Some of the realities: education and training of volunteer youth workers Līva Vikmane Policy Officer on Youth Policy HELSINKI, 21 February 2019

The European Youth Forum Platform of youth organisations: National Youth Councils and INGYOs; More than 100 organisations; Greater youth participation; stronger youth organisations; Increased youth autonomy and inclusion

When we talk about Youth Work, we say: Centred around young people; Focusing on interaction and activities planned with others; Empowering young people and engaging them as partners; Positive personal and social impact; Voluntary and meaningful participation; A non-formal education process; Engaging and fun in methodology

youth worker volunteer youth leader trainer

Some of the realities: education and training of volunteer youth workers Self-validated and established training programmes; Delivery of state-accredited programmes; Issue/priority based trainings; Informal learning - learning by doing.

Self-validated programmes National Scout Organisations certification of qualification and validation; recognition; renewal; badges

State-accredited programmes: YMCA Germany and training for the youth leaders’ card

Issue/priority based trainings: Working with migrant youth: ECYC training on intercultural learning and working with migrant youth; IFM-SEI “How Youth Organisations can support young refugees and migrants”. Digital and web: NYCI web resource and training on Web Safety in Youth Work

Learning by doing Importance of tools: open badges; CoE Youth Work portfolio;

Other important questions Transition from participant to volunteer; Flexibility in training provision (less hours, more weekends?); Importance of international cooperation and training opportunities - including CoE Youth Centres and Erasmus+

volunteer = non-professional

Get in touch! Līva Vikmane liva.vikmane@youthforum.org