Training Module on Inclusive Youth Work in the Eastern Partnership countries

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Training Module on Inclusive Youth Work in the Eastern Partnership countries

Welcome to the Training Module “Inclusion Now!” – an exploration of the interactive and experiential methods and tools focusing on youth inclusion, equity and diversity in youth work in the Eastern Partnership countries.

The Training Module is aimed at developing the competencies of youth workers, youth educators and youth trainers on equity, diversity and inclusion while providing strategies and recommendations to help young professionals to create more inclusive and diverse environment in their organizations and in their work with young people.

The training module includes training sessions, which guide the participants through Introduction to general overview of equity, diversity and inclusion and helping to recognize, understand and develop ways to make youth work more inclusive. It also provides solutions and suggestions on how to advocate and begin action planning to promote inclusion in youth communities in the Eastern Partnership countries.

There are 12 sections in this course that are accompanied by learning materials, presentations, videos and exercises. While we hope you will find all the material engaging, we encourage you to explore in-depth the topics that most interest you.

The Module has been tested and further improved based on the feedback of about 30 youth workers, youth educators and youth trainers from Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, who participated in an intensive online training course entirely based on this module.

This publication is produced within the project “InclusiON NOW! Development of Inclusive Youth Work in the Eastern Partnership countries” implemented by a Consortium of 8 civil society organizations based in the Eastern Partnership countries and the European Union. The project led by Armenian Progressive Youth NGO benefited from support through the EaP Civil Society Forum Re-granting Scheme (FSTP), funded by the European Union as part of its support to civil society in the region. Within its Re-granting Scheme, the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) supports projects of its members that contribute to achieving the mission and objectives of the Forum.

Background

The youth inclusion gaps in the Eastern Partnership countries are covering a broad spectrum of dimensions, from gender rights to the rights of people with disabilities. Although there are incremental improvements in policies of some national governments in the Eastern Partnership countries to prevent discrimination and marginalization of young people and to promote inclusion, the political and public resistance and denial still prevail.

All the Eastern Partnership countries have different approaches to youth development and youth inclusion. While some of the countries have up to date youth strategies, policies and laws, the others have difficulties to keep up with the renewals of the youth policies. On the other hand, all the Eastern Partnership countries have different levels of youth development funding, which greatly depends on whether the Governments have “Youth” in their portfolio.

In our daily work with young people in the Eastern Partnership countries, we have noticed that young professionals (youth workers, youth educators and youth trainers) are often not ready to respond to the emerging needs of disadvantaged young people and there is a lack of support measures for their professional development. There is a need among the community of young professionals in the Eastern Partnership countries for a continuous competence development to be capable of mitigating the effects of social exclusion among young people.

Given this context, 8 partners from the Eastern Partnership countries and the European Union involved in the Working Group 4 of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, have jointly developed “InclusiON NOW! Development of Inclusive Youth Work in the Eastern Partnership countries” project.

The project offers an opportunity for a professional development to a group of youth professionals in the Eastern Partnership countries who work in the area of youth inclusion.

Smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the Eastern Partnership will not be possible if the potential of disadvantaged young people remains unlocked. Thus, this Training Module incapacitates young professionals working with youth and provides youth organizations with quality educational materials and practices to foster youth inclusion in their communities.

Objectives

The overall objective of the Training Module is equipping young professionals from the Eastern Partnership countries with practical tools and methods to use in their everyday work with disadvantaged young people.

Based on the overall objectives, the Training Module seeks to achieve three major immediate objectives:

  1. To provide a comprehensive tailor made Training on Inclusion of Young people under the risk of marginalization in the Eastern Partnership.
  2. To develop the competencies of youth workers, youth educators and youth trainers on equity, diversity and inclusion while providing strategies and recommendations to help young professionals to create more inclusive and diverse environment in their organizations and in their work with young people.
  3. To equip youth workers, youth educators and youth trainers with practical youth inclusion tools and methods to use in their everyday work with disadvantaged young people.

