DiGi-tool: Distance Guidance & Innovation

Background The COVID-19 epidemic drove most of the world, including young people and youth educators, into a situation of long-term isolation, revealing an unpleasant reality: those people involved in non-formal education for youngsters were not ready to ensure a rapid and effective transition from traditional practices to distance education, assistance and tutoring for young people. In order to take action and to meet the objective of the Horizon Europe 2030 strategy towards the emergence of a digital, intelligent and inclusive education, we have set up this good practice exchange project. It is an extension of several European projects carried out by the members of the consortium, during which youth educators have been trained in non-formal distance education and have created online and offline pedagogical tools that have had an impact on a large number of beneficiaries (young people/youth workers). Objectives The pandemic highlighted the need to adapt the services provided by those involved in non-formal education for young people (assistance, supervision, tutoring) to online procedures and tools. There was an urgent need to further promote the use of digital resources within the framework of online non-formal education; operating on 2 levels: - Strengthening the skills of youth educators, in particular their digital skills, then modernizing the pedagogical methods applied at a distance, as well as their ability to adapt their pedagogical approach according to unpredictable and variable situations, while preserving their active role in various geographical and seasonal contexts and in crisis situations requiring immediate and effective intervention. - Modernize non-formal educational tools aimed at young people and youth workers, the main drivers of socio-educational projects. Most existing tools require updating in terms of form, content and design, as well as interactivity and continuous innovation, to meet the real needs of target groups. Implementation To achieve these objectives, we implemented the following activities: - A kick-off meeting in Greece to identify the roles, arrangements and methods for implementing the project. - Preparation and launch of a research survey to identify the needs of young people and youth workers in terms of distance learning, follow-up and support for skills development. - 4 seminars involving 4 participating youth workers per country and the project leaders. These meetings were opportunities for joint work on the project's main outputs. They facilitated the exchange and monitoring of project stages and the roles and tasks of each partner. Between each seminar, the participants received training, tried out the tools and collected feedback from the beneficiaries with a view to improving them. - Modernising 4 tools for learning and tutoring young people (one tool previously created by each partner). - Creation of an online video tutorial on remote monitoring methods to support youth workers in terms of e-tutoring for young people. Achievements Outputs and results: 1- Identify the needs of young people and youth educators in terms of services and skills, so that they can obtain or offer adequate support / mentoring, training at a distance. 2- Share and pool our knowledge, experiences and reflections with our partners and train on methods of education, supervision and mentoring of young people at a distance, with a view to broadening our pedagogical approaches, improving, modernize and certify new innovative working methods and educational tools. 3- Promote experimentation and the circulation of good practices between partner countries and elsewhere. 4- Improve and digitally update our teaching tools and test them with a representative group of the target group before disseminating them on a large scale. 5- Create an "e-tutorial video" which will facilitate the self-development of the skills of youth educators in terms of distance mentoring. 6- Make widely visible and promote the results of the project.