NFE: Let the Young People Learn - Final Booklet

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Booklet

NFE:

LET THE YOUNG PEOPLE LEARN

Volunteers Centre Skopje www.vcs.org.mk

Training course "NFE: Let the Young People Learn" implemented by Volunteers Centre Skopje with the support of Youth in Action Programme of the European Union focused on non-formal education as a way of empowering and activating young people. During the training course participants coming from all around Europe e.g. Spain, the Czech Republic, Italy, Serbia, Macedonia, Kosovo, ,Estonia, Russia, Georgia participated in various non- formal based activities with goal to reflect on non-formal education, share practices and to learn from each other. This booklet is bringing stories of the participants, their reflection on non-formal education in their countries, description of new developed activities and links connected with Youth in Action and Erasmus+ Programme.

Thank you to all participants for their contributions and partners for their support. Volunteers Centre Skopje www.vcs.org.mk vcs_contact@yahoo.com

“This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.�

just a few people t a th is n io in p o My about non-formal ng hi et m so w o kn education. t that that exist bu w o kn le p eo p Young ork is like and w e th t ha w w o don’t kn r it . Also there is fo ly p p a n a c that they e lack of money a problem wit h th situation in ic m no o ec d ba a because of Serbia. heard just of one ve ha I w no ll ti Up n organization in o ti a c u ed l a rm fo nonand it is just for C A S IE A – d a S Novi ics facult y. m no o Ec f o ts en d st u Marjena, Serbia

Italy gave a very important contribution to evolve from formal education in the beginning of 20th century. A breaker in this field was Maria Montessori who was a doctor, a scientist and a teacher. She developed an alternative method to educate children. At the time education in Italy, as well as in the rest of Europe, was a quite strict and used severe method including physical punishment. Maria Montessori based her method on freedom: she believed that children give their best only when they feel free, when they can choose and when they are truly interested in what they do. We could define this method as non-formal education. Therefore it is a long time, more than one thousand years that Italy is aware of the validity of different approaches to learning.

Dania, Italy

Formal e duc Herzegovin ation system in B osnia and a for today is old and it is n ot applie ’s job ma d r k e t .

To gain n skills you eeded ng people self-educ have to ate or to opportunit find som ies in the is still pr field of N e ivilege fo FE, which r o n l y small gro youth inv olved in up of There are few organ NGO sector. izations t different hat delive k in d o r f courses (mostly). for free NFE is st ill not re institution cognized s and ne by Despite it ither by s , employe ociety. rs ( and intern ational bu small companies sinesses) NFE and recognize prefer to employ t hat kind candidate of Sometime s. s it seem s that th lack of in e problem formation is b u t public I t e v e n t h e hink it is y are motivatio about lac n. Maybe k of because political o f pr system p eople thin ecious formal ed k that ucation is opinion th enough b ut in m at is al why unem so one of the rea y sons ployment Nermina, is s o high Bosnia an d Herzego . vina

NFE in my country Belarus is only at the beginning to be developed. Most of the educational institutions base their activities and subjects on formal education.

Maybe kindergartens succeed even more in the sphere of NFE now then the higher education even not knowing most of the mates with whom we spent 4 or 5 years together at lections or exams. But I’m a lucky one to volunteer for the NGO because when you start it in our country you become automatically involved in NFE, you learn about youth activities and mainstreams start-ups and so on and so forth. The problem of NFE in Belarus is that the old system is too slow to adapt to this need and that the process of informing people about this is not a minute. But we are making in this direction and can view results by the people who turn to us.

Yuliya, Belarus

As the Bulgarian team we will present 2 examples of non-formal education structures that work in Bulgaria.

1. “ Gudevica”– it is a house in the mountains which hosts EU projects and trainings. Other activities are also organized and all this place is a product of voluntary work of volunteers.

As an output there are books and guide for NFE, also practical guides for parents teaching how to raise children.

We can summarize the mission as a combination of self and sustainable development, volunteering and awareness about the environment.

