Skills and competencies for youth workers:
The Safety first! project focuses on the professional skills and knowledge of youth workers providing a physically and mentally safe environment for youth.
“Youth need to feel and be safe to explore their interests and opinions. Without safety no learning, development can happen”
Abraham Maslow
Youth workers need to offer a physically, emotionally safe environment to develop skills, to socialize with peers and adults, and discover their unique identity. Both the knowledge and the sensitivity of youth workers in recognising and dealing with sensitive situations can and have to be improved. The project wants to support youth workers, youth educators with a framework of various elements to develop their professional competencies. Using those youth workers can make more informed preparations and decisions – thus creating a safer learning environment. Developing recommendations and a researched and tested training will support the project to get a comprehensive base for the work. The online platform with practical tools and case examples will be available for self-directed learning and supporting the work of youth workers. Sensitizing, raising awareness and giving practical tools goes hand in hand in the project.
The project partners are experts and practitioners of an important segment in order to create synergies:
- Hungarian Association for Expressive Arts and Dance Therapy (IKTE-Hungary), the project leader, provides emotional safety knowledge and practice
- Civil Protection Falchi del Salento (Italy) provides first aid, raising awareness on safety matters knowledge and experience
- Community Development Institute Association (CDI-North Macedonia) provides broad and long experience in youth work, working with at times emotionally difficult topics, groups
- MOVE to Be You – Movement for feeling good (Austria) provides experience and practice working with youth, locally and internationally
An online platform with practical tools and case examples will be available for self-directed learning and supporting the work of youth workers.
Safety first – Skills and competencies for youth workers
