2013 – “1st European Youth Conference: Strengthening the Recognition of Non-formal Education in European Youth Work”, Cracow, POLAND, 19th – 25th March 2013

The good thing about non-formal education is that it makes the invisible visible
(Elisavet from Cyprus, participant).

From 19th – 25th of March 2013 CULTURE GOES EUROPE- Soziokulturelle Initiative Erfurt e.V. (CGE Erfurt e.V.) in cooperation with its international project partners implemented the “1st European Youth Conference: Strengthening the Recognition of Non-formal Education in European Youth Work”. It brought together more than 40 volunteers and representatives of various NGOs and youth centres coming from seventeen different countries.

One of the main challenges of European youth work is the recognition of the value of youth work as a non-formal learning process among public and private institutions. In the framework of the Youth Conference participants established important concepts of formal, non-formal and informal learning processes; they were sharing different forms of recognition on non-formal education and the youth sector. However, as described by the above mentioned quotation of one of the participants: the need for better quality and more recognition of non-formal education is urgent – its value for the person him-/herself but also for the overall community cannot be denied:

„Non-formal education allows to develop our skills and competences and to learn more about how to deal with different situations. It develops communication skills, how to work in a team, to resolve different problems … Non-formal education helps to make different decisions. … That’s the path we have to follow“ (Marina from Portugal, participant).

During a round table discussion with representatives of local organisations such as the European Students‘ Forum Krakow, Smit Creator, Strim Association as well as during a podium discussion with Mr. Mateusz Zalewski of PROM and Ms. Ewa Pająk-Ważna of the Padagogical University of Krakau and Konrad Piwowarczyk, a local politician (Ruch Palikota) it became obvious that the need for a more structured and open dialogue between institutions of non-formal education and formal education is urgent and that both forms of learning should go together. By means of different methods of non-formal education (workshops, discussions and debriefings) it became clearer to many participants that recognition starts with oneself and that youth workers, volunteers and NGO staff need to be more open about the work that they are doing. Essentially, Mr. Tomasz Bratek, the Director of the Polish National Agency of the Youth in Action program, introduced the new EU „Erasmus for all“ program to the participants. It reflects the EU’s will to further promote the recognition of non-formal education which is still very low in many European countries on the national and local level.

The need for common strategies and tools to increase the recognition of youth work was underlined during this Youth Conference. This is why this Youth Conference is only the first in a series of other conferences, building the basis for future cooperation and developments within the non-formal education sector on the local, national and European level – in order to continue the efforts in making the invisible visible.

The following organisations were involved in the „1st European Youth Conference: Strengthening the Recognition of Non-formal Education in European Youth Work”:

• ECEPAA – European Centre for Economic and Policy Affairs – Belgien
• Youth for Better Europe – Bulgarien
• International Initiatives for Cooperation – Bulgarien
• Municipality of Aradippou – Zypern
• International Movement Youth Time – Tschechien
• Be International, o.s. – Tschechien
• Association Migration Solidarité et Echanges pour le Développement – Frankreich
• CGE Erfurt e.V. – Deutschland
• ELIX – Conservation Volunteers Greece – Griechenland
• Comune di Tortona – Italien
• Kaunas Union of Youth NGOs ‘Round Table’ – Litauen
• Strategies of Interactive Training Foundation – Malta
• DINAMO – Portugal
• Associação para a Formação e Desenvolvimento do Montijo – CMM – Portugal
• Team for Youth Association – Rumänien
• Zavod Nefiks – Slovenien
• Društvo mladinski ceh – Slovenien
• Gaziantep Youth and Culture Association – Türkei
• Çanakkale Koza Gençlik Derneği – Türkei

1st European Youth Conference/ Krakow from Culture Goes Europe on Vimeo.

1st European Youth Conference Krakow/ InterviewTomasz Bratek from Culture Goes Europe on Vimeo.

You can find more information in the Recognition Booklet.

The project is funded by the Youth in Action programme of the European Union