promoting active and inclusive European citizenship among youth, empowering NGOs
WAFER
Over a period of 24 months across 2013, 2014 and 2015, a group of European youth NGOs implemented a project in the frame of the Action 4.6 of the Youth in Action programme. This publication reports some of the results and achievement of the work done in Estonia, Greece, Lithuania, Italy and Portugal involving some 180 young people and youth workers.
This publication reflects only opinions and views of the authors. The European Commission and its Agencies are not responsible for the content. This is a supplement to “InFormati” Registered in Palermo, Italy, under # 3/03 Director Pietro Galluccio info@informa giovani.org Printed by Tipografia Vivirito Palermo 2
Wafer Waiting for Erasmus for all
Reflection over innovative ways to promote active and inclusive European citizenship among youth by empowering youth NGOs A group of European Youth NGOs from different countries came together to develop a two years long project (2013-2015) involving more than 180 among youth workers and young people including par1cipants with fewer opportuni1es The project called WAFER (Wai1ng for Erasmu s for All) involved young ci1zens from six different countries: Estonia, Portugal, Lithuania, Greece and Italy. Main aim of WAFER was to s1mulate and reflect upon how to promote European ac1ve ci1zenship among a wide group of young people belonging to different cultures and social backgrounds, involving in par1cular those youth thar are less likely to enjoy their civil rights due to their social belonging, personal history, or physical disabili1es therefore promo1ng social inclusion in interna1onal mobility projects. Eventually the ac1vi1es organized followed a non-formal approach and applied innova1ve educa1onal methodologies by experienced youth workers. During the implementa1on of this project, non-formal educa1on has proved to be the most efficient learning process to adopted especially by young people facing discrimina1on and social barriers at various levels. Aim of the present publica1on is to reflect on the adop1on of methodologies of nonformal educa1on as mean of educa1on on different issues relevant for youth living in the European Community. This brief text aims to be a tool for sharing prac1ces and provide theore1cal and prac1cal examples
experienced during the implementa1on of the project WAFER. This methodology has been applied during all ac1vi1es of interna1onal mobility of youth organized under WAFER. This experience proved how the use of non-formal educa1on was fundamental to develop transversal skills and competencies among youth and youth workers involved in the project. In the current era, characterized by a selfcentred percep1on of individuals we face the risk of considering the "other" merely as a stranger, someone different from us who has to be kept far, controlled or feared. This risk is par1cularly strong in the case when the "other" is an individual who represent categories at risk and easily labelled as for persons belonging to discriminated social groups, ethnic minori1es, migrants, offenders etc. The young genera1on risk not to have the opportunity to experience "mee1ng the other" as an enriching and honest experience of discovery of the word, specific issues and the self. The ac1vi1es organized during WAFER promoted group work, mutual exchanges and community life, which proved to be essen1al aspects to acquire new knowledge. Thanks to the field experience developed during these two years of project by the organiza1ons InformaGiovani (IT), Estyes (EE), Sci Hellas (GR), Deineta (LT) e Aventura Marao Clube (PT) and thanks to the reflec1ons of the par1cipants of the project, we are able to share a model of non-formal educa1on techniques to be used during in3
terna1onal youth exchanges and mobility ac1vi1es. This experience cons1tutes the base for reflec1on on real life experiences that created posi1ve changes in youth who experienced themselves, their limits and poten1als and the inter-personal rela1ons with other European youth.
