- Details
- Category: Under The Loupe: Rural Youth Work
Project "Under the Loupe: Rural Youth Work!" started 1st february 2020 and it's foreseen to last 15 months. National association of youth workers (NAPOR) is impementing it in a partnership with Society for Youth Development Idrija 2020, Institute of social sciences in Belgrade, Institute of social sciences „Ivo Pilar“ and Association for promoting of human potential and creative development - Prism. It's funded by the Tempus Foundation through the ERASMUS + program.
The project was created with the aim to explore Rural Youth Work. Rural youth are constantly facing one or more challenges related to basic economic and social infrastructures. Their access to quality youth services that are providing possibilities for personal and social development are very limited and often totally inaccessible. Therefore, it is important to create youth work programs where young people are, and based on their needs. Evidence-based research and support in creating new innovative programs and strategies based on good practice examples will make significant step towards rural youth work development and youth engagement.
The partnership aims:
- To ensure social inclusion of rural youth by creating preconditions for their active involvement in community life, through building capacity of youth workers and raising awareness of decision makers, underpinned by relevant policy development.
- To establish cross-sectoral cooperation among research community and youth workers in order to identify the needs of rural youth and introduce and encourage evidence-based practice.
- To increase visibility and recognition of youth work potential to respond to the needs of rural youth at local, national, regional and EU level.
- To increase quality of rural youth work programs by introducing innovative and inspiring practices from local to EU level.
Several activities are planned in order to reach the results:
- Transnational meetings,
- Research in Serbia and Croatia (analysis of the situation of young people in rural areas and needs of rural youth and rural youth workers),
- Booklet on 20 innovative and inspiring practices in rural youth work in EU and non EU countries,
- Public awareness campaign “Let’s go rural!”,
- Study visit to Slovenia,
- Advocacy documents.
Transnational meetings: Preparation meeting of partners was held via ZOOM platform, 31st of March 2020. Participants from each partner organisation attended the meeting. Meeting was dedicated to fine tune time frame of the project and each of the planned activities and to get common understanding of responsibilities of each organization concerning technical and financial matters and reporting.
Public awareness campaign “Let’s go rural!”: Campaign will last 12 months and will be divided into several segments. During the campaign, examples of good practice in the implementation of youth work in rural areas of partner countries will be presented, as well as the perspectives of young people, but also general living conditions outside urban areas.
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Institutional perspective about challenges of youth in Rural areas. |
Institutional perspective about activities for youth in Rural areas. |
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| WEBINARS |
Call for participants was open from the 19th to the 31st of August. |
4th September held Webinar No1: What is Rural Anyways? |
11th September held Webinar No2: Myths and Legends of Youth participation |
18th September held Webinar No3: Future is Rural! |
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What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in Rural areas from perspective of young people? |
What is participation for young people? |
What types of jobs its easy / hard to find in rural areas from perspective of young people? |
| Video with answers we gathered through Webinar No1: What is Rural Anyways? | Video with answers we gathered through Webinar No2: Myths and Legends of Youth participation | Video with answers we gathered through Webinar No2: Myths and Legends of Youth participation |
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| Interviews with youth workers |
Interview with Anja Mager from the Slovenian Association of Rural Youth |
Interview with Branimira Penić, a youth worker from Croatia and the founder of DrONe |
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Interviews with youngsters |
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| Campaign brochure in English | Campaign brochure in Slovenian | Campaign brochure in Croatian | Campaign brochure in Serbian |
Booklet on innovative and inspiring practices in rural youth work in EU and non EU countries :
By preparing this booklet project team wanted to empower youth workers, active in the rural areas. Although the focus is on the area of Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia, it’s also useful for youth workers in other rural areas across Europe. As it also includes funding opportunities and main policies on youth work in European rural areas, we hope that it will also serve as a manual for tackling problems of young people in rural areas and as the source of inspiration. COVID-19 pandemic has brought on many challenges, importantly affecting rural areas. Let’s tackle them with new innovative approaches. English version of this interactive document you can find HERE.
Research study in Serbia
The research study included two phases: processing of quantitative data and collection and processing of qualitative data. This document is the first in Serbia that brings together in one place all the data related to the life and habits of young people in rural areas. A comparative presentation of data is given in relation to young people in urban areas, as well as in relation to gender differences. Ten areas are covered by the research study: socio-economic status of young people, health and risky behavior, education, work and employment, participation, family and partnership, free time, values and trust of young people, life satisfaction and use of digital technologies. The research study is currently available only in Serbian language and you can find it HERE, as well as brief version in Serbian. Short version in English you can find HERE.
Besides research study about needs of young people in rural areas, within the project the research about needs of people who are working whit rural youth has been implemented and you can find final results in Serbian HERE.
Research study in Croatia
The research study included two phases: quantitative data and collection and of qualitative data focused on challenges of organizations which are dealing youth work in rural areas of Croatia. The purpose of this research is to investigate the current picture of youth organization. The research study is currently available only in Croatia language and you can find it HERE.
Based on those data in consultation with young people from rural areas the Guide for developing supporting program for rural youth organizations, youth and youth workers ( Početnica za razvoj programa za rad s mladima iz ruralnih podrucja) have been developed. You can find it HERE.
Study visit
Study visit has been organized at the end of May ( 24th to 27th) 2021 in Idrija for 18 youth workers from NAPOR, Prizma and Idrija2020. The aim of SV was providing possibilities for exchange of good practices and introduction of innovative methods, approaches and tools used among rural youth workers in each country.
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National discussions in Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia
National discussions have been directly linked to the sharing and disseminating outputs produced through the public awareness campaign Let’s go rural! as well as to Research Studies from Croatia and Serbia and Booklet prepared by Slovenia, but also for setting the strategic development framework of municipalities that put the development of Young people in the forefront in Slovenia, creation of handbook for developing supporting program for rural youth organizations in Croatia, and creation the strategy for development of Rural Youth work in Serbia. National discussion were one day event organized for 25 participants in each country.
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Final advocacy documents developed trough this events |
Guide for developing supporting program for rural youth organizations, youth and youth workers ( Početnica za razvoj programa za rad s mladima iz ruralnih podrucja) | Action plan for development of rural youth work in Serbia for the period 2021-2024 (Akcioni plan za razvoj ruralnog omladinkso rada u Srbiji za period od 2021 do 2024) |
Evaluation meeting
Partners evaluation meeting held in mid-July 2021 (from 12 to 14) in Veli Iž, a small isolated island in Croatia, near Zadar. The meeting was attended by representatives of all involved partners in the project. During the two days meetings partners evaluated all project activities, cooperation between partners and discussed about possibilities for future cooperation.