2. The other example of NFE we want share is called “ Betahouse” and “ SOHO” . These are working platforms. They host both people and businesses but also they are great place for events like Breakfast ideas”where you can “ organize morning activities for pitching ideas and brainstorming combined with coffee time. Also skills sharing events, creative and inspirational talking activities and sport-oriented activities are organized.

Ivana and Iva, Bulgaria

Youth development is a key for a country to succeed. From my personal point of view non-formal education should be more respected.

In Georgia a government really cares for students and youngsters to get a good education, meanwhile I think that more elements of non-formal education should be included. Once we recognize that a considerable amount of education happens beyond the school walls and universities we can quickly recognize the importance of NFE. The main obstacle in Georgia towards recognition of NFE is conservative people who prefer formal education based on books, classrooms, diplomas etc. From my perspective, young people should get more active in that field.

We should make non-formal education accessible for everybody, when formal education is not. We should promote NFE, make people see that the method has a lot of power, it works better and it helps people to get better.

Tamta, Georgia

I think that education system in Croatia has a lot of spare for improvement as of course everything else due to the very bad situation in our country in general.

The main problem is lack of motivation in people. They just want to do the job they are paid for and they are not interested in something more. If the adults who teach children are not into new things, into things that are not learnt from books, why should children be?

I think that has to change fast. For example, students in Croatia (in my experience) are not interested in some extra activities that student life offers and they are not introduced to opportunities that are standing in front of them. So they are not motivated enough, they are passive and don’t see nothing else except faculty books.

Of course there are exceptions. At my university every kind of non-formal lectures and activities are accepted but the problem are students who are not interested in it.

I have some examples because I work in a student association and we organize a lots of projects, competitions etc. but sometimes it happens that we have to push some people to join us. Honestly, I don’t get it and we are trying to change it.

Other problem is system in general. New types of learning really need to be accepted by teachers and students as well. World is changing very quickly and we can’t stay far behind.

I know it is not easy just to change everything and that also a big amount of money is needed but we have to start somewhere. So let the young people learn and let them change some things.

Helena, Croatia

Croatia doesn’t have a well developed creative learning system. It’s more of a traditional system. The only way for non-formal education to enter the system is if the individual teachers implement it into their teaching. We just entered the European Union and we are a developing country so progress can be seen. More and more young people are going to international training courses, so in the future the situation will surely improve. The new generation will take over; who experiences more of non-formal education and it will have more impact in job applications. Since the economic situation is bad more people are coming up with their own startups and businesses and that is the generation that recognizes non-formal education more.

Also there is a global trend of degree overproduction and in that regard non-formal education could be the next new and different thing. Niko, Croatia

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In European Commission’s study regarding the non-formal education it is sad: non-formal education could be seen as a system out of the formal education which brings together human resources, objectives, methods and means to produce a well structured learning process. This is one of the reasons why my country (NGOs) is focused in this direction. Our society recognizes the non-formal education and we are creating equal opportunities for all to include as much as we can the non-formal education. But still I think we should try to do more activities and promote the importance of NON-FORMAL EDUCATION. Almira, Kosovo

NFE is: • skills training • training in the workplace • remote educa tion • training and re fresher courses and when the o lder people gen eration pass the experience to y ir ounger generatio n NFE is relative type of learning ly new that goes beyo nd the formal e process (for exa ducation mple: training c ourses or evenin g schools aft er work).

NFE for young people means p laces outside th such as youth e school p ro g rams, spot club Currently the Ru s. ssian NFE is just beginning to dev for example the elop, re are no books information on th about NFE and e internet is very different regions small. Meanwhile in Russia opened in th can get NFE. It e schools where ’s very import an you t topic for all c o u nties.