Some defini ons... For SOCIAL INCLUSION we mean the full recogni1on in dignity and rights of all persons, also youth with fewer opportuni1es, as ac1ve members of the society. It is crucial to recognize the value of ALL persons and to increase their par1cipa1on to create peaceful socie1es. This means that also those youth living difficult situa1ons because of social discrimina1on and s1gma or because belonging to ethnic minori1es or marginalized communi1es, facing economic difficul1es or living in an isolated areas, with physical disabili1es or young offenders, who were willing to ex-
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perience interna1onal mobility. have been involved in the project. ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP is the ability of individuals (adults but also children and youth) to take an ac1ve role for the benefit of their community. All partners of the project promoted in their countries the value of social inclusion, ac1ve ci1zenship and volunteering as an important part of European policies, promo1ng the interna1onal mobility programmes of the EU as an opportunity of growth for many people. NON-FORMAL EDUCATION, also known as nonformal learning, refers to any planned programme of personal and social educa1on for young people designed to improve a range of skills and competencies, outside the formal educa1onal curriculum. It is "purposive but voluntary learning that takes place in a diverse range of environments and situa1ons for which teaching/training and learning is not necessarily their sole or main ac1vity. These environments and situa1ons may be temporarly, and the ac1vi1es or courses that take place may be staffed by professional learning facilitators (such as youth trainers) or by volunteers (such as youth leaders). The ac1vi1es and courses are planned, but are seldomly structured by conven1onal rhythms or curriculum subjects" . Non-formal Educa1on makes it possible for young people to take ini1a1ve and involve others in making small steps towards a bet-
ter world. It is based on values and ideals, which should be at the core of any change for be2er. It deals with personal, voluntary involvement, and so the people are driven by their mo1va1on and beliefs. Youth organiza1ons and groups use these types of non-formal educa1on: *voluntary; *accessible to everyone (ideally); *an organized process with educa1onal objec1ves; *par1cipatory and learner-centered; *about learning life skills and preparing for ac1ve ci1zenship; *based on involving both individual and group learning with a collec1ve approach; *holis1c and process-oriented; *based on experience and ac1on, and starts from the needs of the youngster.
approach and only in a second phase they realized how much they learned during these experiences. To provide an example, a feedback we received by a young par1cipant was "I wish I could have learned a lot more theory but my expecta ons were meat up to the 90% because I didn't imagine to meet such an amazing group of people and learn so much from them". A lesson learned for this feedback is to always provide an explana1on of non-formal learning and hw it works so to make the par1cipants familiar with the approach and avoid them struggling against this methodology expec1ng formal teaching and therefore taking the risk of not taking the best out of the learning process.
It is crucial to introduce this approach and explain the learning methodology to the youth targeted at the beginning of the ac1vi1es. In fact, being exposed to a dierent and apparently less structured approach for the ďŹ rst 1me, youth may perceive it as non serious or less professional. This is par1cularly trues in case of youth enrolled in scholar systems, such as the Italian one for example, that s1ll give a lot of recogni1on to formal pedagogy where teachers lecture and pupils listed taking a merely passive role. The same is not true in the Aglo-saxons countries where youth are more used to a par1cipatory learning approach. In the experience gained during the implementa1on of WAFER we had few feedbacks from the par1cipants underlying the fact that they were expec1ng a more "professional"
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Wafer in details
The activities organized to convey the educational message were international youth exchanges and trainings. Interna onal Youth Exchanges 1) GREECE, from the 4th to the 17th August 2014 (par1cipants from Greece, Italy and Lithuania) 2) ESTONIA, from the 17th to the 30th of August 2014 (par1cipants from Estonia, Italy, and Lithuania) 3) ITALY, from the 4th to the 16th of August 2014 (par1cipants from Italy, Estonia and Portugal) 4) PORTUGAL, from the 17th of June to the 1st of July 2015 (par1cipants from Portugal, Italy and Estonia) 5) GREECE, from the 1st to the 15th of August 2015 (par1cipants from Greece, Lithuania and Estonia) 6) ESTONIA, from the 16th to the 29th of August 2015 (par1cipants from Estonia, Portugal and Italy) Interna1onal Youth Exchanges are residen1al programmes designed by young people for young people exploring various issues, recognized as priori1es by the par1cipants and matching European policies. Young par1cipants are from different countries and speak different languages. For many of them youth exchanges are the first opportunity to travel outside their country, to meet peers from other countries and to realize the meaning of being a ci1zen of Europe in prac1se. These experiences put the youth out of their comfort zone, invi1ng them to explore their personality, their cultures and to open up to diversity figh1ng
