„Dare to be creative“
The idea of the present training was born from the past years experience of hosting EVS volunteers by partners involved and understanding their roles and influences to local youth participation.
The 7-days advanced training course for EVS mentors “Dare to be creative” that will take place in Russia from 21-28 of April 2013. We see youth participation as a driving force leading to democratic and inclusive society where EVS volunteers and EVS mentors play an important role by bringing and sharing diverse experiences and moderating change transformation among local young people. In this sense EVS mentors are local bodies who supposed to know the local community needs and who in case if needed is able to facilitate the work of EVS Volunteer and local youth. In order to be able to do that EVS mentor should be trained and should be aware about youth issues and youth involvement in the local community. However majority of EVS volunteers by this or that mean work with local young people and very often “help them” by supporting some leisure activities or doing something else, why then we don’t look at this process more strategically and don’t try to bring youth encouragement and youth involvement into the process of youth work of EVS volunteer and EVS mentor?
With this training we aim to support this process and to strengthen youth participation of young people from rural areas and disadvantage background through EVS projects by encouraging EVS mentors and providing them with a set of techniques to support EVS volunteer’s learning process, integration to the local community and mediation youth work if needed.
OBJECTIVES
• To understand the diversity of local context; expectations of the host organization and EVS volunteer;
• To train the ability to see the development of EVS volunteer in perspective and to show him possible input to local community
• To discuss the Roles and tasks of EVS mentors in different countries and contexts
• To share about youth participation realities and to brainstorm on the role of EVS volunteer and mentor in social change and in supporting young people from rural areas and from disadvantage background
• To develop mentor’s competencies needed to provide learning support to EVS volunteers;
• To deepen understating of the key competencies and Youthpass process;
• To understand what is learning process and how to reflect on personal learning
• To identify potentials and dangers in EVS mentoring process;
• To share possible tools and methods for EVS mentoring;
• To find out creative approaches to mentoring
• To discuss the motivation aspects: what motivates us as mentors and how we can encourage volunteer
• To reflect on mentoring styles and approaches
To discuss different levels of support for volunteers (before. during and after the project)
• To reflect on Intercultural competencies
The main stress will be done to develop personal creative approach which mentors can and should use in their work that will allow mentors not only to act according to written documents and concepts, but to investigate their own ways to work taking into consideration local circumstances, project realities and volunteers’ personalities. Participants will be also provided with skills and instruments to pass gained knowledge and skills as well as their experiences to other present mentors or new generation of mentors in their regions/countries.
The training will be for 25 participants from 14 countries of European Union and EECA.
Here you can find more information about the project: https://sites.google.com/a/womentor.eu/womentor/projects-4/dare-to-be-creative
Further materials and projects:
– European Guidelinesfor Mentoring Programmes: A Guideline for Setting up and Running Mentoring Programmes with a Special Focus on Mentoring for Girls and Young Women: https://sites.google.com/a/womentor.eu/womentor/projects-4/guidebook-for-mentoring-young-women-in-europe
– Guidebook for Mentoring Young Women in Europe: https://sites.google.com/a/womentor.eu/womentor/projects-4/guidelines-and-standards
– WE:MENTOR : The project WE:MENTOR brought together experienced programme co-ordinators and less experienced co-ordinators of mentoring programmes (particularly focused on women) together in order to share knowledge and best practice in order to increase the potential quality of programmes provided for both mentors and mentees. Main aim was to encourage participants to combine their new knowledge of these methods and ideas for future activities and implement them in new lifelong learning projects.
More information on: http://www.womentor.eu/projects-4/life-long-learning and also here https://sites.google.com/a/womentor.eu/womentor/projects-4/life-long-learning
WE:MENTOR Women Educators in Mentoring
The project WE:MENTOR brought together experienced programme co-ordinators and less experienced co-ordinators of mentoring programmes (particularly focused on women) together in order to share knowledge and best practice in order to increase the potential quality of programmes provided for both mentors and mentees. Main aim was to encourage participants to combine their new knowledge of these methods and ideas for future activities and implement them in new lifelong learning projects. A series of practical workshops ran throughout the partnership, facilitated by partners with the most experience in that particular field. Possibilities like mentoring volunteers and ICT tools for future mentors and program leaders were introduced and encouraged them to use these tools and therefore brought more innovation and variety into the field of mentoring.