Structure of the Module and Main Learning Outcomes

The focus of the training module is on hands-on approach and practical strategies for achieving inclusive youth work. Participants of the training will explore:

  • how to outreach and involve young people more effectively;
  • how to deal with multiple factors of exclusion;
  • how to develop strategies for more inclusivity of youth organizations;
  • how to understand the root causes of exclusion in the Eastern Partnership countries;
  • how to promote Inclusion in your community and organization;
  • how to work more effectively with disadvantaged young people and young people under the risk of marginalization;

 

Session 1: Welcome and Introduction of the Training

By the end of the session the participants will:

  • get to know each other’s names,
  • have an overview of the training flow and agenda,
  • form a basic understanding of the “Safe Space” concept,
  • collaboratively draft the points for the social contract to be used throughout the training.
Session 2: Introduction to Inclusion and Diversity

By the end of the session the participants will:

  • form a basic understanding of the core terminology of inclusion and diversity;
  • define what privilege is and how it impacts the marginalized groups;
  • discuss the triangle of violence and its impact on marginalization of vulnerable social groups.
Session 3: Social Identities and Power Dynamics

By the end of the session the participants will be able to:

  • distinguish various social identity categories and their implications for the marginalized and dominant social groups;
  • explain social privilege and marginalization in a general context as well as its implications on the dominant and marginalized groups’ behavioral patterns;
  • differentiate and discuss types of power.
Session 4: Identity and Diversity

By the end of the session the participants will become:

  • aware of their own diversity;
  • aware of prejudices specific groups face;
  • aware of similarities/differences in the group;
  • aware of the groups they belong to / are perceived to belong to;
  • aware of diversity and types of discrimination.
Session 5: Prejudices and Unconscious Bias

By the end of the session the participants will be able to understand:

  • their selective perception;
  • the effects of stereotyping and labelling.
Session 6: Communication and Prejudices

By the end of the session the participants will learn:

  • about their own prejudices;
  • hot to reflect on their own communication;
  • tips for a constructive communicative response to prejudices.
Session 7: Youth Participation and Involvement

By the end of the session the participants have:

  • a basic understanding of the core terminology of youth participation, methods for youth involvement and overall idea of the Theory of Change;
  • a wider understanding on how theory can help conceptualizing youth involvement strategies;
  • an idea of what the benefits of involving young people in change processes can be.
Session 8: Transition of Youth into Inclusion

By the end of the session the participants will have:

  • gained knowledge on working methods and practical tools on how to support the transition of youth into inclusion;
  • increased awareness on the topic.
Session 9: Inclusion of young people

By the end of the session the participants will:

  • have a basic understanding of the core terminology of exclusion, segregation, integration and inclusion;
  • have gained a wider knowledge and understanding of inclusion in their own contexts.
Session 10: Community Mapping Plan

By the end of the session participants will have basic knowledge:

  • about community mapping as a starting point of strategic planning and audience development strategy;
  • participants will be able to identify vulnerable social and national groups;
  • develop a draft of a community mapping plan.
Session 11: Strategic Planning of Our Futures

By the end of the session participants will have basic knowledge:

  • on strategic planning;
  • community life, rights, and responsibilities.
  • participants will be able to practice skills to discuss openly, work in a team and to have vision;
  • promote curiosity and belief that the future is in the hands of every young person and that what they do matters.
Session 12: Inclusion Projects in our Communities

By the end of the session participants will have basic knowledge:

  • on project circle and realize the connection between activities and overall objective;
  • on logical framework matrix verification;
  • participants will be able to resume their work during the workshop and to prepare a plan for their future activities.

Use of the Module

The Training Module is designed for the delivery of a training workshop for youth workers, youth educators and youth trainers who are ready to work on the topics of diversity, inclusion and anti-discrimination in order to activate the potential of diversity in training and work with young people.
It is also designed to be flexible in its use so it can be tailored to suit specific country circumstances: depending on the needs of the participants.
Youth workers, youth educators, youth trainers and facilitators can also use the Module as a Handbook or Manual in their work with young people. The Module can be used as a quick reference tool or as background material for training workshops. It can serve as a toolkit for both online and offline training courses on youth inclusion and diversity.

Check out the Training Module in English

Download the Training Module in English

 
 

Check out the Training Module in Russian

Download the Training Module in Russian

 

The project benefits from support through the EaP Civil Society Forum Re-granting Scheme (FSTP) and is funded by the European Union as part of its support to civil society in the region. Within its Re-granting Scheme, the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) supports projects of its members that contribute to achieving the mission and objectives of the Forum.
Grants are available for CSOs from the Eastern Partnership and EU countries. Key areas of support are democracy and human rights, economic integration, environment and energy, contacts between people, social and labour policies.

This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the Armenian Progressive Youth NGO and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.