This project aims to raise quality and enhance youth work engagement in peace and reconciliation processes through digital tools and online media. Through our project, we will build capacities of youth workers and youth leaders through transfer of skills, experience, knowledge, attitudes and empowerment based on non-formal education activities, practice community activities and development of new methods and tools for efficient, innovative, relevant and modern approach to youth work. Social network sites, weblogs, applications, software, emails, allow us to communicate and put new media to the best possible use. New media has also been understood as a significant medium to understand the practices, norms, implications, cultural diversity of people hailing from different backgrounds. It can create a clearer, enhanced comprehension among cultures, enhance the levels of tolerance of people, and bring communities together. With this project we would like to tackle challenges of youth workers in understanding adopting and adapting digital tools and online media for their practice to make the most of youth work efforts in the digital era.
OBJECTIVES
– Building competences of youth workers and youth leaders in using and shaping digital tools to promote intercultural understanding and acceptance of diversity;
– Enabling and strengthening youth workers’ abilities to create and develop digital media content for engaging young people in conflict transformation and reconciliation process;
– Developing media literacy capacities of youth organizations and provide space for exploration of ICT potentials in youth work;
– Informing and awareness raising about the importance of peacebuilding and conflict transformation and role of youth work and young people in it;
– Modernizing and innovating youth work tools, methods and non-formal education training curricula.
ONLINE LEARNING AND CO-WORKING PLATFORM:
Online learning platform is online space which contains different resources, materials, training tools and methods, ideas and proposals. It has interactive character for direct communication and support, expert advices, sharing, good practice examples and easy cooperation, management and teamwork. We will use already existing platform (www.seeyn.org/elearning) and it will support all the activities of the project, but specifically will serve as space for learning about creation of new forms of delivering youth work and providing training and support, as example of open and flexible learning method, virtual cooperation and open educational resources. The platform will be managed by Platform Manager and will be active through the whole project (and after).
(online project space created, 3 different educational activities developed, learning modules content created for each activity, space for reporting, resources and partner cooperation created, activities to support preparation and follow up of the hackathon created)
TRAINING COURSES FOR YOUTH WORKERS AND LEADERS:
1. “Optimus Youth”: Training course on using digital tools and online media in reconciliation process with young people – from basics to innovation. The training will last for 7 working days with Pristina, Kosovo as its venue and will gather participants (youth workers) of all the partner organizations. The training is based on non-formal education methodology where participants will be first introduced to existing digital tools and online media, then define peace and reconciliation steps and process and at the end they will be empowered to connect those two dimensions in producing new, effective digital online and offline activities within the youth work field that are focusing on mobilizing young people in their environment, promotion and information on peace and reconciliation topics, transforming narratives and attitudes, building trust and relationship. (25 August – 02 September 2022, Peja/Pec, Kosovo)
(20 participants, 5 team members, 7 working days of training course)
2. “Peacetron”: Training Seminar on digital storytelling and creative content products that promote understanding and positive values among young people. The training will last 6 days and will gather youth workers from all partner organizations. This training aims to raise capacities of youth workers to understand form and methodology of storytelling, explore various digital tools and forms suitable for expressing and create media content to tell the ‘story’. The training will also explore the possibility of digital living library.
(22 March – 29 April 2022, Veliki Gaj, Serbia)
(20 participants, 5 team members, 6 working days training seminar)
3. “Decepticon” Training course on fighting online hate speech and conflict propaganda on social networks and media. The training will gather youth leaders and youth workers of all partner organizations with aim to build their capacities in combating hate speech and promoting alternative narratives to hate speech online specifically based on nationality, religion and ethnic background. Participants will explore different ways of creating safe online space for young people to discuss past, present and future in meaningful ways in order to facilitate the reconciliation and peacebuilding processes. (25 May – 02 June 2022, Dures, Albania)
(20 participants, 5 team members, 6 working days training course)
HACKATHON:
Sprint-like event in which young computer programmers, other IT experts and youth workers will collaborate for 2 days intensively on developing digital tools with special focus on reconciliation and conflict transformation issues as well as forms of working on peacebuilding topics in youth context. During these 48 hours of cross-sectoral cooperation participants will actively work on creative problem-solving and thorough this process understand better the role and functioning of the other sector (IT and youth work) to be able to create meaningful and effective cooperation in the future on similar topics. The cooperation, preparation of participants and work on need analysis will start before Hackathon and will be supported in the online platform. After two days of working on ideas for new digital tools, supported by experienced mentors, the teams will present their tools in front of jury. Jury, consisting of experienced youth workers, IT project managers and developers, will choose 3 tools that best fit the objectives and are most feasible to be developed into a full usable product. The winners will be awarded with possibility to get support of experienced developers and youth workers to create fully functional product. The prize would also include support in distribution and promotion of the tools (which is in line with project’s DEOR strategy).
(15 – 18 October 2022, venue Peja/Pec, Kosovo)
(2 days hackathon implemented, 30 participants, 5 team members, at last 3 different ideas developed)
ANIMATED EBOOK PUBLICATION ON DIGITAL STORYTELLING:
Digital product in form of short animated and interactive e-book on topic of digital storytelling. The ebook will be available on digital devices for partners and wider users and will be made by content and digital experts during the project. This product will be innovative example of good practice how to put digital field and youth field together for purposes of raising quality, creativity, modernization and user-friendly approach in youth work. The main target audience of this e-book are youth organizations, youth workers, young people, institutions working with young people. This process will go through 4 general steps:
1. Developing interactive e-book idea and content (topics, storyline, flow, features)
2. Designing and customizing e-book for the target audience (comprehensive text, visual design, animations)
3. Building interactive e-book and fine-tuning product
4. Publishing and distributing interactive e-book
(September 2020 – April 2021)
(1 animated e-book created and published)
PARTNERS
| Kosovo | LENS |
| Albania | BBA |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | SEEYN |
| Croatia | Association for the promotion of active participation Studio B |
| Italy | Cooperativa Sociale Muovimente |
| Macedonia | Mladiinfo |
| Macedonia | Union of Youth Workers of Macedonia |
| Spain | Fundació Catalunya Voluntària |
| Lithuania | Kaunas Centre |
| Serbia | BINS |