire and equip lots of them with enough information and motivation to start.
The Curriculum consists of detailed sessions designs from the respective course, with recommendations for future implementation and multiplication purposes of the overall training course and the specific sessions/elements of it. They serve as quality knowledge management basis for organising such training courses in the future.
OUTPUT 2: Booklet of youth sport work activities for intercultural learning is developed as a multiplication tool, for using in youth sport work with youngsters in our communities, by youth (sport) workers of ours and of any other interested youth (work) organisations. These 20 youth sport work activities have been developed by respective youth trainers and youth workers from the partner organisations in the project. Each activity/workshop serves for future implementation and multiplication purposes in direct work with youngsters from mainstream and marginalised groups in/from our local communities and on European level. Activities can be used separately as individual activities with youngsters, as well as several activities together can be used in larger youth sport work events in our communities. This booklet serves as the resource material and the inspirational tool for youth workers and youth organisations to use it when introducing sport methodology in their regular youth work, by implementing the youth sport activities for intercultural learning and acceptance of diversity among their beneficiaries.
*Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.