Gems of Youth Work

Why you should not drink coffee before recording a podcast and why having a blanket over yourself for better sound does not really work? What should be your “to-do” list before starting an international project and how to even start? Join us in this final episode of "Gems of Youth Work" as we reflect on our Erasmus+ project and share the inside scoop on how we created the podcast series. From the initial idea to the selection of guests, we will take you through the process step by step, sharing our key learnings and insights along the way. Discover the hidden gems that we uncovered throughout our journey and gain valuable knowledge and inspiration for your own youth work projects. Don't miss out on this insightful finale of our podcast series! “Gems of Youth Work” is a project funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission through Euroopa Noored by Shokkin Group International, EduEra, Ticket2Europe and #Coobra.

What happens when you let children and young people decide what to do with one million euro? What is the Viennese children and youth strategy? And why is it good to transfer practices between Austria and Australia? Alexandra Beweis, head of “WIENXTRA-Stadtbox”, and Nada Taha Ali Mohamed, project collaborator of „Junges Wien“, have been involved in key positions in the implementation of the Viennese children and youth strategy. They share with us their experiences and lessons lealearned in coordinating children and youth parliaments, participatory co-creation processes, and the provision of a participatory budget directly at the disposition of children and youth. LINKS AND RESOURCES: https://www.wienxtra.at/stadtbox/ https://junges.wien.gv.at/en/ https://junges.wien.gv.at/wp-content/uploads/sites/48/2022/08/Strategie_EN_Download_neuesVW.pdf

Do we still understand street art as vandalism? How much work goes into promoting legal murals? What is the role of youth leaders and young people in moving attitudes towards accepting brighter neighbourhoods? A passionate young street artist and newly emerged youth leader Emilia Sabirova shares her experience coordinating an international youth exchange that brought lots of bright colours into a soviet neighbourhood.

How to strengthen local youth work? What is the role municipalities can play in that, and how to establish good cooperation with them? Why is dialogue always relevant? And how can we use the European Charter on Local Youth Work and the Changemakers Kit to ensure quality in local youth work? Judit Balogh is project coordinator of Europe Goes Local (EGL) at JINT, the Flemish National Agency for ERASMUS+ and the European Solidarity Corps. Europe Goes Local has been incepted in 2016 and  is the longest standing strategic cooperation project among National Agencies. Judit has been there since the start and explains what are the offers and benefits of Europe Goes Local for youth work. More info on Europe Goes Local can be found here: website: https://europegoeslocal.eu/ facebook: https://www.facebook.com/europegoeslocal

What if we say that anyone can draw? How many are comfortable with using visuals to create systems and help our brain to understand concepts? How can visuals help us to engage others? Jaanika Siiroja, trainer and visual facilitator in the youth work and education fields, shares her experience in using visuals, symbols, and simple shapes to communicate better.

Why do future car mechanics benefit from learning mobilities and training approaches from youth work? How to combine the best of the worlds of formal and non-formal education for the sake of young people? How to bring sustainability to youth work via cross-sectorial co-operation? Why is it good to establish long-term partnerships with vocational schools? Mariusz Librowski, a Poland-based entrepreneur and youth work manager, founder, and president of SPARK Foundation, shares his experiences of working with all options and sectors of the ERASMUS program, and what are his lessons learnt and recommendations specifically for Vocational Education and Training (VET). LINKS AND RESOURCES Fundacja Akcelerator Obywatelski Spark [email protected] www.fundacjaspark.com

What if improvisation is the key to authentic communication? Is there a way to learn about oneself when learning to improvise? How do you invite people to leave the safe space of plans into the unknown of improvisation? In our latest episode, we get to hear about all that from Mafalda Morganti, a trainer in the field of youth work who uses a lot of improvisation and theatre techniques in her work with young people and youth workers.

What is art with a small “a”, and what is art with a big ”A”? What does it mean to take art seriously and still have fun? And what on earth is puppeteering? Dagna Gmitrowicz, a Berlin-based artist and forest therapy guide shares her experiences of applying art in youth work. LINKS AND RESOURCES Dagna Gmitrowicz - art www.dagnaart.com “Colours of feelings and needs” - https://cardsoffeelings.wixsite.com/cards Marionettes in public space (tutorials on how to build marionettes)  - https://marionetteinpublic.wixsite.com/project

How can roleplay games build awareness about climate change? Where do you start from when building edu-larp scenarios? How to keep the whole process safe and sane? In the first episode of our last podcast season, Zbyszek Janczukowicz, founder of Nausika Educational Foundation, shares his passion for educational live action roleplay games. LINKS AND RESOURCES: Nausika Foundation https://www.facebook.com/FundacjaNausika Larp For Climate https://www.facebook.com/LarpForClimate Open source scenario "Fortitude", free and available in Polish, English and Ukrainian: www.nausika.eu/fortitude Open-source, print-and-play larp scenarios online: Larp Library https://library.interactiveliterature.org/ Alexandria https://alexandria.dk/en/ Larp Factory https://larpfactorybookproject.blogspot.com/  Larp Base: http://larpbase.pl/  Good reads: Nordic Larp Wiki (https://nordiclarp.org/) and Larp Design (https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/136330)

What are the elements and mechanisms of games, and how can we use them to spice up learning and youth work? What are the human needs for autonomy, relatedness, and mastery, and how can satisfying them give us intrinsic motivation and a feeling of being in the flow? Why do grades demotivate us, and why should we all have extra lives when it comes to tests? Our guest Antonis Triantafyllakis from Greece, draws from his experience of applying gamification to youth work and education and shares his insights.