booklet - methods, activities and research results of the youth exchange, youth unemployment: lost...

8/12/2019 Booklet - Methods, Activities and Research Results of the Youth Exchange, Youth Unemployment: Lost and Found!

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Youth Unemployment: Lost and Found!

Booklet on Methods, Activities and Research Results of the YouthExchange, Youth Unemployment: Lost and Found!

Project financed by the European Commission through the Youth in Action program, action 1.1Youth Exchanges.

11 - 21st of July 2013, Almelo, Netherlands!


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Our project ''Youth unemployment: Lost andFound!'' , is a youth exchange project , implemented bythree organizations from the Netherlands, Greece,Romania, that unfolded between May - November 2013.

The project was funded through the Youth in Actionprograme of the European Commision, action 1.1 YouthExchanges!

This bookletaims to provideinformation on

our project, results and outcomes! We are proud of our projectand we feel we achieved to change life stories, points of viewand the attitudes of the people from our communitiesregarding youth unemployment, raise awarness on the subject,encourage youths to be proactive, take a stand and start changetheir own lives!

The Youth in Action programe continues under the new Erasmus+European programe, so learn more,

get informed and do things for the young people from your community using the knowledgeopportunities, training courses and funding provided by Youth in Action!

Partners in the projects:

Imago Mundi Youth Association, Romania, imagomundiconects.eu

Youthfully Yours, Greece,youthfullyyoursgr.wordpress.com

Scoop Welzijn, Almelo, Netherlands, Coordinator.www.scoopwelzijn.nl
http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/index_en.htmhttp://imagomundiconects.eu/http://imagomundiconects.eu/http://youthfullyyoursgr.wordpress.com/http://youthfullyyoursgr.wordpress.com/http://www.scoopwelzijn.nl/http://www.scoopwelzijn.nl/http://youthfullyyoursgr.wordpress.com/http://imagomundiconects.eu/http://www.scoopwelzijn.nl/http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/index_en.htm


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Youth Unemployment: Lost and Found!

Our project ''Youth unemployment: Lost and Found!'' wasfocussed on empowering youths to influence youth unemployment.

The project took place in Almelo, the Netherlands, and partly in

Amsterdam.!This trilateral youthexchange between Greece, Romania and theNetherlands lasted 11 days.12 Greek, 13 Romanian and 13 Dutchyouths in the age of 17-24 years old participated, together with twoyouthworkers from each country.

The future of schoolgoing and graduating youths in Europe is notlooking bright. Because of the economic crisis and rising youthunemployment they are called ''the Lost generation''.

This is why during this project the participating youths focussed onwhat they can do to shake that expression. Through a combination of

non-formal educational techniques such as games, discussion sessions,presentations and by doing research prior to the exchange, the youthslearned about the differences and similarities in youthunemploymentbetween the 3 participating countries!

They drew up different factors of youthunemployment in theircountries, and debated the question; Which factors are common and

which can be influenced? What can youths do themselves to bettertheir position on the labourmarket? With the help of an advertisingagency, and through different creative workshops, the youths created 5different PR campaigns to fight youth unemployment.

At the end of the exchange, these PR campaigns were released to the

public, through a ''release party'' organized by the youths themselves.After the youthexchange, 2 PR campaigns were selected by the youths,to be enrolled back home.

Find more info about our project and our PR campaigns on ourblog, youth4jobs.wordpress.com!
http://youth4jobs.wordpress.com/http://youth4jobs.wordpress.com/


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Youth Exchange : Youth Unemployment:Lost and Found!

11 Days of experiences, learning, discovering othercultures, learning about how to fight youth

unemployment!

In the weeks up to the actual exchange, all three youth groups from Greece, Netherlands, Romania,conducted a research project about youth unemployment in their own country. For this they did dataresearch, and conducted interviews with employers, job agencies and job seeking youths.