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prejudices and fears. Young people are accompanied by experienced youth workers who guarantee the smooth implementa1on of ac1vi1es organizes following the principles of non-formal educa1on or learning through direct experience. Youth workers are also responsible for the facilita1on of the group processes, cultural and linguis1c media1on as long as to assure the inclusion of all par1cipants. All exchanges included the par1cipa1on of youth with fewer opportuni1es: youth with economic difficul1es, living in marginalized areas, belonging to discriminated social groups, migrants or young offenders. The par1cipa1on to Youth Exchanges is a real innova.ve way to foster social inclusion. Imagine a group of youngster living, learning and working together in a neutral and safe zone where they can explore who they are and get to know peers from other
countries or backgrounds free from prejudices. During youth exchanges, par1cipants The Youth Exchange “Let’s Farm and Act Toshare their daily life, their interests, their gether!" took place in Portugal gathering 19 working 1me as well as their fun 1me with par1cipants from three countries. It aimed youth different and at the same 1me to empower young people with skills and equals. They are exposed to new languages knowledge about environment, theatre and and cultures and have the unique opportusocial competencies, involving par1cipants nity to broad their imagina1on and horiin ac1ve way. The Youth Exchange included zons. Among them youth exchanges run different moments: prac1cal workshops, under the principles of social inclusion welsupport to local voluntary project related come youth that never had the possibility to with environmental issues, studies, leisure travel before, youth belonging to poor fami- 1me, visits to local communi1es, support to lies, with educa1on difficul1es, young offen- awareness raising campaign on interna1oders, youth with disabili1es or living in nal volunteering. isolated rural areas or urban I participated to the Youth Exchange in Portugal. suburbs. All par1cipants, faciThis experience was unique, not only I learned many litated by youth leaders and coordinators, had the possibi- things very quickly but I also understood what I want to do in the future. lity to understand the value Too often, the school gives me so many notions of diversity ad inclusiveness.
without any help in putting what I learn into practice. The par1cipa1on to the six youth exchanges allowed to I learned a lot from the diversity of persons in the group explore different themes like and from permaculture, environmental sustainability, which was mind-blowing for me! healthy living and ac1ve par1cipa1on to civil society, human rights and During the exchange, a key role was given to migra1ons. all the ac1vi1es aimed to s1mulate an intercultural exchange and the interac1on Young people and environmental awareamong the par1cipants and with the local ness community and to s1mulate a pro-ac1ve approach toward socializa1on and establiTwo of the youth exchanges focused on the- shment of personal rela1ons. The main mes related to environmental awareness, objec1ve was to give young people an acfrom different perspec1ve. 1ve role in those ac1vi1es, in par1cular related to new approaches to farming The exchange held in Italy, took place in (permaculture, biodynamic farm, organic Isola delle Femmine, a small natural reserve farm) and theatre allowing them to express in Sicily, where par1cipant were engaged in their feelings and their knowledge in a proorganizing ac1vi1es with and for local youth ac1ve and par1cipatory way. about sustainability and supported some local volunteering ac1ons aimed to re-plant Some other youth exchanges, like the two local vega1on in the reserve’s area. organized in Estonia, were more focused on
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social volunteering a way to link the possibility to travel for self-discovery and ge1tng to know other cultures at the same 1me helping local commini1es in their development. The aim of the actvi1es organized in Estonia was to give young people the possibility to have ac1ve, healthy and meaningful life as part of a wider group, to enjoy unspoiled nature and to learn how to live in harmony with it, also to explore and realize own capaci1es. The program included sport, ecohikes, bicycle trips to places of interest, horse riding, fishing, rowing, sailing with Viking boats, acquaintance with local culture
and many other exci1ng ac1vi1es. “Mens sana in corpore sano”/ “Healthy Spirit in Healthy Body” – this was the message of the exchanges. Besides the programme gave possibility for intensive contacts between local youth and their peers from abroad, showing youngsters the diversity of world cultures, broadening their horizons and encouraging ac1ve communica1on through games and crea1ve ac1vi1es. A major role