The project led to greater European co-operation between mentoring coordinators, their organisations, mentors and female mentees across Europe. Through sharing knowledge and experiences gained in different countries and cultures, the partnership also developed greater awareness of the cultural experiences of mentors and female mentees across Europe which led to greater understanding of (cultural) differences as strengths.
Visit us also on our project website: http://wementor.hackerin.at/
Partnership, Results and a lot more on EST European Shared Treasure Database for Lifelong Learning Programme Grundtvig: EST Database We:Mentor Women Educators in Mentoring
All the pictures for the workshopsr: http://wementor.hackerin.at/workshops/
Project T- shirts available on: http://projectoffice.spreadshirt.at/
CyberWoMentor
is a virtuell Mentoring Programm for Girls and Women. More information is currently only available in german.
Womentor Guidelines
This guideline has been produced by the WOMENTOR project, a project carried out by the WOMENTOR association, looking for networking and establishing European structures for mentoring focusing on girls and young women. This guideline is intended to be used by organisations / institutions and professionals who want to establish a (public) mentoring programme.
The handbook describes the general approach as well as the different phases needed for setting up a mentoring programme.
Most of the descriptions and details herein can be used in virtually any mentoring context, yet the special focus of mentoring is on mentoring for girls and young women.
Visit us also on our project website and download the guidelines: https://sites.google.com/a/womentor.eu/womentor/projects-4/guidelines-and-standards
Kids Strengths
Background and Purpose: The prevalence of mental illness is constantly increasing, depression will become the 2nd largest cause of the global health burden by 2020 (WHO) with major impacts on children and families (3-11% „forgotten“ children). Improving the mental health and well-being of children and young people is one of the 5 priorities set out in the EU Pact for Mental Health at the EU high level in 6/2008.
In almost no EU country „forgotten children“ are included in formal training programs of professionals in diverse bio-psycho-social sectors. However a mental vulnerability of a parent always can be seen as a source of chronic distress and increased own vulnerability for young children. In terms of prevention KIDS`STRENGTHS transfers available EU training knowledge (Lets talk about children, Fostering Resilience) and tools (e.g. online resource pools like www.precious.at) into different bio-psycho-social sectors and countries (AT; DE; ES; FI, HU, PT; SK; TR and EN) and also offers peer-oriented online-skill training and a platform for children themselves to express their worries and find support.
Visit us also on our project website: http://www.strong-kids.eu/index.php?menupos=0
CISESK
Certification of Civil Services non formal and informal Skills Transfer -CISESK focuses on the transfer, European mainstreaming and exploitation of the results of CSA – Civil Service Apprenticeship, a Leonardo Da Vinci pilot project that produced a methodology and a software for assessing and certifying non formal and informal learning deriving from Voluntary Civil Service experiences. CISESK aims to build and mainstream a tool to be used within the European Voluntary Service (EVS) field. EVS is actually considered as an opportunity for training and professional mobility: through non formal/informal (NF/I) learning experiences thousands of volunteers all over Europe improve and/or acquire useful competencies for their own personal, educational and professional development as for their social integration, and increase their sense of European citizenship.CISESK aims to provide Third Sector organisations with tools that make them able to attract more and more youths to such training and professional experience, to foster transnational mobility of volunteers through the start up of a network among Third Sector organisations.CISESK also aims to promote and foster the mobility of volunteers throughout Europe, and it may be posible only through an official and mutual recognition of competencies and experiences acquired in the various EC countries.
Visit us also on our project website: http://www.ciseskproject.eu/
Precious
Professional Resources in Early Childhood Intervention: Online Utilities and Standards. „Early Childhood Intervention“(ECI) is a preventive professional service for children at risk. 1,3 mil. children (age 0-3) are affected either by disability or social disadvantage or migration. To prevent further disability or disadvantage early developmental stimulation services have been established in most of EU27 during the last 2 decades. Visit us also on our project website: http://www.precious.at/
WOMENTOR
European Federation of Mentoring for Girls and Women ( Womentor) was established 2008 in Austria. It has 13 members from 11 different countries- „Projectoffice for innovative social policy“(Austria), “NGO Öökull” (Estonia), „German Association of Women Engineers“(Germany), “Greek women´s engineering association” (Greece), „International Zonta Jelgava Club (Latvia), „Regional Centre for Sustainable Rural Development” (Romania), „Inova“ (United Kingdom), People to People International – Chapter Plovdiv(Bulgaria), Club Young Scientists ( Bulgaria), Association Filia (Czech Republic), Mädchenzentrum Café Dauerwelle ( Germany), Euro-net (Italy) and Balkaya Youth And Sports Club Associate( Turkey).