Young people also prepared elements and moments for the intercultural evening prior to the exchange,prepared the presentations summarising the research on youth unemployment, that each group did in itsown country, so that they can be presented during the exchange.

To summarise the way our youth exchange unfolded between 11 - 21 July 2013, in Almelo andAmsterdam:

- most of the activities unfolded at Naxt, a modern multimedia centre, were we stayed in the first 8 daysof the exchange, and in the last three days we stayed in Almelo.

- the first 3 days of the activities focused on getting to know each other, on intercultural activities,debates and presentations on Youthpass as well as on presenting and listening to the research results ineach of the three participating countries;day three marked the beginning of the more creative part of theexchange: we started to work together and develop PR campaigns in order to help young people becomemore proactive in solving the issue of youth unemployment and determine local, national and europeanauthorities to get more involved in this problem.

- in the next 5 days of the exchange, specialised teachers from Naxt offered the

participants,workshops on graphic design, video editing, music lyrics, fashion merchandise sothat young people develop their own PR campaigns on youth unemployment! A release party wastherefore organised in the 8th day, showing the results to the community from Almelo;

- in the last 3 days, intercultural activities, visits in Amsterdam, eating dutch food, doing canal biking ,evaluating our own progress and results, were the perfect way to end a successfull youth exchange.

A good mix between fun, workshops on creative skills, sessionson PR marketing, debates on youth unemployment, goodlocations in Almelo, as well as in Amsterdam, a multimediacentre for young people such asNaxt as main venue of activitiescontributed to afantastic experiencefor the 38 youths and 6

youth leaders from allthree countries!
http://www.naxt.nl/http://www.naxt.nl/


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Working methods and activities used during the Youth Exchange !

Here is a daily description of what happened during our youthexchange, of the methods and activities we used to reach ourobjectives:

Day 1:The exchange itself started with an introduction to theNetherlands and Almelo, organized by the Dutch youths.Company bikes were donated by Scoop to organize asightseeing bike tour through Almelo. pointing out all theimportant spots. After a welcome dinner in the evening, thedutch youths prepared a presentation about the Netherlands.

About certain cultural habits, history, laws, do's and don'ts etc.

Getting to know each other games were organised by theyouths in the first evening; we chosed low risk kind of gamessuch as,,over the line,, were they learned in a groupenvironment about each other, moving on to morechallenging activities such as ''Cocktailparty'' in which theyouths would have to talk in english and interview eachotherone on one.

Day 2 was also dedicated to breaking the ice and getting toknow eachother. Several games and exercises were chosen andorganized partly by the youthleaders, but mostly by the youthsthemselves. Games such as ,,Secret friend,, and finding eachothers name tag. A session regarding fears and expectationsfor the week was organised, and the dutch, greeks, romanianspresented the results of their research on youth unemloyment

in the three countries. We presented information about Youthin Action and its opportunities fr young people. We alsotalked to the group about what exactly is nonformal educationand introduced Youthpass and its competences as a tool forself-assesment of the learning process. We gave every youth aprivate journal to fill and explain that they will have the timeto record their own feelings about the learning process thatthey will go through during the exchange.

We wrote down the programe on large sheets of paper andlayed them down in the room an asked youths to visualisetheir goals for the exchange by writing them on post its and

put them in different parts of the programe. We also askedthem to do the same with the question: What do they want tolearn about themselves, other cultures and youthunemployment?Group activities were build in such a way that the youths weremixed, made of youths from all three countries. We alsoincluded a teambuilding exercise in which different mixedteams were assigned to build a tower out of spagetti andmarshmallows, using no other tools. Working together theyhad to figure out how to build the biggest tower.