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was played by voluntary work for nature protec1on and to support local community. Voluntary work included pain1ng of community buildings, making wooden toys and games for the local orphanage, repairing benches and tables, cleaning local beach and old seaport from garbage, plan1ng trees, cleaning old cemetery, li2le renova1on works in the local school, clearing pavement, helping seniors living in the community with some household du1es, berry picking for the orphanage, plan1ng trees, etc. Interna.onal volunteering as means for social Inclusion and self-development As we saw in some of the ac1vi1es described above, the project iden1fied volunteering as an example of non-formal educa1on method to foster skills development along with socia inclusion. Social inclusion discourse is showing that volunteering provides social inclusion benefits by enriching volunteers’ lives and empowering them to make new choices. Recognizing and valuing this would enable ‘social inclusion’ programmes promo1ng volunteering at major events. A discourse linking exclusion to poverty is based on an analysis of rela1ve poverty as the prime source of exclusion, although this can be mi1gated by good health, stable personal circumstances and frequent social contact. Exclusion prevents full integra1on into society and undermines the excluded individual’s “ability to fulfil the private and public obliga1ons of ci1zenship”. The social contacts provided by volunteering might mi1gate the material disadvantages associated with poverty. Another view is that exclusion arises in society where iden1ty and status are largely or
I faced the reality of people suffering for being displaced and this was a really touching experience. I’ve always seen myself as an unlucky person, but taking part in the exchange I understood how difficult situations in life can be and how lucky I’m... ...and I felt a bit stupid for wasting many of the opportunities I was given by life. most obviously associated with publicly visible consump1on, which many people are unable to a2ain, and this is exacerbated by rising social inequality. This raises the possibility that volunteering could contribute to inclusion through providing a sense of worth and status independent of material wealth. This view is supported by a review of volunteering programs for the unemployed which iden1fied benefits of ‘a sense of belonging, or purpose and rou1ne to their lives; gaining self-confidence, learning new skills, as well as volunteering leading to other opportuni1es, including employment’, and concluded that ‘the benefits gained from volunteering can o"en go much wider than those coming from paid employment’. However, volunteering is an alterna1ve to paid work in providing many of the elements of social inclusion. Stable personal rela1onships and frequent social contacts are considerable rewards of volunteering. Volunteering provide integra1on into society. It allows volunteers to express ac1ve ci1zenship by ‘giving something back’, and to express an affinity with their hometown. Volunteering provide a sense of worth and status independent of material wealth. Volunteering can also be a way to deal with iden1ty problems. For example, people who are unable to find work because of age, disability, or ill health, can escape the s1gma a2ached to these statuses by performing volunteer work.
A concrete example is given by the par1cipa1on to the youth exchanges of young offenders who were undergoing proba1on periods at the 1me of their par1cipa1on. They have had the possibility to explore themselves and their iden1ty in an interna1onal context far from their home were they felt labeled for their ac1ons. They had the possibility to take an ac1ve role developing a sense of pride toward their contribu1ons to the project. To involve youth with fewer opportuni1es in volunteer projects is not always easy. O"en the youngsters are introverted and hesitant to try new fields of ac1vity. it is therefore crucial to find keys to link new challenges, which promote self-development such as social volunteering, with some of the passions of the youth. During the youth exchanges organized in Estonia for examples, the connec1ng factor was that the project included a lot of sport together with volunteering. The majority of par1cipants developed non-compe11ve behaviors, helping and suppor1ng each other. Thanks to the par1cipa1on to sport and group ac1vi1es, they reflected on the values that they wanted to share with the local communi1es, which were reflected in the ac1vi1es of volunteer in the local orphanage. The ac1vi1es based on Non-formal Educa1on give much a2en1on to inclusion of girls and boys that are at risk of social exclusion. To these young people, involved in ac1vi1es that otherwise would be unreachable to 9
them, are given instruments and opportuni1es to grow, confront and in some cases, of rehabilita1on and social re-integra1on. Human rights and ci.zenship
possibility of interac1ng with some of these refugees and their children (they are mostly from Afghanistan and Kurdistan) in crea1ve and sport ac1vi1es. There was a big focus on reflec1ng and co-learning ac1vi1es, about the reality of migra1on, border policies and inclusion in Europe. The aim was at the same 1me to raise the awareness of European issues and the need for a thorough reflec1on about our values, to counteract the influence of extreme right movements on society. Experts on the topic have been invited to have open discussions with the youngsters. Following this training part, the par1cipants organized outdoors ac1vi1es and shows to raise awareness about this topic in Lavrio, with the Greek popula1on.
