2021 was another challenging year, but the More Citizenship Network partners never stopped working. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we had again to postpone our planes of joining all our partners in the same room, so we turned once more to the digital rooms to be able to share the amazing things this organizations keeps on developing. So during the mornings of 23rd and 24th of November, we joined to share opinions and experiences about different topics. In the beginning of the meeting we had the opportunity to share the activities and best practices developed during the year of 2021 and then we continued by talking about the future for the network and plans for 2022, the European Year of Youth. In addition, we had two presentations on the topics of Radicalisation – Tool to approach this topic and Activism and Youth and closed this annual meeting with a discussion about the future of the MCN network.
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Report by Darko Dimitrioski From the 10th to the 16th of October, 2 youth workers from TACC have participated at the seminar “Standards for Open Youth Centres in Europe” in Berlin (Germany), together with other youth professionals working at youth centres in Germany, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Italy, Romania and Serbia. The project was developed as support of a strategic partnership named "Open Youth Work For Open Society - Give A Chance To Informal Youth Centres", consisting of an youth exchange and a seminar, and TACC was partner at the seminar activity. The seminar “Standards for Open Youth Centres in Europe” aimed to improve the task at the youth centres and the youth spaces in their territories, by sharing experiences and reflections through common standards, and to do so, three working groups were established: 'Facilities and equipment of youth centres', 'Activities of youth centres' and 'Professional profile of staff in youth centres'.
During the seminar, the youth professionals had the chance to visit different youth facilities and to work on a data base of youth centres, the benefits of youth facilities and the work of youthwork. The professionals summed it up as an interesting seminar in which exchanging many ideas of youth work and they have concluded that, despite the differences between the spaces of each country, they need to respond to both their intentions and the interests of young people. Finally, as part of the activities, and the closure action of the seminar, they did a livestream “Symposium Youth Work in Europe” last Friday the 15th of October. Report by Darko Dimitrioski We’re pleased to inform you that we are currently working on our first KA2 project as coordinators, together with our partners Loesje Berlin (Berlin, Germany), Storytelling Centre (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), and Cazalla Intercultural (Lorca, Spain).
“Write Your Creative Story” (WYCS) is a project that aims to provide youth workers with digital tools and methodology for online creative text writing and online storytelling. The project will result in developing 2 types of digital methodology, for online storytelling and online creative text writing. These will be usefull for all youth workers, educators, facilitators and trainers for their online facilitation, distance learning or in cases of lockdowns and pandemics. There will be a digital Toolkit that will contain the methods and instructions how to facilitate online workshops.Additionaly, there we will develop a MOOC that will explain all the newly developed methodology. Report by Darko Dimitrioski An interview by Antonio Boshkovski and Aleksandra Stevanoska How did this opportunity arise?
AB: I would say that the idea was mine because my NGO was always writing volunteer projects and, as you know, volunteers must have a proper mentor. So I was thinking about an idea to write a training course for Erasmus+ with the aim to train youth workers in order to gain the necessary skills a mentor should possess. AS: I have known Antonio from before and we were previously discussing that we want to write a project, so we were already planning it. Then one of the deadlines, Kyrro gave us a call and asked us if we had any ideas and would like to send an application, so we both said yes! And the rest is history, haha. How was the preparation? Did you feel prepared for this challenge? AB: During the month before the project started, I attended a couple of training courses. So I can say that I was preparing myself during the other training courses I attended. It was all like a blurry picture to me and and until the day before the session started and we were preparing ourselves in detail with the sessions It all came as a shock for me. A shock in a way that it got me nervous, it was something that required attention and devotion. AS: The preparation starts way before the project, especially now in these challenging times. I can say that it was not as easy as it seems. There is lots of prepping regarding workshops, choosing the right venue, communication between organizations and participants, but in the end it was all worth it. When it comes to me, I can say i was actually super scared and panicking because a few things before the project started didn’t go as planned. Also as it was my first project where I had to facilitate every day, but when the project started these feelings changed. Can you tell us a little about the sessions, the objectives... AB: The sessions were created and organized in a way that it all went from scratch. The 1st day was not so intense, we had name games and team building activities and icebreakers. It always helps to have a group that could fit in as one. And then the 2nd day we went more deeply into the project objectives and needs behind it. We talked about what is a mentor what is the difference between a mentor and a trainer; what are the qualities that each mentor needs to possess but also the skills that he needs to develop. AS: I can say that each session was different but yet connected and every session had a message to convey. The sessions were created way before the actual projects, but as anything they also needed some adaptation. Throughout the entire project you throw in an icebreaker or energizers to keep everyone energized and ready for the next sessions. After the “easy” or light part it comes the more serious workshops, that are tackling the topic of the project. After knowing the fears and expectations of the participants, we had workshops that were with a purpose to practise the use of non-verbal communication, enhancing problem solving skills and put an accent on the ‘asking questions’ part, which is important while mentoring, learning how to set boundaries regarding social behaviour,boosting creativity, working on conflict management and debate skills. What was the objective you tried to convey to the participants? AB: One of the main objectives of the training was to provide central support and develop professional experience to the participants of the program to enable them to effectively carry out mentoring and support work in their respective organizations in the future. The 6 days of training on mentoring provided an opportunity to develop different skills and attitude to learn and to enrich the methodological toolboxes of the young volunteers and their mentors present. Another objective was to train youth workers to become skilled mentors. AS: The main objectives of the training was to provide support, materials and skills as well as professional experience to the participants of the program, to enable them to effectively carry out mentoring and support work in their organizations. In the 6 days of activities we wanted to provide the participants and develop with different skills and toolboxes that they can use and share within their mentor network.The contribute to the promotion of personal initiative, creativity, language, and self-awareness. What feedback have you been able to get at the end of the project? On a personal and professional level. AB: As you know, this was the 1st project that I ever did in the framework of Erasmus+. And I would say it was pretty successful. In my personal opinion, I think we gave our best to satisfy the participant needs, proven by the reflection groups that were done at the end of each day where the participants had the ability to evaluate the whole day and what could be approved. As for the feedback I don't think there was any negative feedback from the participants side, they said that it was a high quality training. AS: We are still looking at the feedback. Initially the feedback was positive from the participants regarding the workshops and the organization team, with few changes suggested. On a professional level, it brought a new view on mentor tools and how some workshops can be changed and alternate and use it in more context. On a personal note, it brought me experience not only when it comes to facilitating, but organizing, writing, and soft skills development, for which I am really grateful. I can say that personally I was satisfied, but I also think I could do some things different and continue to learn and upgrade, or with one word, to do better. Can you describe the project in one word? AB: Favourite! AS: Beneficial or Important. Report by Darko Dimitrioski By Ilija Binoski, Xenia Abramova, Davor Nikoloski (Beauty and BeastS) We are very happy to have implemented this project, it definitely turned out to be better than we expected. We have been working on the project since spring 2020, it got approved in the summer of the same year. Unfortunately, we couldn’t implement it then, because of pandemic. However, when situation got better we got to work right away. We really wanted to make this project interesting, but at the same time useful for participants. During the project, we’ve covered many important topics like ways to deal with crises, money and time management, online platforms for education and work, etc. For that we’ve used differed methods like fish bowl, role play, performance and many others to make activities more creative and give a chance to our dear participants explore themselves and their hidden talents. Our team really enjoy every day we spent together, but the project wasn’t great only because of activities, participants are the other very important part of our success. Everyone turned out to be open and that’s why we clicked immediately. And in short time of 5 days we managed to establish connection for life. Nothing of this wouldn't be possible if we didn't get the chance to work on a project and be part of the organization from our mentors - Marjan and Kyro who were guiding and supporting us throughout the whole youth exchange. By Taller d'Art, Cultura i Creació From the 23rd to the 27th of August, 5 young people participated at the youth exchange “There is always a way” in Prilep, a little city surrounded by mountains in North Macedonia. This project was coordinated by Info Front-Prilep, and it gathered a total of 38 young people from North Macedonia, Catalonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia and Serbia. “There is always a way” aimed to share and learn about digital tools, applications and learning platforms through non-formal education dynamics such as interactive sessions and simulation workshops. Participants had the chance to discover the city, not only during the free time, but also through the activity 'ActionBound’, an interesting App that, throughout games and challenges, fostered the interaction with people and the place. The days flowed fast with trainings ("Erasmus and possibilities", "Multimedia"...); team building dynamics; reflections ("Fish bowl"); they were able to discuss how they had managed the pandemic situation, both politically and personally as individuals; and, they did lots of ENERGIZERS! As a final product, the participants created a brochure of all the activities carried out during the exchange. The participants from the Spanish team came back really happy and during the ‘evaluation meeting’ we had in September, some of their comments were: “We are all very different, and we got along"; "I have become enriched emotionally and socially, which I missed a lot this past year. In addition, I have brought together people from other countries with similar and divergent perspectives"; "it was a lot of learning, especially that, within the difference, we have many things in common, and we only have to open, share and learn about new cultures. And also objective facts about countries that were not very present," .... and there was only one ‘bad’ remark: "Why has everything been so short?".
