Background of the project

For the Council of Europe, social cohesion is firmly based on human rights (as codified in the European Convention on Human Rights and the Revised European Social Charter) as well as an acceptance of shared responsibility for the welfare of all members of society, especially those who are at risk of poverty or exclusion. In line with this, the youth policy of the Council of Europe aims at “providing young people with equal opportunities and experience which enable them to develop knowledge, skills and competencies to play a full part in all aspects of society” .

In 2009, the Council of Europe’s youth sector initiated the Enter ! project aiming at the development of youth policy responses to exclusion, discrimination and violence affecting young people, particularly in multicultural disadvantaged neighbourhoods. This project was set in response to the growing concern and attention of the European Steering Committee on Youth and the Advisory Council on Youth, the governmental and non-governmental partners of the youth sector of the Council of Europe, to matters of social cohesion and inclusion of young people. The main concerns that informed the project were the multi-dimensional social and economic imbalances associated with young people living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods and which put them at a disadvantage in accessing social human rights. The methodology of the project sought alternative ways of thinking and practising youth work, starting from the involvement of young people themselves, relying on the competent action of youth workers and youth organisations and seeking medium and long-term impact through youth policies at local and national level.

The first phase of the project produced the following results :

 the development of know-how in youth work and youth policy related to ensuring access to social rights for young people

 the development of an informal network of youth workers, local authorities, experts and young people, interested in working on access to social rights for young people

  the elaboration, through a participatory process, of a draft youth policy recommendation (submitted for decision by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe)

 the development of a full cycle of training of youth workers on developing youth work interventions on access to social rights for young people

 the development of quality criteria and a showcase of local youth projects on access to social rights for young people

 the organisation of the Enter ! Youth Meeting, a large youth consultation process with young people on the elaboration of the youth policy recommendation

 stronger coordination between the youth sector and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, with a growing interest from both sides to reach out to and engage local authorities further.

The social and economic landscape in Europe shows how vulnerable youth and social policies are to economic fluctuations and how social exclusion and related phenomena, as segregation, “scape-goating” of minority groups, violence and discrimination, lack of jobs for young people, as well as a constant deterioration of social policy responses, can persist and grow in a climate of ever growing precariousness and permanent economic crisis.

The next phase of the Enter ! project will thus continue to address the problems related to the lack of access of young people to social rights, by consolidating the last three years project results and by promoting social rights for all young people. A long-term training course with youth workers will be held in closer cooperation with local authorities.

In continuity with the first phase, Enter ! will be based on :

 The provisions of the Enter ! youth policy recommendation on access to social rights for young people ;

 The social human rights framework as a guiding tool for orienting and adapting social inclusion interventions, particularly as defined in the Revised European Social Charter ;

 Seeking responses to social exclusion of young people living in urban, multicultural and disadvantaged environments, discrimination, exclusion and violence, as well as exclusion from employment and precarity in work for young people ;

 Interactions between youth work and youth policy actors, especially at the local and regional levels, concerning the dimensions of learning, social cohesion, participation and safety, health and wellbeing of young people ;

 Associating young people as closely and directly as possible to the project ;

 Closer interactions with the school and formal education environments, especially on that relates to segregation and structural discrimination (including Roma) ;

 The conclusions of the Conference of Youth Ministers to be held in Saint Petersburg in September 2012, whose main topic is the access of young people to rights ;

 The recognition of youth work and non-formal education, mainly by using the Portfolio of youth workers/youth leaders, and furthering the debate on the recognition of the competences of youth workers.

Project aim and objectives Enter ! aims at promoting inclusion and access to social rights of young people, in particular those exposed to social exclusion, discrimination and violence, through local and national youth work interventions, youth policy support measures, the production of educational resources and the recognition of youth work.

The objectives defined for the project are the following :
 To address situations social exclusion of young people living in multicultural environments through non-formal education and youth work projects ;

 To develop conceptual and practical means of translating access to social rights for young people into the realities of youth work and youth policy, by promoting the policy recommendation on access to social rights for young people ;

 To initiate, support and evaluate innovative pilot projects with a high multiplier effect across Europe ;

 To support the creation of partnerships between youth work, youth policy and local authorities in order to address situations of social exclusion affecting young people ;

 To consolidate the results of the Enter project (2009 – 2012), particularly by supporting advocacy actions for social rights for all young people in the member states.