The youth exchange held in Greece was focused on the theme of migra1on, human rights and therefore ci1zenship on a broaThanks to this experience the par1cipants der sense. Once again, adop1ng a non-fordeveloped tolerance and openess toward mal approach by means of doing prac1cal the difficul1es faced by migrants and asyaci1vites with young refugees …I learned the courage to challenge myself, and peers from other countries to share my experiences as a way of self-reflection. and having a first hand expeI also learned to accept other opinions than mine… rience of the issue helped the youth to develop cnsciousness …not to judge straight away. and reflect on these topics Prejudices are often wrong and it is better not star1ng from a personal expeto associate people with the way they look. rience.
I also learned different ways to approach a conflict. The theme of the youth exchange held in Greece was Human Rights in general, with a focus on the right to free mobility and an1-racism. Youth reflected about the no1on of borders and on the mo1va1ons and difficul1es of migrants, asylum seekers and ethnic minori1es to access safety. The largest refugee camp of Greece is exactly located in Lavrio where the ac1vi1es took place and par1cipants had the
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lum seekers and got a grasp of the complexity of the topic. This level of emphaty and understading was possible only thanks to the direct experience.What is special about Non-formal Educa1on in fact is that individuals are the actors ac1vely involved in the educa1on and learning process and those who evaluate results and achievements.
Interna onal Training Courses 1) Portugal, from the 14th to 21st of February 2015 2) Italy, from the 6th to the 13th of June 2015 3) Greece, from the 10th to the-17th of July 2015 The training courses organized during WAFER were meant to be residen1al learning processes, where youngsters and professionals ac1ve in the field of youth had the possibility to learn new approaches to educa1on, experience together new methodologies develop prac1cal skills and competencies and at the same 1me share best prac1ces and tools. All training courses were focused on increasing of ac1ve par1cipa1on of young people and their ac1ve ci1zenship and to empower youth organiza.ons and their social effec.venes. Par1cipants were youth workers, youth leaders and ac1ve volunteers which were interested to take more ac1ve role in society and youth work. Some of the par1cipants belong to disadvantaged backgrounds: youth with economic difficul1es, living in isolated rural areas and NEETS. Training courses followed a nonformal educa1onal approach which is reflected in a complete learning circle that can be described in four steps: 1) explana1on of theory 2) direct experience of the theory (learning by doing) 3) reflec1on in group and with the trainers
of what was experienced 4) replica1on of the experien1al learning and sharing the knowledge with a wider community and peers (during the training or once back in everyday life and work se3ng). This approach encourage ac1ve par1cipa1on and exchanging knowledge of par1cipants and allow all of them to ac1vely contribute and to create space for sharing ideas. Experienced youth workers and youth leaders shared best prac1ces, tools and methodologies and the young volunteers shared their fresh ideas and crea1ve approach. The training courses aimed to build specific capaci1es on two topics: youth leadership and access to new programmes for youth mobility. The training course organized in Portugal "VolunteerACT!" aimed in par1cular to give par1cipants basic competencies to design European youth project with a special focus
on promo.on of ac.ve ci.zenship of young people. It aimed to train a group of ac1ve volunteers and staff person on promo1ng ac1ve and conscious ci1zenship among young people, in par1cular among young
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people from underprivileged backgrounds in order to increase their ac1ve role in society, their percep1on of being “actors” and not “spectators”, of being subjects of rights and du1es.
Par1cipants were from the beginning encouraged to present themselves and share their different understanding about what ac1ve ci1zenship means. This aproach allowed them to see different points of view, to put their own opinions in prospec1ve and to deeply understand the concept. Groups of discussions were formed to exchange past experiences and also to discover mutual interests and various na1onal reali1es. They talked in depht about future plans and shared ideas for new projects, In this way par1cipants were naturally encouraged to create networks for future collabora1on. The groups formulated discussed about quality in youth led projects aiming to promote ac1ve ci1zenship. They set common criteria to be respected in future project eventually reinforcing the base for future collabora1ons. These criteria were applied during the second phase of the training when par1cipants develped new projects proposals dividend into groups of interest.
