Latest Infos & Working Group Query
Thank you very much for your registration for the European Youth Work Symposium 2024. We are looking forward to welcoming you soon at the Dortmunder U !
Preparations for this extraordinary event on 28 October 2024 are in full swing. We are pleased to present the updated programme, and here is some information about the location and travelling to the event.
But above all, we need your help now: please fill in the short form below and indicate which of the five working groups you are most interested in. This can be done in a minute and will greatly assist the preparations.
Please fill out the form now!
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Working Groups to choose from:
1. Stronger Together: Organising Youth Workers and Their Allies
Working conditions in youth work are often difficult: temporary and inadequate funding, overlapping professional and voluntary commitments, insufficient recognition of youth work as a profession: How should European youth workers and their allies from politics and civil society network to make their voices heard? Which organisations of cooperation have already been formed, what are their experiences, and what are the next steps to strengthen the representation of common interests? How do these needs relate to the demands of the young people involved?
Facilitated by Olga Kyriakidou, youth worker and trainer for non-formal learning, administration and youth consultancy, Kids in Action (Thessaloniki, Greece) | Input: Federica Demicheli, Board member of AYWA – Alliance of Youth Workers Associations, Vice President of NINFEA – National Informal and Non-Formal Education Association, member of the International Youth Work Trainers Guild (Arona, Italy)
2. Mind Matters: Promoting Young People’s Well-Being in Youth Work
At the beginning of last year, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) declared a mental health crisis among young people. The figures are also clear on this side of the Atlantic: mental health is the most pressing health issue young Europeans are facing. What are the common challenges to the mental well-being of young people and how can resilience in the youth work system be promoted? What support do youth work programmes need in order to be able to respond to these challenges?
Facilitated by Marthe Behr, M.A. Democratic Politics and Communication, B. Sc. Psychologist, project manager and pedagogical staff of Krea-Jugendclub (Bergisch Gladbach, Germany) | Input: Karolina Kosowska, Training and Membership Officer of Eurodesk Brussels Link, trainer and facilitator on topics including team building, mental health, well-being and stress management (Brussels, Belgium)
3. Overcoming Barriers: Fostering More Inclusive, Accessible Youth Work
Youth work should be equally accessible to all, regardless of personal constitution, origin, parental income and previous success in the formal education system. Especially when it comes to international programmes, this diversity is not always ensured. How can barriers be recognised and paths be established to make youth work more accessible? What strategies are effective in promoting inclusion and diversity in youth work across different European contexts? How can organisations ensure they are accessible to young people from diverse backgrounds with different needs – and what do the youth work organisations and their staff need to be able to do that?
Facilitated by Amaya Diloy, Fundación Federico Ozanam (Zaragoza, Spain) | Input: Philipp Bryant, special needs pedagogue and lecturer for inclusive pedagogy at the Protestant University of Applied Sciences Bochum (Bochum, Germany)
4. Level Up: Strengthening Local Youth Work for European Cooperation
Impact research largely agrees that international youth projects generate lasting positive effects on young people’s lives and social participation especially when they are integrated into stable local youth work structures. Nevertheless, many funding programmes do not reflect the importance of long-term viable local institutions. What steps need to be taken to secure local youth work as a sustainable basis? On this foundation, how can European cooperation between local youth projects be promoted in order to create new synergies?
Facilitated by Gianni Orsini, youth worker and consultant on sustainable development, international cooperation, conflict management, transformation and participation, Irènia – Jocs de Pau (La Nou de Berguedà, Barcelona, Spain) | Input: Judit Balogh, Coordinator of the European cooperation project Europe Goes Local, JINT vzw (Brussels, Belgium)
5. Active Citizenship and Youth Activism: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Civic education to enable active citizenship is a declared goal of official European youth programmes. At the same time, young people who are committed to social, democratic and ecological issues are sometimes confronted with institutional barriers. The working group offers space for exchange between young activists and representatives from youth work, politics and administration: How can misunderstandings be avoided and actual conflicts of interest be dealt with productively? How can civic education help to prepare young people for these conflicts and contribute to productive solutions? What common goals do active young people and those who decide on the funding and structures of youth work have – and how can we achieve them?
Facilitated by Kasia Blasinska, IRSE – Fundacja Instytut Równowagi Społeczno-Ekonomicznej (Gdańsk, Poland) | Input: Maren Mitterer, Fridays for Future and co-organiser of the demonstration “Gemeinsam gegen Rechts” (Munich, Germany)
09:30 Check-In and Admission
10:00 Arrival Talks & Official Welcome: Why we’re here and what we want, with: ■ Jocelyne Jakob (IBB e.V. | Dortmund, Germany), ■ Marit Pelzer (Centre for European Youth Policy at German Youth Institute – DJI | Munich, Germany) ■ Nien Boots (Association Càlam | Barcelona, Spain), ■ Davide Sibilia (Centro di Creazione e Cultura | Florence, Italy)
11:30 Best Practice: Young people present their projects and experiences of European youth work
12:30 Lunch
13:30 Keynote Speech “Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers” by ■ Katia Henrikh, youth worker and project manager from Chernivtsi, Ukraine (DUGA – Deutsch-Ukrainische Gemeinschaft der Jugendarbeit)
14:00 Expert Statements on the focus topics, with: ■ Federica Demicheli (AYWA – Alliance of Youth Workers Associations | Arona, Italy), ■ Karolina Kosowska (Eurodesk Brussels Link | Brussels, Belgium), ■ Philipp Bryant (Protestant University of Applied Sciences Bochum | Bochum, Germany), ■ Maren Mitterer (Fridays for Future & Gemeinsam gegen Rechts | Munich, Germany)
14:30 Working Groups on the five focus topics
16:45 Panel Discussions on the results of the working groups
18:15 Conclusions and Outlook
18:30 Meet & Greet during dinner buffet
20:30 Departure and end of the event
Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers
European Youth Work Symposium 2024
Monday, 28 October 2024, 10:00-20:30
(Admission & Check-In 09:30)
Dortmunder U – Centre for Art and Creativity
Leonie-Reygers-Terrasse, 44137 Dortmund
Getting there: The Dortmunder U is a 5-minute walk from Dortmund Central Station (approx. 800 m straight line). Parking garages in Brinkhoffstraße 4 directly at the Dortmunder U, in Schmiedingstraße (approx. 200 m) and at Dortmund Central Station. The venue in Google Maps.
The working language of the event is English, translation to German and Italian will be provided.
Do you have a question or need clarification regarding the symposium? Feel free to contact our project manager Marion Gronstedt by e-mail!
To get an impression, have a look at last years symposium: Youth Work in Europe – Mission (Im)possible?