Youth Workers for Youth

Start: 01-02-2018 - End: 30-06-2018

Project Reference: 2017-3-MK01-KA347-046772

EU Grant: 5914 EUR

Youth work is a practice that places young people and their interests first. Therefore youth work is a relational practice, where the Youth worker operates alongside with the young person in their context. Youth work is still not recognized as a profession in our country, while in the other European countries the Youth work exists as a valid and recognized profession (Youth worker). 
A key aspect of the youth work approach is that it places primacy on the relationships that young people have, including the relationship with their family and community context, with the Youth worker, and with society in general. The working relations between Youth worker and young person are paramount to the way in which Youth workers achieve positive outcomes for young people. Improving and supporting the relations between young people and those around them are also key to achieving the outcomes of youth work. Youth workers' work alongside young people in their context. This means Youth workers recognize the impact of that context when working. Context includes things at all levels: place, culture, family, peer group, community, society. Youth workers don’t just limit their work to the individual young person. 

Youth workers also aim to work with young people to affect their context and this often requires advocacy work to influence decisions made by others that can have a significant impact on the lives of young people. 

The main aim of this project is "Influenced participation of young people in the democratic life through the role of Youth Worker" 

The two specific aims of the project are: 

• Recognition of the profession Youth Worker within the national classification of professions. 
• Developed Code of Ethics for Youth workers as an evidence for the qualities, skills and capabilities of the Youth worker in the service provided for the Young people. 

The project included 21 participants for the first National meeting, 126 respondents on national level (on-line research) and 45 participants in the main action. This project includes youth NGO's and youth workers experienced in youth work development; representatives of national and local institutions responsible for education, social policy and youth as decision makers and young people aged 18 – 29. The project will include these participant structures on two levels: In the preparation period, SEGA will organize national 2-day workshop with decision makers (Agency of youth and sport, Ministry of education and science, Ministry for social policy and labor market, and different governmental institutions responsible for youth). After this event, SEGA will organize on-line research on national level. This on-line research will be about young people's view on the special role Youth worker and the Code of Ethics for Youth Workers including a series of questions on principles commonly identified as relating to ethical practice in Youth Work. The respondents will be young people aged 18 - 29 from R.Macedonia. The on-line research respondents will be asked to rate a number of statements relating to ethical practice for youth workers and their importance of each quality for making a good Youth worker. The main focus will be on the Code of Ethics for Youth workers, therefore to see the opinion of young people if a Youth Worker signed up to such a Code, would that knowledge improve their relationship with the Youth Worker. 

After that the results of the research will be reviewed and collected in one document which will be discussed and reviewed on the final event and that is the National Conference in Struga that will be held in the period of May 2018, the subject of this event will be "Preparation of Code of Ethics for Youth Worker". The project team will announce public call for participants for this event and direct invitations to national institutions responsible for youth work development actions such as the Agency for youth and sport, Ministry of Labor and Social policy, Ministry of Education and Science, Bureau for development of education, Agency of Employment, Association of Units of Local Self-Governments, public and private universities etc. The call for participants will be published on the website of SEGA and disseminated to several mailing lists and the social media. The call will include detailed information on the youth event and the expected results. The criteria for participation will include motivation for participation in the event, previous experience in similar events, affiliation in youth NGOs etc. Specific focus in the selection of participants will be the gender balance and ethnic background. The final result of the project will be prepared Code of Ethics for Youth Workers and changed perception of the youth and the decision makers about the profession Youth Worker. The document Code of Ethics will be disseminated to youth organization throughout Macedonia and submitted to the institutions.