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They gained many prac1cal skills and knowledge about project wri1ng. Through interac1ve exercises par1cipants went step by step through project cycle managment, exchanging best prac1ces and of project managment. The last part of the training was dedicated to prac1cal aspects of youth work as leadership, work in interna1onal enviroments, how to ac1vely involve and mo1vate other youth and local community. This part was strongly focused on the personal development of par1cipants. Through simula1ons and role playing games they improved leadership skills, group managment and conflict solving skills. Par1cipants organized a visibility event targe1ng the local community, in this way they had possibility to plan together and create a prac1cal event. The training Course organized in Greece, "Act4Peace" took a place in Athens, in the Parnitha mountains. Topic of the training course was ac.ve ci.zenship and promo.on of peace and non-violent behaviours. It aimed to give to mo1vated young volunteers the necessary competencies to plan and coordinate youth projects, taking into considera1on the promo1on of human rights, social inclusion and non-violent methods.It also aimed to provide inclusive insight on the involvement ofyoung people from disadvantaged backgrounds in interna1onal contexts such as youth exchanges, interna1onal voluntary projects, intercultural environments. Par1cipants discussed the role of the youth leader and through a role-play they discovered different responsibili1es of the youth
…I realized that I have the capabilities to make my The training course organidreams and my organization’s projects true and that zed in Italy, focused on the new genera1on of programthere is always something new to learn…
mes 2014-2020 for Youth and socially oriented organi…I learned that my opinion counts and that in order to za1ons. achieve a better outcome everyone should listen to In par1cular, a special a2enothers' opinions… 1on was driven to Erasmus+, Europe for ci.zens, REC – leader. Par1cipants experienced themselRights, Equality and Ci.zenship. ves as leaders, improving own leadership Par1cipants shared their experience, with skills and find their own leadership style. problems and opportuni1es raised with new Second part of TC was focused on group programmes and analysing how each promanagement and how to involve young gramme can best fit their interests and people and support them in the crea1on of the group. Par1cipants exchanged different needs. Possibili1es to fund social youth ac.vi.es teambuilding ac1vi1es and learned how to with different programmes were explored adapt them to the needs of different group with concrete examples. of young people with fewer opportuni1es. The training was not only aimed to train Social inclusion was one of the priori1es of youth workers and social workers of the parproject through discussion of study cases tner organiza1ons, but was the occasion to par1cipants gain basic competencies to deplan together new poten1al projects to be sign projects involving deaf young people and other categories at risk like for example implemented in the frame of the mul1 annual programme of ac1vi1es of InformaGioyoung offenders. vani network One whole day was dedicated to the promo1on of non-violent communica1on and conflict solving. Par1cipants increased their knowledge about different strategies for conflict solving. Through simula1on games, they had the possibility to prac1ce non-violent communica1on and ac1ve listening. In addi1on, crea1ve methods were introduced, through forum theatre par1cipants searched solu1ons for the conflict situa1on which they experienced. Both training courses were designed in a way to encourage young volunteers to take more ac1ve role in the society, to mo1vate them to coordinate youth projects providing them with the necessary prac1cal competencies.