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Day 3: started with a introduction to the Naxt facilities, the mainplace of activities. It is at Naxt starting from this day, that the youthsattended workshops on photography, film editing, graphic design,

fashion merchandise, music/lyrics/design. The youths were divided in5 mixt groups for developing their PR campaigns. We then moved onto an exercise about initial perceptions, to become more aware of howour impressions affect our behaviour towards others, also to comparehow people differ in their initial impressions of others. To achieve thisthe youths had to label each other with stickers, going on their firstimpressions. and afterwards discussing how this felt for them.In order to learn to express your opinion and listen to others, we alsoincorporated a discussion exercise called 'four courners, in which theyouths learned how to listen and comunicate with each other, and giveopinions in a way they can work with eachother.

An exercise on visualising personal goals was made with the youngpeople and group discussions about possible directions for the PRcampaign were made so that each group starts to figure out what to do!

After all these exercises that prepared them to start working together,the 5 mixed groups sat down and brainstormed about finding acommon topic for their PR campaign, the content of their message,

what tools to use and what targetgroup they wanted to reach.The evening ended with the intercultural market. Each countryprepared in detail their own stands, with food and items from theirown countries. Presentation on food,music, history, pictures showingplaces from their own countries were shown to the entire group.

Traditional greek and romanian dances were presented. From daythree, untill the eighth, workshops and presentations focused onproviding support for youths to make their own campaigns, and also toprovide daily feedback on their progress and identify any potentialproblem. In short master classes they learned as much as possibleabout photography, film, editing, graphic design, fashion andmerchandising, music/communication.

A workshop was given to the entire group by jobcoaching agencyJanenhenk on Day four.The workshop focused on recognising eachones talents and nonformal competences finding your passion,

reaching your goals on the labour market. Evaluation exercises such as,,the lighthouse of feelings,,, to evaluate the feelings of the participantsafter the first days were unfolded in the fourth day. Work and leisureactivities, are a good mix, so the fourth day with young people had thechance to take optional rock-climbing lessons, and also workshops ongraffiti. The evening ended with a big barbeque, organised by theDutch ouths at the Scouts centre were we were acomodated.


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In Day five the advertising agency Catapult from Hellendoorn came inwith a presentation about how to make a successfull PR campaign. They satdown with each individual group and coached them through abrainstorming process towards a good concept for their campaign. the

workshops continued supported by specialised teachers from Naxt, just asthey did in the sixth day, when each group prepared a pitch/concept about

their future campaign and explained to the others in detail their concept andhow it will be presented at the release party in the eigth day. In the seventhday,with all the knowledge from the workshops they attended, and with theconcept of their PR campaign well thought, the work for the campaignsstarted. The youths worked each one in their own groups to prepare them.

A continuous evaluation process unfolded through out the exchange,using direct observation, sureveys, the lighthouse of feelings method anddirect discussions between youths and youth leaders.The evaluation focusedon the following aspects: group dinamic, food, accomodation andatmosphere, programe in general, participant - team relations, balancebetween work and free time, personal contribution, youth leaders. The

results were encouraging, the youths had no significant problem, andeverything indicated that these days united the group into functionalworking teams.Days seven and eight,were dedicated to creating the PR campaigns, 5 intotal. After finishing the PR campaigns and preparing a presentation, releaseparty was organized. The party was attended by Scoop partners, members ofthe local community, press, parents, Scoop youth workers together withtheir youth groups, and several delegates from the local municipality,including the mayor, and was organised in the evening of the eighth day.

The concepts and presentation were very successfull and they receivedpositive feedback from the local community. For the dutch youths involved

it was a great opportunity to share the results of their work with friends andfamily; for the greek and romanian it was a step further into knowing morepeople from the local community of Almelo and this way strenghten thebridge between cultures!

