CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS

Long-Term Training Course for Youth Workers (2013-2014)

Residential seminar: 11 – 21 March 2013, Strasbourg

Project development and learning: April 2013 – June 2014

Evaluation seminar: 2014 (dates t.b.c.)

Deadline to apply: 20 December 2012

What?

The Youth Department is launching Enter! a Long-Term Training Course (LTTC) for youth workers on access to social rights for all young people, as a complementary training offering youth workers who undertake activities with young people that experience disadvantage the opportunity:

• to gain insights into how the European level and engagement with policy actors can support their efforts to empower young people, and,
• to promote access to social rights for young people, in an effort of overcoming the disadvantage young people face due to exclusion, violence and discrimination.

The LTTC will develop the competences of 30 youth workers, in developing and implementing responses, projects and partnernships in support of youth-led efforts to overcome discrimination, exclusion and violence, in a European perspective.

The objectives of the course are:

• To introduce participants to socio-educational project development, management, implementation and evaluation (especially focusing on evidence based needs analysis);
• To support participants in developing youth-led socio-educational projects (aiming to overcome youth disadvantage determined by discrimination, exclusion and violence), based on human rights education and with a clear policy advocacy dimension;
• To develop participants’ understanding and knowledge of the human rights framework and the policy fields that are relevant to the situation of the young people with whom they work;
• To develop participants’ competence and confidence for engaging with decision-makers and other actors in the youth and social policy fields for improving access to social rights for young people;
• To introduce participants to relevant European (and related national) mechanisms and instruments for supporting young people to overcome disadvantage determined by discrimination, exclusion and violence;
• To contribute to the social and education recognition of youth work and non-formal education for social rights in participants’ realities and at European level.

The LTTC is composed of four phases, which participants need to follow:

During the training course, each participant is expected to develop a local youth-led project based on active participation of young people and addressing specific challenges that young people face in their access to social rights, and as a consequences of the negative effects of discrimination, violence and exclusion. Projects provide the practical basis for learning about how to promote the social rights of young people and how best to use youth research for youth policy action. They should be implemented in co-operation with local or regional authorities.

What for?

Throughout the course and as a result of its educational process, participants will:

• Improve their core competences in the areas related to the course curriculum;
• Follow a full cycle of intercultural learning, from needs assessment to evaluation of learning;
• Receive institutional and educational support to develop projects with young people, as well as increased visibility for their youth work activities;
• Exchange practices with other youth workers from different contexts and network among participants, for instance in international projects on access to social rights for young people;
• Develop their organisations’ capacity on the topic of improving access to social rights for young people;
• Establish or develop a dialogue and partnerships with local and regional authorities and with civil society organisations;
• Receive social and educational recognition for their involvement in the training course;
• Improve their competences in using European programmes for youth work and tools at the local level.

What profile of participants?

Candidates must be youth or social workers, working directly with young people, and

• they carry out their activities in a non-governmental entity (for example, a youth organisation, a human rights organisation, an organisation working on specific social rights or with specific target groups etc.) or in a local authority (for example, local community centres, youth centres, information office of a Municipality, school communities, etc.),
• they have experience in projects tackling exclusion, discrimination and violence affecting young people,
• they are either professionals or volunteers.

All participants must also:

• have the motivation and capacity to develop projects for and with young people on access to social rights;
• have an interest to work in partnerships with local authorities on enhancing dialogue for improving access of young people to social rights;
• have a specific target group of young people they will be working with throughout the LTTC;
• are motivated to learn and to develop their professional and personal competences;
• intend to remain active in their organisation/institution for the next 2 years and multiply their learning in their organisation/institution and community;
• be aged 18-35, with exceptions possible;
• be resident in one of the countries of the European Cultural Convention of the Council of Europe;
• be able to work in English or French (tbc);
• be available for full participation in all four phases of the course.

The candidates must be supported by their organisation for the whole duration of the course.

It is a requirement for the selection that candidates’ organisations have developed or are in a position to develop partnerships with local and regional authorities/civil society for the enhancement of social inclusion of young people.

How to apply?

All candidates must apply online, completing the application form through this link: http://youthapplications.coe.int/

Before applying, each candidate should prepare:

• a support letter from their organisation, stating the support offered to the participant throughout the course, and
• a social analysis and an outline of the project idea that the candidate intends to develop during the project development phase, which should specify the role of local authorities and civil society organisations in the project. The project outline is important to illustrate what the applicant has in mind and the social context within which the project is placed. The possible acceptance of an applicant does not imply, for the Council of Europe, automatic support or acceptance of the project. Participants will, as part of their learning process, look for funding sources for their projects themselves.

The letters of support for the candidate should explain the need and the value for the sending organisation or authority and for the candidate to attend this course. If an organisation wishes to propose more than one candidate, the order of priority should be clearly indicated and justification for the priority list should be provided. Applicants without recommendation letter will not be accepted.

All candidates must apply online and send their recommendation letters by 20 December 2012, at midnight Central European Time. Support letters have to be uploaded on the platform or sent separately by e-mail to jackie.lubelly@coe.int by the same deadline.

A group of preselected participants will be announced by the mid-January 2013. Only candidates who will be able to provide after the preselection and before the seminar a generic support letter from local or regional authorities (or other relevant governmental agencies and institutions working on the local level), and respectively for preselected candidates working for public institutions a letter of agreement from civil society organisations, will be invited to the course.

The selection will be done respecting the candidates’ organisations’ priorities, but also ensuring a balance between sexes, geographical regions, different types of experiences, backgrounds and organisations, institutions or projects. A waiting list may be drawn up.

Financial conditions

Meals and accommodation for the residential seminars will be provided and paid for by the Council of Europe.

Travel costs for the seminars will be fully reimbursed according to the Council of Europe rules.

An enrolment fee of 60 Euros is payable by each participant. This amount will be deducted from the amount to be reimbursed for travel expenses or paid during the residential seminar. The Council of Europe will not reimburse any fees related to the usage of Internet during the course.

Further information and contact

Jackie Lubelli, email: jackie.lubelli@coe.int

Detailed desciption:

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