Project summary – SMILE
The main objective of this project is to promote the inclusion and social integration of marginalized groups of young people. In order to influence this, the project relies on increasing the quality of youth work and the qualification of youth workers to apply innovative methods to work with hard-to-reach youths, specifically focusing on their mental health and sustainability. By developing the competence of youth workers to use modern methods (positive psychology), an adequate response to the needs of young people at risk and those inaccessible to the social work and education system will be achieved.
This project presents modern trends linking education, psychology, personal development, social support and coaching. For the first time in the work with young people are demonstrated contemporary approaches in learning and personal development – positive psychology, positive pedagogy, therapeutic practices and others.
The main target group for the training are youth workers working with marginalized youth in support of their social inclusion, personal and professional development. In this way, by implementing innovative, integrated approaches to individual support in youth work, access and social engagement of disadvantaged young people (marginalized and hard-to-reach target groups) will be improved.
The integrated approach and methodology for supporting personal development include tools from:
- Positive psychology;
- Positive education;
- Personal Development Practices;
- Social work.
THE GENERAL OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT IS TO TRAIN YOUTH WORKERS TO USE PRACTICES OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY WITHIN THE INTEGRATED APPROACH TO INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP SUPPORT OF MARGINALIZED AND HARD TO REACH YOUNG PEOPLE.
Specific objectives:
- Developing knowledge about the situation in Europe with regard to marginalized young people (NEET, hard to reach, migrants, minorities, etc.);
- Providing knowledge and skills linking positive psychology, positive education, personal development and youth work;
- Raising the awareness of youth workers about the need of marginalized youth to support mental health, personal and professional development;
- Developing skills to provide support and support for youth inclusion through an integrated approach;
- Demonstration of innovative methods and tools for working with marginalized young people from the areas of Positive Psychology, Positive Education and Personal Development Practices;
- Development of practical tools for working with marginalized young people.
ACTIVITIES IN THE PROJECT
The main activity of the project is a 7-day TRAINING COURSE FOR YOUTH WORKERS, which take place in the center “School in Nature” in the village of Gudevitsa, 26.09 – 04.10.2019. The training involves 26 youth workers and 2 trainers.
The working language of the project is English.
The partner organizations for this project are from the following countries: Bulgaria, Slovenia, UK, Czech Republic, Poland, Greece, Macedonia, France, Italy and Croatia.
PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS
The training course is designed to present an innovative, integrated approach to working with young people combining elements of positive psychology and training, social work and personal development. The approach is particularly suitable for individual and group support of marginalized and hard to reach target groups. The methods in it are adapted from modern trends in psychology and therapy.