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Non formal educa on Why is it effective with young people with fewer opportunities? The case of young offenders InformaGiovani has a decade long expened according to the gravity of the crime rience in working with young offenders and commi2ed and the decision of the Judge. youth at risk of being in conflict with the Once recognized the fact that imprisonment law. has to be avoided as far as it is possible, to Different studies conducted at the internafoster the reintegra1on of the minor and in 1onal level show the rela.on between order to protect the "best interest of the youth deten.on and gradua.on describing child" (art. 3 of the UN Conven1on of the how youth in prison are less ...even drugs didn’t make me see the world as I saw it likely to complete educa1on. The Italian Juvenile Sy- during the exchagne: an amazing experience that I’ll stem consider never forget... imprisonment as a punishment to be avoided as far as it possible in Right of the Child). The further step is to case of minor offenders to avoid recidivism iden1fy the best educa1onal methodoloin criminal ac1vi1es. gies. On the contrary, young offenders undergo a process of rehabilita1on and reintegra1on Young offenders o"en belong to families with the social services. The length of this with economic constrains and poor literacy period, called proba1on period, is determiand discriminated social backgrounds. In
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"Regular” youth
Youth with criminal or Mafia like attitude
Conflict with adults
Identification with the family
Tendency to take distance from the family
Identification with cultural family code
Membership in several peers groups
Attachment to the family
Tendency to break rules and transgression Tendency to express feelings
Conformation to rules (different from respect) Strict control of emotions
Interest in change
Refusal and fear of change
Flexibility Caring family
Rigidity Hierarchical family
No initiation rite
Many initiation rites
Perception of jail as a punishment
Perception of Jail as a reward and recognition of adulthood
Southern Italy, where InformaGiovani is mostly ac1ve, young offenders tend to develop a "mafia-like a0tude" since a very early age, encouraged by their family, communi1es and social context. This a3tude can lead to a rejec1on of formal ways of educa1on and established educa1onal roles (schools). Previous table shows some differences of a3tude between youngsters from normal non-criminal families and those belonging to criminal families or families with a criminal culture. Such a big difference in percep1on of personal rela1ons and of reality is to be taken into account when thinking about
educa1onal methodologies and tools for young people. Young offenders benefit par1cularly from a non-formal educa1onal approach to knowledge. In this case, the choice of Non-formal Educa.on is synonymous of overcoming social and cultural barriers,
knowledge and confront with the other; non-formal methodologies, outside and inside Juvenile Jus1ce ins1tu1ons, become the tool to overcame prejudice and rela.onal difficul.es, to override mutual fears. Addi1onally the prac.cal approach and the numerous manual ac1vi1es implemented during youth exchanges and other interna1onal mobility projects, are well perceived young people with poor educa1onal and school level, because prac1cal work make them able to show their capabili1es and make them feel peers among peers. O"en young offenders lack the space as well as the experience and ability to reflect about their life and their mistakes. They live surrounded by a community who labeled them and they are not free to discover who they really are and what they want to be. They live from one day to another, from event to event. Imprisonement has o"en turned into a criminal school: data recorded all over the 15
world and also in Europe show that the “classic” punishment used to counter youth crime turn into a further damage for the whole society. Using non-formal educa1on methodologies is therefore not a ma2er of “humanity” or “forgiveness”, but an effec1ve method to
But normally, a"er a first moment of fear and suffer from the absence of the wellknown models that confirm their usual selfpercep1on (all aspects hidden behind an aggressive behavior), a sense of discovery arises, together with proudness for being able to meet the challenge and reaching new goals. ……I realized that there are so many different point of For this reason it is very imviews to describe the world. portant the presence of exAnd I had the opportunity to be seen not as a criminal perienced youth workers but as a boy with its capacities among other boys and who can be there to support them in the most shaking girls with other capacities... moments, build their selfactually counter recidivism, by means of esteem, help them in the transla1on from promo1n a real new ci1zenship among one language to another and help in underyoung offenders. standing mixed feelings. Young offenders need to set new goals in life, but firs they need to understand, or be2er “live and touch” other possibili1es, experience them and feel that concrete alterna1ves are possible. Par1cipa1on in interna1onal mobility, Erasmus projects and volunteerism allow them to escape from they everyday reality and compare their life with that of peers from different countries and background, broadening their perspec1ve and understanding of the world and also providing a free space to develop new skills and knowledge. It is not always easy to involve young offenders in these kind of ac1vi1es. The majority of them has to overcome cultural barriers, stereotypes and, o"en, also the opposi.on from the original family.
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Erasmus+ The new European Programme for Young people and Youth workers It was possible to realize a project like WAFER thanks to the funds provided by the European Union under the scheme of the Youth on Ac1on programme 2007-2013, which now is part of the new programme Erasmus+ 2014-2020 Erasmus+, the new EU program for educa1on, training, youth and sport, is aimed at boos1ng skills, employability and suppor1ng the moderniza1on of educa1on, training and youth systems. More than 4 million people will receive support to study, train, work or volunteer abroad.
