The value of international youth-work

Content

Youth work:﻿
What actually is international youth work and which values does it bring?  
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It is a wide field and frame of activities for and with young people from several countries: 
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"Children, adolescents or young adults getting get together for an activity involving peers from other countries, receiving educational guidance throughout and learning from that experience – that’s international youth work." (IJAB - International Youth Service of the Federal Republic of Germany)
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But actually it is much more than that. It all started back then with the first binational exchange programmes for young people from different countries in order to work on "international understanding" after the 2nd World War. And from there it grow continuously and is nowadays far beyond just creating understanding among nations.
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Nowadays every year ten thousands of young people go abroad to get to know strangers and their everyday lives, to do something together or to work with others in social projects. And at the same time young people from abroad come with the same goal in return. In international youth work, young people do this voluntarily, without remuneration, in their free time and mostly outside school or vocational training. There are various formats, from youth-exchanges and youth-meetings to work camps or voluntary services and projects. Being a part of them, the engaged participants acquire important skills, develop personality and self-confidence, practice tolerance and get involved with others. A sense of responsibility and participation in society are promoted and help young people to shape the reality of their lives, which is shaped by global influences. 
The field of international youth work in europe is nowadays shaped by multiple programmes and funding shemes such as the ERASMUS+ Programme, the European Solidarity Corps and additional many national and multi-national programmes. And as being an important part of the national and international youth-strategies in Europe, it is are gowing field as such. 
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So it is all about the young people?
Since we speak about youth work, it is addressing young people, yes. However, most of the programmes define being young up to an age of 30 years. And even beyond that, there is an potential to engage in the activities of youth-work and be a learner yourself. Many of the formats and funding schemes are also targeted to individuals or organizations which are working with young people and enable them to train themselves and improve their skills and competences. 
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Sounds good, but is it really worth it? 
Well, we as the Cities and Regions of Learning Network believe yes. Most of our members are involved in the field since many years and have enabled thousands of young people and as well people in the field of youth work to participate in those activities and develop their skills. 
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And not just we do believe in the big impact of international youth work. Transnational research conducted across 35 countries shows the impact that Erasmus+ (and previous) projects had on young people. The study shows that overall, 97% (‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’) of the participants report that their participation in such projects has contributed to their personal development.
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Speaking about the individual learning process and personal development, we can totally confirm those numbers, as we as the Cities and Regions of Learning Network experienced and witnessed so many positive impacts on a personal level on the individual participants in those activities. Many of our youth workers even have experienced the participation in those activities themselves and can share so many positive impacts. So yes we believe, it is absolutely worth it. 
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But surely you might have to find it our yourself and actually even give it a try. Here are more sources to check out the impact of international youth work and what it is about:

Resources

The webpage of OUR NETWORK with few project examples

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International youth work pathfinder Get this badge

Earners of this badge can demonstrate a general knowlegde of the field of international youth work and its values with a special focus on learning mobilities. They have been introduced to the field, its formats and the basic frame of international youth work, understanding and curious how these initiatives and activities can potentially offer diverse learning opportunities for themselves.  

Tasks

Task no.1

Evidence verified by: one activity organiser

Watch the video on "What is an international youth work" and check few examples of projects in the given links. Share your thoughts on it with us in the textbox:
Which value do you see in the activities and formats of international youth work? 
Have you experienced activities like this or taken part in them already?

International and Intercultural

Added to playlist (2)

Time to complete: 20 minutes

Organisers

Network of Cities and Regions of Learning

Used in playlists

My pathway to a volunteering experience

Network of Cities and Regions of Learning

My pathway to an international training course

Network of Cities and Regions of Learning

Badgecraft hosts this platform and develops it together with leading educational organisations. The European Union's programme Erasmus+ granted co-funding for building the first version of this platform. Contact support@badgecraft.eu.