Project activities

A preparatory meeting for the LTTC will take place in September 2012, in Strasbourg, with the aim of defining a clearer framework to the LTTC, reviewing the current needs related to the LTTC, taking stock of already existing initiatives, defining the overall approach and developing an operational model for the planning and implementation of the LTTC. The meeting is strategical for the project, as its results are also connected to the development of a network of potential partners for the LTTC.

The long-term training course that will prepare and support youth workers and youth leaders working with young people who face difficulties in exercising their social human rights will be launched at the end of 2012. Each participant will be asked to develop a concrete project with young people, based on specific quality criteria. Participants’ projects will also be involved in activities aimed at promoting and supporting the implementation of the youth policy recommendation on the access of young people to social rights.

Other foreseen activities in 2012- 2014 are :

 A conference on local youth policies for social and economic inclusion, mainly focusing on policies for youth employment and social entrepreneurship of young people, in cooperation with local authorities

 National seminars on social rights and social inclusion of young people : the role of youth policy and youth work, in member states aimed at promoting the Enter ! recommendation and supporting the development and recognition of social youth work

 Revision of the Portfolio for youth workers of the Council of Europe, on the basis of the experiences in the LTTC, with the aim of supporting the recognition of youth work and non-formal education

 Study sessions in co-operation with international youth organisations, organised in the European Youth Centres Strasbourg and Budapest

 Development of educational resources on access to social rights for young people

 Financial support for local youth projects on access to social rights for young people, through the involvement of the European Youth Foundation

 National meetings and exchange of good practices, among youth workers, youth organisations, local authorities and young people.

An internet site and E-learning platform will ensure the project visibility and communication.

The long-term training course (LTTC)

 The LTTC aims to make a significant contribution to combating social exclusion of young people through the empowerment of youth workers and leaders to develop and carry out social rights oriented projects that create synergies with local authorities and institutions. The LTTC will also serve as a core of the promotion of the policy recommendation.

 The course will develop the participants’ skills and competencies in setting up projects for integration and in sharing them with colleagues across Europe, as well as in increasing their capacity in advocating for social rights for young people. In view of this, the participants/youth workers will receive training on :

 Social rights and their relevance to youth work and young people : concepts, international framework, implementation, examples of social rights policies ;

 Integrated policy approaches to local youth projects, in particular in relation to the development of partnerships with various institutions and partners concerned by youth policy and youth work at local and regional level ;

 Development of partnerships with different social actors, from the local authorities and civil society, for policy development and enhancement of social rights in local youth policies ;

 Needs-based youth policy approaches and their applicability in youth work ;

 Non-formal learning and its role in promoting the autonomy and social integration of young people ;

 Intercultural learning and its applicability in local youth work ;

 Developing democratic and participatory approaches with young people ;

 Project planning and project management cycles ;

 Fundraising and financial management ;

 European youth programmes and policies (Council of Europe and European Commission) ;

 Communication and presentation skills ;

 Networking and negotiation skills.

Each participant and the organisations/institutions within which they work will be expected to implement a concrete project with young people, on the promotion of access to social rights.

A first residential meeting will take place in the spring 2013. The project work will take place between the two residential training seminars.

The second seminar will take place in 2014 and will focus on the evaluation of the projects and intervention implementing and of participants’ learning, as well as on the consolidation of competences of participants.

The course will involve 30 youth workers, whose profile could either be that of local youth leaders, workers and animators active at local level with young people at risk of social exclusion. The LTTC addresses also specific organisations working on specific social rights (access of young people to employment, access to housing, access to quality education, access to social security of vulnerable groups, acces to health, social protection and empowerment of groups at risk of social exclusion, fighting discrimination in different areas of social life etc.), that intend to develop their competences in an integrated approach to social rights. It is a requirement for the selection that candidates’ organisations have developed or are in a position to develop partnerships local authorities/civil society for the enhancement of social inclusion of young people.

