In an era where social divisions can often overshadow connection, youth workers serve as essential bridge-builders. Supported by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme, the project “Core Values in Youth Work: Building Skills for Empowerment and Inclusion” (Project ID: 2024-3-RO01-KA153-YOU-000267126) was launched to reinforce the capacity of youth organizations across Europe.
At the absolute heart of this initiative—coordinated by Asociaţia pentru Inovație în Educația Adulţilor (InnoEdu)—was a transformative 7-day Training Course (TC) held in the intercultural city of Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania. Bringing together 40 youth workers, leaders, and volunteers from 10 different countries, this course successfully translated abstract human values into actionable, local impact.
The Core Mission: Quality Learning and Inclusion
The training course was intentionally aligned with the European Youth Strategy, specifically targeting the 8th Youth Goal: Quality Learning. The overarching objective was to equip participants with innovative non-formal education (NFE) methods to better support young people with fewer opportunities—including those facing social, economic, educational, and cultural barriers.
Rather than relying on traditional lectures, the training integrated a deeply holistic framework centered on seven core values:
- Inclusion & Diversity
- Empathy & Respect
- Solidarity & Democracy
- Collaboration
“Design for Impact”: The Experiential Learning Challenge
A standout feature of the training course was the “Design for Impact” challenge. Moving rapidly from theory to practice, participants were tasked with assessing real-world challenges faced by marginalized youth and co-creating their own short non-formal workshops.
After designing their methodologies, the teams pilot-tested these interactive sessions live with their peers, receiving constructive criticism and evaluation.
Participant-Led Workshop Highlights
- Together We All Belong (The Privilege Walk): An eye-opening exercise where participants physically stepped forward or backward based on specific life circumstances. The core takeaway resonated deeply: “Privilege is not guilt—it is responsibility.”
- Colour Theory: Utilizing colored stickers on participants’ foreheads, this game observed how unspoken social status and differences instantly alter group dynamics, giving an experiential understanding of exclusion.
- Muted Together: A silent acting and still-image exercise where groups represented sensitive social issues like bullying, racism, and the acceptance of people with special needs.
- Know by Flipping: A high-energy, competitive challenge combining a bottle-flipping task with a Q&A game focused on breaking down common myths surrounding social inclusion.
- Colorful Connections (Cultural Sprint): A time-bound tradition exchange using sticky notes to share music, food, and language traditions, rapidly boosting intercultural communication skills.
- Flying Fishes: An art-based psychological metaphor where participants mapped out their dreams inside drawing balloons, tracking barriers beneath them and identifying support systems on the strings.
Leveraging Digital Tools & Creating a Lasting Toolkit
To align with modern digital transformation strategies, the training course incorporated interactive platforms like Miro, Padlet, and Mentimeter for real-time brainstorming and digital documentation.
Continuous communication via WhatsApp helped participants build a tight-knit professional network that outlasted the physical mobility period. All methods, reflection tools, and workshop templates were compiled into a shared Digital Toolkit, establishing a replicable standard of youth work accessible to organizations across Europe.
Study Visits: Connecting with Local Ecosystems
Learning extended far beyond the main training room. Participants embarked on a series of immersive study visits across the region to analyze diverse organizational models:
- Startup HUB (Sfântu Gheorghe): Provided insights into linking entrepreneurship support with youth development.
- HÁRIT & Sic Feszt: Showcased how regional youth-led networks advocate for youth needs and manage large-scale civic mobilization through cultural and festival programming.
- VET Center Romania: Demonstrated how integrating non-formal learning with vocational education and training helps combat youth unemployment and early school leaving.
- The Red Cross Association: Focused on the human side of service, teaching best practices for volunteer retention, emergency response, and community emotional support.
- Brașov County Youth Council (BIT): Exposed participants to structural, regional youth policymaking and youth council advocacy.
- Săcele Youth Association: Offered a vital counter-perspective on grassroots, community-level work, illustrating how smaller entities maximize local impact despite limited resources.
Recognition of Competences: The Youthpass Ceremony
The training course concluded with the official Youthpass Ceremony. More than just a distribution of certificates, this was a structured moment of self-assessment and group reflection.
Through the Youthpass framework, participants formally mapped their newly gained skills against the Eight Key Competences for Lifelong Learning, leaving the project with a tangible portfolio piece to advance their professional careers in youth work.
A New Benchmark for European Youth Work
The true success of the “Core Values” training course is not found in its completion, but in the ripple effects it created. By returning to their home countries equipped with practical templates, an expanded international network, and newly targeted mindsets, these 40 youth workers are uniquely positioned to build safer, more empowering spaces for young people across the continent.
International Project Partners
- Romania (Host): InnoEdu
- Georgia: Vortexica
- Netherlands: Bridge 4 Youth
- Slovakia: Career VET sro
- Italy: SCAMBIEUROPEI ETS
- Azerbaijan: Gənc Sahibkarlar Klubu İctimai Birliyi
- Ukraine: EDUCATION 360
- Serbia: Profession VET DOO
- Spain: Ayuntamiento de Maracena
- Greece: ALL 4 ONE GREECE AMKE