In the ninth day, preparations started for the final part of the exchange, thetheme visit to Amsterdam. The camp was cleaned, with help from

volunteers of Soweco, and the luggages were packed and the group left witha rented bus towards Amsterdam. Cultural visits were made in the city, theyouths were given maps of the city centre, with emergency numbers andpublic transport routes back to the Scouts camp. Small groups, mixed on

nationalities were made to visit the city centre in a more flexible and easyway, a better option then having a large group of 44 going all together intown and public transport which would have proven difficult to manage. Adinner in town, canal biking with all the group, discussions on youthpass,and a evaluation session of all the exchange were the highlights of these lastthree days. The ,,secret friend,, game was revealed here at the end! The finalevaluation session as well as the secret friend game revealing took place inthe 10th and final evening of the exchange. The eleventh daywas designedfor the departure of the greek and romanian participants to their countriesand of the dutch youths to Almelo!


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Our PR campaigns concepts on the issue of Youth Unemployment !

Two campaigns of the 5 concepts developed during the exchange by mixed teams of Dutch, Romanianand Greek youths were implemented in Romania and Netherlands. Each concept was done by the youthsthemselves after taking the various workshops on video and music editing, photography, fashion designand marketing and PR guerrilla workshops! As part of the PR campaigns, short movies were done by theyouths, who were actors, directors and editors. All of them can be found on youtube.com on the channelyoutube.com/youth4jobs!

Its up to YOUth!:This PR campaign focused onsupporting young unemployed people to integrateinto the labor market. A website with usefulinformation as well as activities connecting youths

with skilled entrepreneurs that can give them adviceon what is needed on the labor market, promotingopportunities for young people, organizing debates

for youths on the issue of youth unemployment,making short movies, posters, flyers, press releasesand articles were the core of the PR campaignconcept!

Youthoria!: This PR campaign concept identifiedas one main cause of youth unemployment the factthat the employers ask for experience, which isexactly what young people miss out. The idea of the

Youthoria PR campaign is to encourage youngpeople with business ideas to put them to use andto become entrepreneurs, start their own businessand in order to then, in their turn, hire other youngpeople. Passing it on, so to say.In order to promote this concept and provideyoung people with info for the necessary steps, thepromoters of the campaign will use a website,posters, flyers and stickers with QR codes, amotivational video, organize debates with youngpeople.
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsz1o47r8gFKAGNmiu9Ib6ghttp://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsz1o47r8gFKAGNmiu9Ib6g


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Be your Own Hero! / Its up to YOUth!

Two of the 5 PR campaigns were enrolled in tNetherlands and in Romania, as a result of the youthexchange. Its probably one of the factors that makes our project be special and very successful! Ouryouths continued to work and made good use of what they learned during the youth exchange, making

their voice heard in their communities and raising awareness on the issue of youth unemployment amongyoung people, and working to change attitudes and fight for the youths wright to work and to a decentlife!

The Dutch youth team decided to enroll the Be your own Hero! campaign. They sat down withadvertising agency "Catapult'' who were also involved in coaching the youths during the exchange.

Together they had several meetings to professionalize the V-man campaign into a website, a postercampaign in schools and a Facebook campaign.

When the campaign began to take shape, the Dutch group got invited to give a presentation to mayorof Almelo. The mayor was very impressed by the ideas of the youths, which resulted in the mayorasking the youths to give a presentation about their findings and plans about youth unemployment, to

the entire city council including the department of youth unemployment.When the campaign is finished in february, it will be enrolled in schools in Almelo and surroundingvillages. For this, the dutch group is preparing a presentation, to make a tour along several big schools,telling the students themselves about their findings and about the website.


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The Its up to YOUth! campaign was organized and implemented by the Romanian youths in October- November 2013 in the county of Arges,Romania and it was launched through a press conference on15th of October 2013. Through debates using non-formal methods, more than 200 young people fromrural and urban areas were encouraged to take action regarding their own future, become betterprepared and equipped for the challenges they will face on the labor market. In Romania, a major issueis that teenagers undertake a exam at 14 years old that determines in what high school they are admitted

( a industrial profile, a vocational or human studies one), a institution with good or bad reputation, andthis basically can determine if they go or not to college and therefore the rest of their life.