Aygul and Alina , Russia

In my opinion the non-formal system of education in my country is in starting process. Actually there are non-formal institutions, NGOs and corners in Macedonia but the problem is that they are not well published. closed Actually I would call them “ . The people are not so kind groups� and open to tell that they are part of some organization because the thinking is that somebody can take his/her position. So they are very selfish. I’ve been attending international conferences as I put them in the non-formal system and I had the chance to make the comparison on how the Macedonian spread their experiences and knowledge in a very selfish way. On opposite, people from abroad are always open to answer and give details about their organization and their experiences.

Nikolina, Macedonia

M oldo NFE in v M oldo m enta a, althoug h va lity an it away d b es 's m aking f Form a rom the S t p ractices chang es t , oviet o l educ p rincip s till has a wards a m ation p r ef er ore Eu l es is lo a m or rop ea e con well known . The s am ng way to n e s ervat g a o a n p d reco to m o p lies Non-f iv e , v f g f orm al e or ed or nized s o the m al educa and le , and p lann . Academ ic ucation. tion is re are ed m e arning ins titu jus t n no vis think . t t h o o d t ib w h at if l e r es of tea ions s tartin dis reg w u c e g to lts ye hing f ocu ard in the com p letel s too m uc t. In m y o b e cons ide y the re p h on e f orm a non-f o inion, p eop d an op tio p ub lic nd. There l l n rm al s hould ins titu one a teach educa e of M oldo , t n io b d e n s m m tio ab out v ig t how it o p rom ote ore p roject ht not ha n, we m ig h a ve g o s org t the id can b od an ea of e com Cas e non-f o ized b y NG res ults b ined in p oin r Os a each rm al with t, w cours e s , we e have a s b etter res f orm al edu education nd ults edu us e m al cation an in ord d exp erie cation envir elem ents l lang uag e . e r to of no onm e nce, cent interes and as k f nt. The s tu n-f orm al e er in M old ova or it duc dents non-f o ting , and like th ation in a . In our interac later during rm al f orm e pr ed tiv c p rob a b ly th ucation p ra e. In our ours es ,s ay actice and al ing th e onl ctices cas e the conce y ins titution s eem s to the m ix of at it's crea I truly pt a tive, , or be f or b educa elieve that nd ob s erve one of the very ef f ec m al and t d its tion a outs ta f ew, who a ive. We are nd ho M oldova n vis ib le w it g oes h eeds to kn nding res u dap ted this l ow m a r e s ul t ore ab ts . s . Val nd-in-hand out no entina with f n-f or and A ndrei, m al educat orm al M oldo ion f o va r

Non-formal education in Czech republic is still very underrated from the view of emloypers. The demand of society is to have a lot of people with college degrees, which are considered as a good signal about person´s skills and knowledge. But we are slowly starting to realize that a degree does not provide the value it used to.

Non-formal education is now the hot topic for several non-for profit companies. The most visible and effecive in lobbing and communication with government is the organization called Eduin.

Their goal is generally to promote education arround society and they want to empower people and inform them about education. But they also commnicate with the government about innovations in school and education sector in general. I was personĂĄly involved in a public debate, which was more like a series of meetings in cities, where people discussed the important issues about education. I know that a lot of partcipants agreed that non-formal education is very important and should be more supported by the government.

Currently, the Eduin and other organizations are working on a project called Veriod, whose mission is to create and universally accepted form for recognition of non-formal education. You can see an example here: http://veriod.cz/profil/87262a9359x2 The biggest problem of the recognition of NFE will be the mindset of people who still prefer college degrees. So my point her eis that, if you want to use your NFE, you have to be able to sell it on your own, because the government will not do this for you.

