Make Change Yourselves: Turning Challenges to Your Advantage!

Background Working with marginalised youth is a key priority area for Interdiac. This area was defined by partner organisations as part of a consultation process to identify a strategy to support the development of staff and volunteers involved in diaconal work with vulnerable youth. Since 2010, 6 seminars with/for youth workers have been implemented, creating a space for mutual sharing in different national contexts and realities of working with young people, acquiring new competences and thus strengthening them ("empowerment"). As a result of the joint efforts of 15 organisations from 13 different countries, the following publications were published in English: 1. "Make Change Yourself!"; 2. "Ethical orientation on Social Work and Work with Young People"; 3. "Working with Young People - reports from seven initiatives". All publications are available on the interdiac website and also in the online space: https://www.online-space.eu/pedagogy-in-diaconal-practice-with-people-and-groups. The 2018 conference in Kiev with 50 participants was a confirmation of the priority area and also an invitation for new partners to join the initiative. The needs were defined taking into account the analysis of the socio-political context, the working and living environment of individuals and organizations, the training needs of youth workers and social workers through the lens of the profile of the young people they work with and their needs with regard to new phenomena of the time, such as digitalization, or the specific social situation in the country and in the process of project implementation, the epidemiological situation & its consequences and the conflict in Ukraine . The results of the research, as presented in the document "Working with young people - reports from seven initiatives", highlighted the intention of the project implementation in terms of building individual capacities, creating "resources" and thus developing organizations, active participation of young people, which organically emerged and developed with the "flow" of the learning process of the program participants in tandem with young people. And last but not least, making recommendations for individual change through the process and thus subsequent change in the community and society. The need to promote a different approach to youth worker learning and to advocate for systemic change with respect to 'attentive listening' & 'empowerment' & 'participation' approaches is both complementary and essential for the long term and sustainable development of organisations and communities working with young people. The need to involve young people from the early stages of any youth initiative should become the norm for adherence to the principle of WITH US, not ABOUT US, WITHOUT US. Thanks to the so-called double learning method, i.e. a method where not only the youth worker but also the young people themselves are part of the whole process of learning and change, it was possible to initiate and implement mini-projects in which young people were the main actors. In this way, young people have been transformed from passive participants in the activities into an active part of the change. Young people with specific life stories can take on and experience the role of an active player who can bring about change in their environment and become empowered through the elements of non-formal learning: 'learning by doing'. Objectives In relation to people: the slogan of Interdiac is that people are "the main important resource". This has literally come true in the life of the project and with regard to the following: (a) A steering group was formed as a management team, a team of experts and other staff needed to develop the conceptual material and the functioning of the learning programme. This is a group of experts with multidisciplinary backgrounds, including educators, youth workers, diaconal and social workers, researchers and local and international volunteers. b) A genuine friendship has developed between some of the participants that has gone beyond the scope of this project and continues beyond the project on a personal level (meeting and communicating with each other). As a result of the relationships built during the life cycle of the project, informal networks have been created at local, national and international level, which has great potential to continue after the project. 2. In relation to processes: (a) Drawing on the research findings and evaluated experiences from previous learning processes and programmes, a curriculum was developed and implemented by a team of experts from all nine partner organisations and further co-created with the participants the operational plan, the portfolio design and their pedagogical resources and approaches as detailed in the "IO". The results of the interim and final evaluation of the programme, which will inform the development of this and future programmes (Intellectual Outcomes detailed in the Intellectual Outcomes section). 3. In relation to competences: (a) A profile of competences and related knowledge and skills is developed that has supported the personal and professional/professional development of participants with regard to the learning objectives as defined in the curriculum, and which can be used to refine or redefine the professional profile of those working with marginalised young people. b) A deeper understanding of the competences needed to support reflective practice-related learning and participatory approaches to processes in a dual learning process involving disadvantaged young people and professional staff. c) A deeper understanding of approaches, competencies and methods that support openness, trust building and processes of empowerment and transformation of individuals, communities and societies. This will include competencies in advocating for change, claiming rights and strengthening the case for changing young people's own situation needs. 4. In relation to tangible outcomes - IO: (a) Intellectual Outcomes as a result of the collective and participatory work of an international team of experts, students and young people are detailed in the Intellectual Outcomes section. These outputs are: - Curriculum Curriculum - The operational plan of the learning programme - Participant Handbook and Learning Trainer's Guide - Canva online platform for sharing and storing materials - Active use of the Event Diary & Learning Journal and will provide a basis for resources and peer learning. - Video and guidance on how to actively use the new Event Diary & Learning Journal (to integrate into your daily life). - Tutorial on creating a portfolio that is embedded into the learning process and used live during work processes. - A book of participant stories were created in the form of, written stories - A set of recommendations integrating insights from different national contexts. 5. In the context of motivation to share the experiences gained during the project and also to ensure dissemination of the experiences and results of the joint work: (a) Hopes and dreams became reality through the given trust and embodied skills of empowerment & openness, respect for difference and willingness to learn through the diversity of gifts and talents of the participants and the team. b) Tangible results have been made available on the interdiac website for open access by all, and for use by other individuals and institutions outside of the project partner organization. The project envisages strengthening and deepening existing partnerships and establishing new contacts through formal and informal means. This includes this wider network of people and organisations that will have tangible and intangible results at their disposal according to their interests and expectations. "Word of mouth" promotion of the results and their potential applications becomes more convincing through the authentic experience of all participants, whose internalized experience of the reciprocity of learning and support is the basis for initiating and implementing change at personal, organizational and systemic levels. Implementation Management and coordination and process design of learning processes, programme and outcomes of collective work: (a) A total of 8 meetings were held with representatives from all partner organisations - 1 meeting of the steering group at the beginning of the project and 7 meetings of the expert group, which was nominated and emerged from the