Call for the creation of a Digital Youth Work Community Of Learning

Opportunities for Youth Workers

CALL FOR THE CREATION OF A DIGITAL YOUTH WORK COMMUNITY OF LEARNING

Call for the creation of a Digital Youth Work
Community Of Learning

КА2 – Strategic Partnership – AlwaysOn for Youth

2020-3-RO01-Ka205-094830


Are you a youth worker or teacher interested in digital youth work, digital safety and inclusion?

Do you work with vulnerable young people or intend to do so?

Are you interested in joining more than 100 youth workers from Europe and beyond and learn about digital youth work, inclusion and safety?

Are you concerned about (in)humane technologies, deepfakes, digital safety for young people and youth workers?

Do you need quality tools which can be used and understood easily?

Join  the Digital Youth Work Community of Learning  – a European network of dedicated youth workers willing to learn more about digital youth work, digital safety and inclusion.

The Digital Youth Work Community of Learning  is created inside the  “#AlwaysOn for Youth” Strategic Partnership for Youth project which is implemented between April 2021 – April 2023 by Federația Young Men’s Christian Associations România (YMCA România), as coordinator and Young Initiative Association (AYI), Sdrujenie “Nadejda-CRD” – Bulgaria (NCRD), The Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service – France (CCIVS ) and the Alliance Europeenne des YMCA – Belgium (YMCA Europe), as partners. The project is co-funded by the European Union through the Erasmus + Program.

The aim of the project is to increase the capacity of youth organizations from Romania, France, Bulgaria, Belgium and the federated networks of the partnership consortium to serve young people (including vulnerable youth) extensively and intensively through digital youth work and digital inclusion and digital safety practices.


BRIEF ABOUT THE DIGITAL YOUTH WORK COMMUNITY OF LEARNING


What we intend to do:

Create and develop a collaborative learning space focused on digital inclusion and digital youth work, connecting youth workers from Europe interested in learning more about these topics through the sharing of best practices and stories, learning about new tools, increasing the capacity and the competences of the youth workers and organizations involved. 

We want to put a spotlight on the tremendous work and support provided by youth workers to the young people all over Europe, highlighting how this support has challenged and helped youth to reach their potential and to lead change in their local communities through youth-led social action, even amidst the global pandemic and post pandemic.

Together we want to analyse the new working context and to adapt and renew our approaches and tools to deliver quality digital youth work and enable digital inclusion.


Topics

  • digital youth work, 
  • digital inclusion, 
  • (in)humane technologies, 
  • deepfakes, 
  • digital safety for young people and youth workers,
  • privacy, etc

Who is this community for?:

100+ youth workers interested in developing their digital youth work and digital inclusion skills from European countries  (The youth practitioners can be youth workers, social assistants, teachers, psychologists, volunteer coordinators, youth center managers, etc).


What engagement is expected?:

Community members  will be actively involved in all stages of the project  and consulted, but will also have the opportunity to attend virtual co-creation sessions. The community will be facilitated by the partnership consortium in order to keep an active engagement by using digital tools. 

The commitment for being part of this community and engaging in sessions  is 2 years. As a community member you are expected to regularly access the community platform, share your experiences or questions and whenever you are available to attend some of the community (online) events.


Criteria for selection

  • Minimum level of understanding spoken and written English;
  • Motivation to learn more about digital youth work, digital safety, digital inclusion  and to improve personal and professional competences;
  • Capacity and interest in multiplying practices on a local/ national/ international level;
  • Commitment to actively engage digitally in the community for the duration of the project;
  • Readiness to engage in a large scale international network, to share and to learn, to co-create and give feedback.

* Age limit: 18+ 

* Youth Workers from across  Europe are welcomed to  apply and be part of this community. 

* Equal chances and no discrimination principles – we promote and encourage youth workers and youth organizations representatives accessibility from and with all backgrounds(rural/urban), from big or small organizations, targeting youth workers who are working with vulnerable young people.* There is no requirement to be a professional youth worker (eg. proven through a certificate). Please treat the definition of a youth worker to the largest extent possible and applicable in your context, as long as you are working with or supporting the learning and development of young people in your community or organization.


10 REASONS TO BE PART OF THE DIGITAL YOUTH WORK COMMUNITY OF LEARNING? WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?


  1. You will have the opportunity to actively engage in the creation of a research “Shaping Digital Inclusion and Safety in a Post Pandemic World” – by participating in questionnaires, interviews, and virtual laboratories to identify emerging trends and changes brought by the pandemic when it comes to the digital inclusion of young people – opportunities and challenges, trends of digital safety and wellbeing;
  2. You will have fresh knowledge about the emerging trends and needs of young people, including the newest trends such as social media dependence, deepfakes, digital inclusion safety, privacy etc;
  3. You have the opportunity to better understand “what works” and what doesn’t when it comes to the expectations around digital inclusion and youth work, and to apply and transfer this knowledge in your own organisational or community practices;
  4. You have the chance to learn and share in a very diverse European network, to improve your language skills and competences as a professional working with young people.
  5. You will have the chance to become involved in the creative and design thinking processes, testing and feedback on the gamification tools created during  the project.
  6. You will have first hand access to the MOOC course on Digital Inclusion and Safety created in the project and have the chance to propose improvements before its  launch.
  7. You will have a chance  to be selected to participate in the Training course of the project that will be held in September 2022 in Bulgaria.
  8. You will be better prepared to use new and effective digital tools involving young people in creative and useful activities for integration into a new society and a new labour market.
  9. You will have access to working instruments and methods to encourage young participants to explore new experiences and to support them to adapt to difficult situations
  10. You will have the chance to be part of a team shaping the future of digital youth work  creating a friendly, inspirational and fun environment.


Estimated Calendar

The Digital Youth Work Community of Learning will actively engage in the activities of the project between June 2021 – June 2023. We estimate regular 1-2 hour meetings (once every 1-2 months).

Selection process calendar

  • Registration/Apply– till:  06.06.2021
  • Selection done by a Committee formed by 1 representatives from each partner: till 10.06.2021
  • Announcement about selected youth workers: 12.06.2021

For more details and information: 


Project manager: Alina Violeta Pop, Federația YMCA Romania, Tel: +40723278437, Email: alina.ymca(@)gmail.com
Young Initiative, Romania, Razvan Sassu, e-mail: razvan.sassu(@)younginitiative.org
YMCA Europe, Belgium – Marius Pop, e-mail: marius(@)ymcaeurope.com
CCIVS, France – Victoria Lovelock, e-mail: secretariat(@)ccivs.org
Sdrujenie Nadejda-CRD, Bulgaria – Dilyana Vuchkova e-mail: nadejda.projects(@)gmail.com


Disclaimer:

The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union