03rd – 11th of November 2019
Kasterlee, Belgium
Youth exchange
Local community have a huge potential in terms of informing, making awareness, including and building a community therefore specific methods designed for community work are highly recommended in this field and specially in times when they are not so widely applied. Youth work plays an essential role in reaching and bringing together young people who face exclusion on a daily basis. Animation is considered one of the powerful tool for youth workers reaching out young people with fewer opportunities and uniting the community. An animator is therefore like a facilitator – like an electrician who arranges electrical cables, switches, plugs, sockets, cut-outs, holders into a circuit and connects it to the mains, so that whenever necessary, the current flows and lights come on, fans rotate, appliances start operating. In this example the electrician is neither the power nor its source but he/she facilitates the flow of power to get things to work by keeping everything connected.
With this youth exchange we motivated young people to become active within their local communities using animation as a tool for inclusion. During the youth exchange participants got the chance to experience and share different animation tools that can be used for inclusion.
After practicing different animation tools we organized a final event with local children or youth where participants get the change to practice the animation tools gained during the youth exchange.
The project followed the non – formal educational approach, the methods provided active participation of young people, youth leaders and inspire them through creative activities. This exchange provided them theoretical and practical inputs and activities.
This YE gathers 40 participants aged between 18 and 30. The participating countries are: Moldova, Armenia, Belgium, Spain, Serbia, Turkey, Italy & Cyprus.
Having participants from so many different backgrounds encouraged young people to participate in an international context, promoting tolerance, being more open and knowing different cultures without prejudices, developing the feeling of belonging to Europe and rising the citizen participation.
