Training Course for Youth Workers from EU and LA countries/Antigua, Guatemala /09-15 February 2007

Final Activity Report

ICYE International Office, the Central American Alliance for prevention of youth violence – CCPVJ and APREDE – Asociacion para la prevention del delito, jointly ran this  training course aiming at building up the capacity of youth organisations and of agencies/networks specialized on youth violence prevention and to enable them to cooperate with each others in providing volunteering and non-formal learning opportunities to young people, with particular focus on the European Voluntary Service programme. The programme included inputs by experts, transfer of know-how, discussion groups and workshops as well as a project visit to a youth centre involved in violence prevention campaigns in Guatemala City and an official reception at the Ministry of Culture in the National Palace followed by a field excursion to “La Linea” a neighborhood badly affected by youth gang violence. Participants from both continents expressed their concern regarding the increase of violence particularly in Central America and their motivation to cooperate with each others in providing challenging and meaningful non-formal learning opportunities to socially excluded young people by implementing EVS projects related to this field of work.

Training course for youth workers in EU and SEE countries/Chisinau, Moldova/07-13 December 2006

The aims of this training were twofold: on one hand to enable partner organisations in EU and in EECA countries to improve the quality of youth mobility activities, especially in relation to the management of volunteers under the EVS programme scheme, and on the other to share knowledge and expertise on how to recruit, retain and recognize volunteers within their distinct national/local structures and contexts. The programme included inputs by experts, transfer of know-how, discussion groups and workshops as well as project visits to two EVS host organisations: a child care centre (Small Group Home) and to a refugee centre (Main Direction of Refugees), providing first hand information by the respective volunteers and hosts and multiple learning opportunities for the participants

Training course for youth workers in EU and SEE countries/Birmingham, United Kingdom/23-29 September 2006

ICYE International Office, Freshwinds and ICYE UK jointly ran a training course for youth workers in the EU and SEE countries from 23rd September to 29th September 2006 at Freshwinds Birmingham headquarters. The course was entitled – Exploring the potential of volunteers in HIV and AIDS education and prevention. It brought together youth workers of ICYE member and partner organisations as well as representatives of HIV/AIDS prevention and care agencies to prepare them for their tasks in an upcoming EU-SEE multilateral EVS project on HIV and AIDS as well as to empower them to network and to develop partnerships around innovative projects. The Birmingham TC was particularly successful in developing new – and strenghthening the existing – partnerships between the present EU and SEE organisations which have agreed on a number of concrete follow-up activities.

EU – LA Seminar on youth participation, active citizenship and local governance/Porto Alegre, Brazil/4-10 February 2006

Final Activity Report

The seminar  brought together 25 youth leaders from 7 European and 6 Latin American countries: Austria, Germany, Italy, Lithuania Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Bolivia, Brazil Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Uruguay. The main aim of this seminar was to foster youth mobility and volunteering as a means to enhance positive youth action with emphasis on youth work models which empower young people through their active participation in local development. The activities included an exchange of experience regarding best practice in fostering youth participation and active citizenship; training on aims and procedures of the YOUTH programme (Action 1 and 2) as well as an assessment of the impact of YOUTH projects run between the present EU and LA organisations over the past years. Participants reflected upon priorities and needs of youth work in their countries and developed innovative forms of cooperation between their organisations. By doing interviews and visiting public youth-serving agencies and local youth NGO’s, participants were able to gain insight into youth work practice and the situation of young people in Porto Alegre.