The Board of the Federation consists of 7 members, who all work on voluntary basis and are experienced in their own organizations. The mission of Womentor is gender equality through mentoring.
Our values consist of these keywords: active participation, cooperation, share of know-how, gender sensitivity, no discrimination, value diversity, confidentiality, mutual respect, mutually beneficial, focus on strengths.
Main activities for the project:
– presentation of member organisation and their work -interviews, workshops, analyses, surveys, reports and live content (blog etc.)
– participation in the exchange of informations,- contact other organisations, forward the link to our website to organisations in members countries that are working in the field of supporting girls and young women and want to be presented on the webportal
– National Research
– which organisations are supporting the needs of girls/young women,- how do they work
– how and in which field does mentoring take place,- are there shortcomings – accumulated needs, – promoting the development of a thematic network, – studies about the situation of girls and young women
According to the national or local circumstances and the target group members where asked to organise one national or local workshop. The workshops focused on important topics in the field of girls’ promotion.
More information and results on: Webportal www.womentor.euand on the project website: http://www.womentor.eu/projects-4/womentor-2008-1
RADIO WEB EUROPE
In the framework of Plan D[1] for „Democracy, Dialogue and Debate“, the European Commission – DG Communication launched in March 2006 a Call for Proposals[2] – DG COMM A2-1/2006 – in order to support pan-European projects carried out by non-profit civil society organisations aiming at encouraging and promoting dialogue and debate among citizens on EU issues. Radio Web Europe, one of the initiatives selected by the Commission, has been presented by a partnership of 8 organisations from 7 Member States: CENASCA CISL (IT), co-ordinator of the Project; CABA (PT); CECE (ES); CESFOR (IT); MPRC (LT); ProjectOffice (AT); Townfield Training (UK); UHM (MT). The project aims at involving young people and promoting their participation in the debate on the future of Europe.
Thematic Focus Groups, addressed to young citizens in order to stimulate their participation in the debate as representatives of the „European citizenship“ and to read the needs of information of young people about European issues (2 Focus Groups each country partner);Multimedia website: www.radiowebeurope.eu that allows real youth participation in the debate about the European issues in web streaming with on line contents (Interviews, Opinions, Analysis, Surveys) or live contents (chat, directed web, etc.). Participants will be able not only to view and download audio/video contents, but also to upload their own multimedia contributions. The contents will be realized in order to allow audio/video podcasting in particular of the contents produced by non-profit civil society organisations. Workshops, organized to encourage and promote youth debates on European topics as provided by the European Commission’s Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate (2 workshops each country partner). Final transnational Conference, to be held in December 2007, that represents an occasion to share experiences among the 7 countries involved in the project. The Project’s principal objective is to connect, at different territorial levels, civil society to responsibles for policies, experiencing new ways of involvement of european young people and non-profit civil society organisations. Radio Web Europe represents also a way of integrating the debate taking place on „Debate Europe“.
More information and results on: http://www.radiowebeurope.eu/uk/home/
EQM-PD
EQM-PD defines in cooperation with relevant partners (research, financing bodies, services and persones with disability) quality criteria for five basic modules. These modules reflect key processes within the fields a) education, living, work, leisure-time and counselling concerning persons with disability. Main target group for the curriculum (in terms of further educational programs) are professionals who are directly working with persons with disabilities. The definition of QM-criteria and the creation of an evaluation instrument (online-questionnaire) is an important instrument for the self-assessment of the institution including participative processes of persons with disabilities themselves.
More information on: http://www.eqm-pd.com/
EBIFF – EUROPEAN PASSPORT ON PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION IN EARLY INTERVENTION
Early support (IFF) for disabled children (400.000 children in the EU) is a holistic method of early intervention and prevention of long term impediment. (Age: 0-6 years) IFF was implemented in the late 70ies in whole of Europe – with a variety of legal, organisational and educational approaches. The persons working in early intervention are coming from different fields, such as e.g. therapeutic pedagogy, (AT, DE), Medicine (LT, IT, EE) or are working in combination with psychosocial services (NO). There is no single European country having a standardized training for
More information on: http://www.eqm-pd.com/ebiff/
These projects have been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.