steering group and each partner organisation had a representative in this group. With regard to the evolution of the situation during the project, the expert group met in person a total of 4 times, and the last meeting was not in hybrid form. The other four meetings (expert and steering group) were online. Under the guidance of the responsible lecturer, the experts worked on the preparation of conceptual materials - especially on the development of the curriculum, the operational plan of the learning programme. The experts were fully involved in the development of these conceptual materials, afterwards they could comment it to the responsible lecturer. Experts were responsible for the selection of participants in the programme. Afterwards, the participants were contacted by the project coordinator with regard to the logistic and technical support of the whole learning process. In order to ensure the smooth running of the learning process, the participants were also contacted by the responsible lecturer. The support process was applied throughout the project. The aim of this sensitive and individual process was to support the participants themselves in the learning process and to eliminate possible drop-outs. Unfortunately, this process could not always be completely avoided, but managed to maintain the cohesion of the group for the most part. Young people influenced the course of the project directly through ideas for the so-called mini-project and also through their reactions to the methods used throughout the project. Learning participatory processes: 1) 4 workshops took place, with weekly meetings where both the practice period was reflected upon, but more importantly the actual theoretical learning process took place. 2) In between these workshops organised in our partners' countries, online meetings were also held - both group i.e. always the whole group of participants together with a learning supervisor, a learning expert and a project coordinator. For the practice period, a Learning Journal was used to support conscious reflective learning and the integration of practice and theoretical knowledge. There were also individual meetings between the participant and the learning supervisor for one-to-one consultation and learning mentoring. 3) Between the third and fourth workshops, ten-day placements were also held in partner organisations where participants had the opportunity to gain experience and inspiration in working with young people. This form of peer learning in a different working context contributed significantly to individual and organisational learning. 4) Conscious reflective learning: during the workshops a tool called "Event Diary" was used for daily evaluation and feedback. Networking, Dissemination and Advocacy: 6) The culmination of the project in terms of dissemination of outputs was the final conference (multiplier event) in December 2023. It brought together over 50 people from 14 countries and provided an opportunity not only to present the project outputs but also to debate the dissemination of outputs in follow-up activities and also to develop local and national "advocacy" plans. In the context of the above, communication with the different actors and facilitation of the processes was crucial to ensure that the activities were completed with the full participation of the representatives of the partner organisations within the deadlines and times set. The role of the project coordinator was important in this process, especially in contacting experts before the meeting, commenting through personal phone conversations and other support. This personal support was also needed due to the heavy workload of many of the experts. Achievements Project outputs can be divided into tangible and intangible outputs: 1) Establishment of a steering group - statutory representatives from all ten partner organisations in the project. 2) Creation of a group of experts from the 10 organisations who have authored a number of conceptual documents and have sufficient competences to support and lead a group of youth workers. 3) Formation of a group of youth workers from 9 partner organisations - a very active group of 13 people where a number of participants have the potential to become a member of the expert group in a future project. 5) Creation of a curriculum as an output of the joint work of the expert group of 10 people experts from partner organisations and 4 people from the interdiac team during the project. The curriculum presents the concept, content and main points for the learning programme. 6) Creation of the Operational Plan - another output of the expert group of 10 organisations in the project. The operational plan provides all the details of the learning process based on the draft curriculum. 7) An essential feature of the project is its possible further application in other organizations. This is also why the following two publications have been produced. The first is the Handbook for Programme Managers. The handbook contains recommendations for those who want to implement a learning programme. It walks through the programme step by step and is based on the operational plan. The output is a joint work of the interdiac and an expert group of all 10 organisations. 8) Another Handbook is for the participants of the learning programme themselves. The aim of this handbook is to provide participants in the learning programme with the recommendations they need to participate fully. It is also a joint work of all 10 partner organisations. 9) It is also important to reflect on the learning itself and to be aware of the process and the learning. At the same time, this can serve as inspiration for others. The Storybook was created for these purposes. This booklet presents the learning journey of the eleven participants of the learning programme. It is a valuable resource as it elaborates the key points of learning from different perspectives and illuminates the curriculum and operational plan in practice. The eleven participants in the learning programme contributed to this publication primarily under the supervision of experts from their organisations as well as the interdiac team. 10) The Storybook also produced a set of recommendations for working with youth in a wider international context. This booklet is a so-called 'recommendation document' that summarises the experiences of the different actors in the programme and draws out the implications for a new vision of youth work and learning to support this practice. It concludes with some practical conclusions. The document was commented on together with the expert group and the interdiac team. 11) Online tools for reflection on learning were also developed. The first of these was used on a daily basis during the workshops - the Event Diary - an online tool where participants answered daily questions at the end of the workshop learning day which acted as a reflection for the learner and also feedback for the workshop leaders. 12) The Learning Journal online platform - an interactive learning tool for the learning participants and the learning supervisor - acted as a reflection tool in the other steps of the learning project. At the same time, confidentiality in the information communicated is ensured. No one other than these two persons have access to the data. This ensures confidentiality and promotes openness of the participants in their learning. The Canva platform - a secure and organized portal where all assignments for learners have been posted, as well as a space for learners to securely store their answers. 13) Facebook and whatsapp group - tools for instant and flexible communication between learning participants and tutors and project coordinator. This network not only shared practices and successes in youth work and mini-projects, but also other photos of work with young people. This contributed to the cohesion of the group. 14) Audio visual outputs from the project process - video montages with participants learning as a form of feedback and reflection. These outputs were used to present the project earlier in the project at individual meetings to show progress in the project. The form and commitment of the young people involved in the project can be heard and seen in these materials. The outputs will also be used in subsequent activities and projects. 15) Exhibition of the overall journey we have travelled during the project - presentation of the entire project timeline - presented in the final confere (Multiplier event).