All participants should also :

 have the interest and potential capacity to develop projects on social rights (education, work, social security, health, housing, quality of life, poverty alleviation)

 have an interest to work with young people and policy-makers on social rights in multicultural areas, advocacy for social rights, segregation in multicultural environments, youth entrepreneurship, mobile youth work interventions or other youth work interventions ;

 have some or significant experience of working with young people at risk of social exclusion

 work directly with young people and/or youth leaders

 have a position in their organisation/local authority that allows them to mobilise the whole organisation in the processes related to the LTTC

 demonstrate active ownership of the project

 be supported throughout the whole LTTC by their organisations/institutions

 have a strong personal and professional motivation

 need this training for their professional and personal development

 be able to work in English or French (tbc).

The preparatory seminar of the LTTC in September 2012 will revise the course aim, objectives, profile of participants, competences and also the measures to be deployed as support measures for the LTTC.

Outcomes of participating in the LTTC

The LTTC intends to contribute significantly to the development of youth workers’/local authorities’ competences regarding youth work and youth policy interventions for access to social rights for young people. Throughout the course and as a result of its educational process, participants will :

 improve both their capacities as youth workers, and will follow a full cycle of learning, from needs assessment to evaluation of learning ;

 engage in a broad range of competences development ;

 receive coaching to develop projects with young people. Each participant will have as a reference person one of the trainers, to address in order to receive a support catered on their needs.

 receive educational and institutional support from the Council of Europe for the development of their projects on social rights ;

 have a broader understanding of the European youth policy context, which is a crucial asset when advocating for social rights on the local or national level. This asset becomes even more relevant in the case of participants whose organisations are part of international youth organisations or of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe ;

 exchange practices with other youth workers from different contexts. Peer learning in a LTTC is maximised, due firstly to the duration of the course. This also enhances the possibilities for networking among participants on international projects on social rights ;

 engage in a full training cycle and develop monitoring and evaluation mechanisms regarding their competences.

While requesting a relatively small amount of time from participants’ working time on a regular basis, the format of LTTC ensures a medium and long-term curriculum adaptation, in order to cater on participants’ learning needs.

LTTC Calendar

As far as the LTTC is concerned, its calendar covers as follows :

2012 :
  A preparatory seminar of the Long-Term Training Course, engaging some of the potential beneficiaries organisations of the LTTC

  Launch of the call for trainers

  Launch of the call for participants

  First meeting of the trainers’ team

2013 :
  An introductory training seminar – 10 days, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, for 30 youth workers and officers from local authorities : introductory training, preparation of projects

  Trainers’ team meeting(s)

  Local projects to be developed and implemented by the course participants in cooperation with local authorities and with possible financial support from various institutions

  Coaching and face-to-face meetings between trainers and participants and among participants

2014

  An evaluation seminar, 8 days, European Youth Centre Budapest, for 30 youth workers and officers from local authorities : conclusion of the training course ; evaluation of the project and publication of the results

  Trainers’ evaluation meeting

  An evaluation seminar of the project, bringing together the main actors and organisers of activities in the project to take stock of results and look at possible areas of future interventions

Partners involved A direct cooperation with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Europe will ensure the coordination with the work of local authorities in the project implementation phase of participants. This follows closely the recommendations from the 2009 – 2012 Enter project.

The partners in the co-management system of the youth sector, namely the Advisory Council on Youth and the European Steering Committee on Youth, attach great importance to the issue of social cohesion and inclusion. They will be naturally involved in all phases of the development of the project as well as in the monitoring and evaluation. The involvement of the CDEJ will also potentially trigger the involvement of national authorities from the member states. The project will seek to associate closely national authorities, also in order to ensure the promotion of the youth policy recommendation, as it particularly addresses them.

Co-ordination with the European Youth Foundation in the support of participants’ projects will be sought.

International youth organisations, particularly but not exclusively those addressing social exclusion, are also important partners in the LTTC. It is expected that stronger partnerships will be created both in order to associate more closely international youth organisations with the project, as well as in order to identify participants in the LTTC.

Connections with other projects, like the ones carried out by the European Youth Forum, SALTO Youth Resource Centre on Inclusion and Participation etc., will be sought.