They received information on the most demanded jobs on today s market, received information onscholarships available as well as on opportunities for volunteering in their county. A online part, surveysand posting information on Facebook groups and on Blogs were also part of the campaign, and theyouths were challenges to take part in online debates. The youths that participated at the exchangeorganized all the campaign but they also took in the organization team other youths among the

volunteers of Imago Mundi and from their own high schools. The campaign unfolded through out thedistrict of Arges with debates 3 major high schools from the city of Pitesti (200 000 inhabitants) and in4 schools from the rural areas. The campaign benefited from extensive media coverage, which onlyencouraged the youths and also increased the impact of the PR campaign.


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Results of Research done on Youth Unemployment in Greece, Netherlands,Romania, May 2013 - July 2013. Outcomes of the debates and activities of theYouth Exchange!

Starting from May 2013, youths from all three countries involved, Greece, Romania, Netherlands, didresearch on the way youths are affected by unemployment. The results of their research done in each of

their communities and countries was presented in the first day of the exchange and further on to otherstakeholders and youths from the communities of the young people!

Under youth unemployment we understand all persons between 15 and 24 years old who currently are(a)without work (b)available for work (c) actively seeking work. This research is based on:

- dataresearch on the internet,- Interviews with 9 employers or jobseeking agency's (3 per country);- interviews with 12 graduated and jobseeking youths (4 per country).

Romania

In Romania, youth unemployment has increased in the last 4 years from 18,6 to 23%.

1. Students abandon school early without getting a diploma. 17,5% of youths 18-24 drop outwithout a degree.

2. The high cost of education, many families can not afford it.3 Mismatch between the qualifications and skills of young people and those required by

employers.4. Lack of work experience and competition with qualified and experienced jobseekers.5. Students choose professions for which there is no demand on the labourmarket. For example,

for 6000 graduating lawstudents, there are only 110 posts annually.

Greece

In 2013 in Greece the percentage of unempoyed youths 15-24 years old was 64 %.

1. Greece has been in a 6 year recession, since the country's debt crisis emerged in 2009.Youthunemployment tripled over those years.

2. During the pre-crisis decade the involvement of young people in education and training increased by

30%, therefore youth unemployment in Greece today is not only the result of employment policy, butalso the result of increasing participation rates

3. Austarity measures in Greece mean that it is the most cost-effective to fire employers with the leastwork experience. Therefore increasing the youth unemployment rate, and also discouraging youngjobseekers to gain workexperience.

4. The UE-IMF memorandum has led to changes in the Greek Labour laws, which means that youngpeople in Greece currently have more reason to remain unemployed than start a part-time job.

5. Entrepeneurship in Greece is as widespread as in other EU countries, but at present Greek young

people express much less interest in those studies.


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After comparing the factors of youthunemployment of all three countries, the youths pointed out2 factors that are similar in all three countries (and which they can influence themselves).

- lack of workexperience among youths- youths choosing professions that have little positions available.

After comparing the qualities given by youths and employers, the group decided on threequalities youths can approve on in order to have a better chance on the jobmarket. Who areapplicable in all three countries, and can be influenced by the youths themselves;

- Work experience- Knowing what you want out of life- Volunteer work and personal projects

With these conclusions in mind, the youths started deciding on their PR campaigns, a process that lead to

the five PR campaign concepts, and the two successful campaigns, already being implemented inNetherlands and Romania!

to all our local and InternationalPartners that made this project

possible, from Netherlands,Greece, Romania!

A Big

Don t forget to check theErasmus+official webpage, the website of the European Commission for thenew Youth Guarantee Scheme, that provides interesting opportunities for young people from all overEurope - regarding the new European Employment Strategy!!

And of course visit the website of our project for further info, useful links and for follow up activities.,youth4jobs.wordpress.com!
http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/index_en.htmhttp://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1079http://youth4jobs.wordpress.com/http://youth4jobs.wordpress.com/http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1079http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/index_en.htm

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