How can Erasmus+ help you? Erasmus+ offers exci1ng opportuni1es to study, work, volunteer, teach and train abroad in Europe and e beyond. It is aimed at students, trainees, appren1ces, pupils, adult learners, young people, volunteers, professors, teachers, trainers, youth workers and professionals of organisa1ons ac1ve in the educa1on, training and youth sector.
Taking part in the programme helps you to develop personally and professionally; you will gain valuable interna1onal experience, broaden your horizons, experience new cultures and discover new ways of working. Erasmus+ is of par1cular benefit to young people who can learn new skills to improve their employability, acquire life skills, and develop their confidence. Organisa.ons Educa1on, training, youth and sport organisa1ons across all sectors of lifelong learning can apply for funding to offer opportuni1es to their staff and learners and to take part in innova1ve projects to improve prac1ce and influence policy. Erasmus+ is aimed at further and higher educa1on ins1tu1ons, schools, and voca1onal educa1on, adult educa1on and youth organisa1ons ac1vely involved in delivering formal and non-formal educa1on, training and youth work, as well as organisa1ons delivering spor1ng ac1vi1es. Organisa1ons could be educa1onal ins1tu1ons, local authori1es, public or private organisa1ons (such as small, medium or large enterprises, social enterprises, non-profit organisa1ons, associa1ons and non-governmental organi-
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sa1ons), public spor1ng bodies, spor1ng organisa1ons, leagues, and clubs at any level. Please note that the legal basis of the programme is such that par1cipa1on of sole traders, partnerships and unincorporated associa1ons in Erasmus+ is strictly limited. You can consult the Erasmus+ 2015 Programme Guide and the UK applica1on guidance for further details or contact us to find out if your organisa1on is eligible to take part in the programme. Students Erasmus+ supports higher educa1on students to study abroad for up to one year in another European university or to gain valuable interna1onal work experience in a European organisa1on. Appren1ces and students in further or voca1onal educa1on can also benefit from an interna1onal experience by taking part in a traineeship abroad or a2ending a European VET school. Young people Young people and those working in the youth sector can take part in a youth exchange or a volunteering scheme. Staff Staff, teachers, lecturers and support staff, including volunteers and youth workers, can explore best prac1ces and gain professional development through teaching or training broad.
What can you do? Youth exchanges Groups of young people can organise a youth exchange with other young people from one or more EU country las1ng five to 21 days. Young people from different countries meet and live together to jointly carry out a work programme designed and prepared by them before the exchange. This could be a mix of workshops, exercises, debates, role-plays, simula1ons and outdoor ac1vi1es. They allow young people to develop competences; discover new cultures, habits and life-styles through peer-learning; and strengthen values like solidarity, democracy and friendship. European Voluntary Service Young people can take part in volunteering opportuni1es, las1ng from two weeks to 12 months, through the European Voluntary Service (EVS). EVS gives you the chance to experience other cultures and languages up-close and the opportunity to try out the type of work you might like to do in the future. Future employers will like the fact that you have interna1onal experience and you will be able to impress them at interviews with your new-found skills.
...and very much more...
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Erasmus+ How to get more information The Erasmus+ Programme has itself an informa1on system, built on the Eurodesk network. It has has offices and front offices in several ci1es in all European countries. In these front-offices you’ll find all informa1on about Erasmus+ and also about several other opportuni1es and ini1a1ves for youth and youth workers. The full list can be found at www.eurodesk.org The Programme is managed at na.onal level for some ac.ons and at centralized (Bruxelles) level for others. Each Na1onal agency can provide you usefull informa1on. The full list is available at h/p://ec.europa.eu/youth/partners_networks/na.onal_agencies_en.htm If you are living in a country where our partners are based, you can contact Associazione InformaGiovani www.informa-giovani.org Aventura Marao Clube www.aventuramaraoclube.com Deineta www.deineta.lt Estyes www.estyes.ee Sci Hellas www.sci.org
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