More exchange through participation:
ewoca — young perspectives
Children and youths are seldom part of the planning and implementation of measures targeted at them. The ewoca network was built over a number of years and now consists of 45 International youth work organisations from 17 European countries. The funding programme ewoca — young perspectives is formed on this basis and aims to consistently include young people on all levels of International youth work.
For this, ewoca — young perspectives continues the tried and tested ewoca workcamp format and further develops it in a participatory way: Three organisations from three countries work together, in order to plan and implement international workcamp projects. The encounters will be planned together with a group of youths from the participating countries. Subsequently, the youths will conduct parts of their encounter independently, develop their own methods, implement them, and evaluate their own works in reflection phases. Youth work institutions from Germany (from the Federal States of Brandenburg, Thuringia, and Schleswig-Holstein), from Belarus, Denmark, France, Greece, and Ukraine take part.
International youth work within the frame of ewoca — young perspectives is not just a short-term experience during summer break, but develops into a sustainable commitment. The project uses professionally guided peer learning, a learning processes fashioned by youths and for youths.
Methodically as well, ewoca — young perspectives is structured in a sustainable way. Already during the workcamps, the youths create an online blog, documenting the whole process, experiences, and results from their own perspective. After the encounters, they present their experiences and impressions at different locations and open them up for discussion. Beyond that, in collaboration with youths the organisations then evaluate the tested concepts and develop recommendations for other organisations in the field of international youth work. Furthermore, an event for professionals and a youth conference with young people from European countries are planned, where the youths can use their previous experiences as a basis to develop further perspectives together.