At-risk youth transitioning into Adulthood through social Circus Training

At-risk youth is a group that has grown in European countries in the last few years. Due to ongoing conflicts and uncertainty globally, many young people end up neglected or abandoned without adequate support, facing challenges with integration into societies. Social circus is an innovative approach based on circus arts and social pedagogy that aims to assist personal development and boost self-esteem and social competence of at-risk youth. In addition to teaching social skills such as leadership and teamwork, social circus connects people by enhancing their emotional, physical, and mental health, improving their physical literacy, personal development and social growth and, thus, helps them take up an active role in society. The CIRCUS A.C.T project was developed as a response to the gap identified in relation to the inclusion of at-risk youth in society and the common interest of both the involved partners and the general educational community in tackling the problem of social exclusion among disadvantaged youth. The need for the development of life skills as well as the creation of a safe environment where youth can grow were addressed through the activities implemented.

The objectives of this project focused on youth at risk of exclusion, as well as youth workers supporting them. More specifically, the project aimed to bring about social change by enhancing at-risk youth’s emotional, physical, and mental health as well as improving their physical literacy, personal development, and social growth in order to help them take up an active role in society. To achieve this, attention was paid to enhancing at-risk youth’s skills while increasing their confidence and self-esteem through the intersection of physical activity with the arts of social circus in a friendly and supportive environment. It was foreseen that, as a result, this would allow the youth to transition into adulthood easier without the fear of exclusion, no matter their background (socio-economic, ethnic, sex/gender, etc.). The project materials were developed with the aim of helping youth workers to acquire theoretical and practical knowledge of social circus and providing them with tools for the planning and implementation of social circus learning activities for at-risk youth. The partners created materials which were tested with youth workers and youth to help build life skills needed for youth’s smooth transition into adulthood.

Over the course of the project, the following activities took place: - Regular online meetings between the consortium members and 3 transnational project meetings throughout the project to ensure effective implementation and monitoring of the project activities and communication between the partners. - A needs analysis via an online survey questionnaire to investigate the needs of both youth workers and the ultimate beneficiaries – youth at-risk. Following the data collection, the next step was the development of the Social Circus Curriculum for youth workers. - An e-handbook with video tutorials was created to support the training course available online – the videos included tutorials on how to conduct different circus activities. - Development of an e-learning platform where all created materials were uploaded for the youth and social workers' access. The platform has also incorporated an Open Badge system which will help validate the knowledge acquired through the training. - One training event for youth workers (Learning, Teaching, Training Activity – LTTA) that took place both online and face to face in Brežice, Slovenia, to train a group of youth workers on social circus pedagogy and how to use it as a tool to help young people transition into adulthood. The online training lasted 6 hours, and it took place before the LTTA mobility to prepare participants for the on-site training course. - After the LTTA, the youth workers who participated in the training conducted social circus workshops on a local level for youth, especially youth at risk of social exclusion. - 7 multiplier events, including social circus workshops, to promote the project amongst the target groups, stakeholders and the general public.

The outputs of this project include: - The key educational materials created: a Social Circus Curriculum, E-handbook with video tutorials, E-learning platform - 21 youth workers trained in social circus pedagogy (3 from each partner organization) - 202 youth, with a particular focus on those at risk of social exclusion, across the 6 partner countries introduced to circus activities and the benefits of social circus pedagogy through their participation in the social circus workshops - 434 professionals who learned and interacted with the tools and materials created within the project - 7 Multiplier Events organized by each partner in all partner countries that reached a total number of 274 people (Cyprus 39 & 25; Estonia 87; Finland 7; Germany 32; Hungary 43; Slovenia 41) - Awareness-raising of social circus pedagogy and its benefits for young people and dissemination of the results and materials of the project – 9459 people reached