Frantisek, Czech Republic

Non-formal education in Poland is carried out by many non-profit organisations, e.g. associations and foundations and social centres, which involve local youth in various activities. For example, some ways of implementing non-formal education involve volunteering activities, exchange projects, seminars, trainings and internships, etc. More and more young people in Poland are engaged in non-formal education activities, both those who are high achievers and want to use their skills and knowledge in their local community, as well as those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, dropped out from school and wish to explore alternative ways of educating themselves, outside of the formal education system. This way gives them the chance to learn the skills and put them in practice so that they will gain valuable experience, not only theoretical knowledge, which is taught in the more formal educational settings. Youth centres and ngos are therefore involved into activating local youth, both in their local environment, as well as by promoting opportunities involving gaining international experience, e.g. EVS or Youth in Action exchanges. However, the problem may be that non-formal education experience is most usually not recognised by employers (unless it is the employer active in the third sector -most ngos regognise Youthpasses and volunteering certificates). Therefore the issue of recognition when it comes to non-formal education is still something to discuss and work on.

Agnieszka, Poland

Nowadays popularity of non-formal education in Estonia is growing. We are ready to experiment new technologies and methods in education. We have NGOs, Youth Centers, Scout organizations and children camps, where successfully are using non-formal methods of education. Those principles are not so popular in schools. At the same time, there are some schools and some teachers, who are trying to involve more non-formal, ‘gamification’ methods on their lessons, especially in primary school. Some teachers are using internet resources, showing to children scientific videos, experiments and organizing their lessons ‘out of school doors’.

Children are able to get non-formal education from different places. Their development doesn’t stop at school. For example, they are free to go to the Youth Centre, where youth workers are doing a great job with them and offer a lot of activities.

Another thing is that there exists a big problem of unknowing own opportunities among the children.

Teachers don’t usually share information about other educational places. Maybe that is happening because even teachers are not informed about those possibilities.

Using social media and putting useful information about different opportunities and activities on the web sites, which are famous among the youth, we have more chances to be heard by young population and even teachers. Non-formal education in Estonia is developing and has a big future.

Anna and Alina, Estonia

Following m y experience, non form al education in Slovakia is m ostly provided by non-governm ental organisations. In som e cases there is a kind of fusion between Universities and NGOs. so that Universities can include som e parts of NFE into their curricula, and at the other hand - NGOs can get som e financial support for this activities.

In any case -situation on the field of education is rather difficult in m y country Minister of Education is and extrem ely conservative m an, not open to the changing world and new challenges which have to face recent education in rapidly changing world.. Following this line, teachers and students are forced to follow m ostly the traditional ways of education, based on "collection of knowledge" with absence of critical thinking or holistic approach.

Because of that, som e NGOs have to supplem ent this role and to provide this "other kind" of education, even this is really hard for them . There is alm ost no support from governm ental sources for this kind of education and activities, it m ore and m ore difficult to get som e support from sm all and m edium size projects.

At the other hand - lit is quite hard to find learners (participants) of NFE courses ready to pay the real price of this courses.Except of the m ost attractive fields, like trainings for business sector - it is rather difficult to m ake profit from NFE. NGOs are therefore facing to serious problem - how to survive and how to cover expenses of their courses if this have to keep their quality.

Stefan, Slovakia

Do you wanna develop your competencies? Check out SALTO youth, your National Agencies and various Facebook groups....

training course 'NFE: Let the Young People Learn' was implemented with the support of Youth in Action Programme that finished in 2013. New programme is called Erasmus+ that will run until 2020

for texts about NFE in Romania, impressions of the participants check out VOICES magazine published by hosting organization of the project Volunteers Centre Skopje http://issuu.com/vcsvoices

T C A NE W

S E I T IVI

write your name on a post-it, put the post-it in a box and when doing that say what you like or what defines you, after everybody do so one person starts and take one post-it from a box, read the name loud, find the person and try to remember what was specific about it, then the person written on the paper does the same etc. -> good name game for the second day of project

write your name on a post-it and under it something which start with the same letter as your name and stick it on you, walk around the room and check the others’ post-its, make a row in an alphabetical order depending on the first letter of your name, make a row in an alphabetical order depending on the last letter from your additional word, the different colors of the post-its will make team according to the colors, the task is to write down a sentence including all the additional words of members of the team of one color

NFE

FOREVER!

NFE

ROCKS! ENJOY NON-FORMAL PLAYGROUND