International Youth Work
SOUTH WEST INTERNATIONAL YOUTH WORK PARTNERSHIP
The RYWU facilitates the South West International Youth Work Partnership, which is made up of individuals and organisations with an interest in and commitment to developing and promoting opportunities for young people to gain experience and understanding of life in other parts of the World. The Partnership Steering Group (click here for the list of Members) produces an annual Work Plan which for 2008/09 includes promoting European Youth Democracy Projects: a 'Hitch Hiker's Guide to International Youth Opportunities' for young people, and including an international dimension in generic youth developments.
~ Democracy Projects Demystified
- A one-day Training Course on 23 September 2010 ~
This One-day FREE Training Course will examine successful Youth Democracy Projects from other regions and provide a contact making seminar for workers in the SW. The aim is to generate ideas, gain skills and knowledge in making applications and identify partners for projects which will benefit your young people. For further details, please click here for a Flyer and a Booking Form.
ORGANISING YOUTH EXCHANGES AND VOLUNTEERING
The RYWU acts as a Regional Information Point for Connect Youth International in promoting and advising applicants to the EU Youth in Action Programme, which provides funding for exchanges, volunteering, youth democracy projects and initiatives and training and support projects with European partner countries. We can organise training and briefing sessions on European and other programmes, and can advise youth groups on good practice in international youth work. We also work closely with Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council on exchanges and other programmes.
We can provide information about volunteering opportunities through the European Voluntary Service element of the EU Youth in Action Programme. Young People from the South West who are interested in volunteering in Europe should contact Point Europa for support on organising EVS placemements. Point Europa is a registered EVS Sending Agency and independent training charity, based in Cornwall.
Point Europa is the UK's largest provider of fully funded, intenational youth volunteering opportunities, paid through the EU. They offer young people (aged 18-30) the chance to live and work in another country for up to 12 months, all expenses paid: travel, accommodation, pocket money, training, language course.
They have a huge range of opportunities, which currently include Austria, Finland, France, Italy, Nepal, Senegal, Spain. Placements range from childcare to environmental work, music to sport an youth information.
Youthpass Guide and Action 3.1
Youthpass is now available for Action 3.1 youth exchanges and training and networking projects. Certificates can be generated for any project approved from 2007 onwards, so any projects that have been completed, Youthpass is still available retrospectively. The Youthpass Guide is now available by clicking here.
The UK NA dissemination and exploitation of results website, Youthspace is now live. The aim of the website is to make sure that results, end products and experiences of Youth in Action projects are shared and used by young people and organiations in the UK and beyond.
The call for proposals Partnerships within the framework of sub-action 4.6 of the 'Youth in Action' programme has been published. For more information as well as supporting documents, please click here.
A GLOBAL DIMENSION
We seek to encourage an international dimension to all youth work and work with other agencies including the NYA and development education centres such as Glade in Somerset. Issues such as Fair Trade and Sustainability are core messages in our work with partners and young people.
YOUTH WORK WORKS 4 : THE INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION
This booklet, the 4th in the series of 'Youth Work Works' gives a glimpse into some outstanding youth work projects and the outcomes for young people that result from their international experience. It shows how international opportunities make a definitive contribution to informal social education, and we hope it will encourage every Local Authority to include an opportunity for an international experience in its 'offer' to young people. 
To download a copy of Youth Work Works 4, please click here.
The Lefèvre Trust – A new opportunity for young people to embark on a collaborative venture with France
The Lefèvre Trust has recently expanded its area of benefit to the whole of the UK. It now provides funding for UK-French reciprocal visits for groups of 11-19 year olds working on collaborative projects.
All youth groups are eligible from the non-formal as well as the formal education sector. We also encourage applications from extracurricular groups, music groups, drama clubs, youth groups, sports teams etc. The Trust aims to provide opportunities for young people who otherwise may not have the possibility to engage in an experience with France.
To find out more about this exciting opportunity, please click here.
To find out more about any future Action 1 Training Courses, please click here.
Call 4.3 - Youth workers' mobility and exchanges
The European Commission have just released a call for a new 4.3 proposal which can be found by found here. It is a call for proposals aiming to support, on an experimental basis, youth workers' mobility and exchanges with a view to promoting the acquisition of new skills and competences in order to enrich their profile as professionals in the youth field, as well as to help them better adapt to the changing needs of young people (posted 23/6/10).
A new training offer has been published in SALTO's European Training Calendar.
Date: 2010-08-12
This is a valuable tool for anyone considering becoming involved in youth exchanges or linking projects with Europe.
Title: Knocking down bridges
From 2010-10-23 to 2010-10-29 in United Kingdom
Activity type: Training course
Target groups: Young people, Youth leaders, Youth workers
For participants from: ALL YOUTH IN ACTION PROGRAMME COUNTRIES
For detailed information, please click here.
News from the British Council
To view the latest issue of the British Council's Newsletter, please click here. (posted 15//11/10)