Report by Darko Dimitrioski On the one hand, from the 12th to the 22nd of August, 4 youngsters and a youth leader from TACC participated at the youth exchange “Speak Up! Human Rights On Air” in Schötmar - Bad Salzuflen, near Bielefeld (Germany), together with other 25 young people from Germany, Belarus, Greece, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine. “Speak Up! HHRR On Air” aimed to develop its own podcast on human rights and racism in cooperation with local radio and combining methods such as creative writing, oral narrative and improvised theatre, with informative workshops. The exchange was a great success and the participants themselves summed it up as a very enriching experience, as during the exchange they had many moments of reflection and debate, and they recorded a podcast that was broadcasted live on Radio Herz, as well as a short podcast that tackles the topic "Racism in Pop Culture" in which they introduced several positive and negative examples out of mainstream media and literature talking about racial stereotypes and representation of race within them. Among other topics, they were talking and reflecting on the situation in Afghanistan, as just as they were in Schötmar there was the collapse of the Afghan government and the attempt by the people there to get out of the country as soon as possible, which led to group reflections.
Report by Darko Dimitrioski Innovative Digital Education Approach
KA2 VET education Strategic partnership Youth assocition Info front - Prilep is a partner in the consortium that stands behind the Strategic partnership IDEA, which aims to develop digital tools and methodology for online VET school classes. The partners are 3 VET high schools: “Riste Risteski - Richko” (Prilep, N. Macedonia), “Virgil Madgearu”(Galati, Romania) and CEPROF (Espinho, Portugal), 2 NGOs: Blue Beehive (Ibi, Spain) and Info front - Prilep (Prilep, N.Macedonia) and 1 University: UAS Tarnow (Tarnow, Poland). The project will result in Baseline research on digital readiness of teachers, development of the digital methodology for online classes, 3 case studies (testings), a website and a digital Toolkit that can be used by other teachers, educators, policy makers in the field of VET education. This methodology can be used for teaching online classes for students that can’t attend the classes in person, in times of lockdown and pandemics, distance learning and also, to make the formal lessons more interactive and more atractive for the students who are physically present. Report by Darko Dimitrioski Our team, which consists of 8 participants from Italy, explored the various aspects of Social Entrepreneurship under the guidance of the trainers of K.A.NE.!
- First stop, Rektis! - Second stop, PALMI KoinSep! See the other activities on our partner website, New Horizons Aps from Italy: https://www.facebook.com/newhorizonsaps/photos/pcb.4608513852506817/4608490875842448 Report by Darko Dimitrioski K.A.N.E. participated in the Street Art Festival held in Razlog, Bulgaria from June 30 to July 10, 2021. Inspired by the Kalamata Street Festival, it was organized by young people who participated in it in the past. The Street Art Festival is a multicultural youth exchange that focuses on promoting social inclusion, initiating multicultural dialogue, fostering tolerance and mutual understanding, and proposing methods to combat aggression and radical ideas. The project involved 35 young people and team leaders from Greece, Croatia, Poland, Italy, Portugal, Lithuania and Bulgaria.
Check out the participants from K.A.NE., Omar Trillo and Eliana Colzani, and their experiences: Omar Trillo: https://ngokane.org/en/streetartfestivalexperience/ Eliana Colzani: https://ngokane.org/en/youth-exchange-experience-street-art-festival-bulgaria-by-eliana-colzani/ Written by Ana Farelo, AMC Youth Worker Report by Niki Avgitidou "Between October 4th and 8th, I had the opportunity to participate in the XV International Tool Fair. This year, this event was promoted by the Portuguese National Agency Juventude em Ação, in collaboration with the Municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia. During the 5 days of this activity we were 120 participants from more than 60 nationalities, representing organizations, schools, Erasmus+ national agencies and SALTO agencies. The activities were divided between workshops about interesting tools, lectures, study visits and a Tool Market, all with different goals and topics meant to be used while working with young people. Each of us had the possibility to create our own agenda with the various events and attend different workshops, trying different tools. From Mais Cidadania we were 2 representatives invited to present our work through a workshop, me as a representative of the work in the area of citizenship, with the Tool Kit Geração Global, and Eduardo as a representative of the area of social intervention and the project +Skillz/Ocupa-te Mais. It was an incredible, fun experience fo us, while, the participants who joined us, got to know a little better our work and the materials we have been developing. I must also point out the more relaxed moments, where we made contacts and even friends, and, not to mention the activities promoted by the national agency and the Gaia City Hall, like a dinner at the Serra do Pilar Monastery, with several animations and shows, where we had to dress as monks to get in. In short, it was a week of much learning, sharing, and fun!" |
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