Title: “Be Active – Exchange of Knowledge between Russia and Estonia”
Preliminary date: 26/08/2019 – 06/10/2019 (1,5 month)
Project Number: 2018-3-EE01-KA105-051132
Project Venues: Tallinn (NGO Youth Club Active), Tammispea Village (NGO Youth Centre Vihasoo), Estonia
Partner organisation: – Interregional youth social movement of support of voluntary initiatives SFERA
Project idea was born after EVS project carried out in Estonia by the future participant of job shadowing, Irina Nikulina, ex-EVS volunteer of ESTYES and project coordinator in a big EVS sending organization in Russia – SFERA Movement. During her EVS project, she visited Youth Club Active several times for workshops on different topics, and structure and principles of work in this organization really caught her interest. In her daily work as youth worker back in Russia, due to specifics of the country, she is communicating with young people mostly by e-mail, phone and Skype – since the country is big, young people from all over Russia get interested in activities of her organization. Irina doesn’t see all of them in person, and very often distance doesn’t let her see all the impact her work does on young people. What attracted her most in Youth Club Active was direct work with young people, from one city and mostly from one district – seeing them develop in the process, seeing their reactions and impact of the carried-out activities on them.
We want to carry out this project because it had a strong impact on all sides involved: on the hosting organization and its young people, because the youth worker participating in job shadowing activities were able to share some of her previously acquired experiences and skills; on sending organization, as thus it was able to use best practices of Youth Club Active and begin to work more actively on a local level; on the youth worker participating in job shadowing, as she has seen the work of the organization from the inside, learn methods of work with young people they’re using, and bring in something from herself as well. As a global result, she would like to start similar youth club in her city Nizhny Novgorod, to be able to work with local young people directly and make bigger impact on them, and basically, in some ways repeat experience of YCA.
The power of multicultural exchange in different aspects was successful. It concerns not only private communication between individuals, when they become richer from communication with people of different nations, but communication of professionals in the same area yet from different countries who can greatly benefit from exchange of information with each other – because approaches in all countries are completely different and there is a lot to learn and maybe eventually copy or adapt to local conditions. We are sure that youth worker that we was invited to this job shadowing was of great use for development of various things in our organization.
This job shadow activity has two objectives.
- First is to allow the youth worker from Russia to see from the inside how organization working with young people on local, regional and national level, works from the inside, both with local and international projects, and to learn from experience.
- Second objective is to exchange experience the other way around, to learn best practices from the Russian youth worker and to adapt them to Youth Club Active practices, as well as to implement projects together based on common knowledge.
Global goal is to provide this direct exchange of information on the spot and benefiting from it. We think that the idea of job shadowing is quite progressive and taking into account profile of participant and participating organization, this project was of good use for all sides involved.
Objectives of the project itself link to the objectives of Erasmus+ programme, because it promotes diversity, intercultural dialogue and communication, value of freedom, tolerance and respect of human rights. Since activities and workshops carried out during the project aimed at critical thinking and sense of initiative of young people, they will enhance their media literacy, and for the youth workers, the project equipped them with competences and methods needed for transferring the common fundamental values of our society further on to more and more young people, we think that the project complies with objectives of Erasmus+ in general.
Through this project we are seeking to address the need of learning of youth workers in different countries from each other, developing skills that were undervalued before, exchanging experience and transferring knowledge. According to that, the period of the Job Shadow activity implementation we see as 1,5 months in late spring period, when many activities directed at the youth are happening in Estonia/Tallinn, in which Irina would be able to try herself, to give input to the Hosting Organization and its youth workers staff.
This was individual job-shadow project involves one participant from Russia, Irina Nikulina. She is an active member in her home organization (SO), participating in Erasmus+ activities both on local and international levels. We have previously met her in person during several projects and her EVS in Tallinn. We aim to provide the volunteer opportunities to realize her own ideas and aspirations in action through working with the youth. Her main activities in our organization will include:
Planned learning outcomes for the participant are:
– Learn methods of youth work;
– Learn “inner side” of organizing youth exchanges;
– Learn to work in a team;
– Develop skills of running workshops and training sessions for young people, holding their attention;
– Learning the insights of working with youth of different ages in the camps;
– Understanding the structure of the different areas of activities of the HO;
– Develop skills of event promotion and organization.
On the other hand, learning outcomes of the hosting organization are:
– Get experience of conducting job shadowing project;
– Learn practices conducted by the project participant back in sending organization;
– Create a common project for further implementation;
– Inspire the organization members to continue the work of Irina after her job shadowing time terminates;
– Motivate youngsters to become more active in projects both local and international.
In frames of this Job Shadow project we also will focus on development based on 8 key competences of YouthPass certificate. We selected those most appropriate for our Job Shadow project.
The YouthPass competences related to our project are the following:
‘Digital competence’:
*using social network for self-advertising and for work in the organization in frames of youth work,
*working with different devices related to the project topic,
*dealing with different projects during job shadow activity through the social network,
*disseminating the project results on the social network and websites of NGOs,
*cooperating and connecting after the project through social media,
*helping the hosting organization to develop their social media channels and the website, as well as
other methods of NGO marketing to be used;
‘Learning to learn’:
*evaluating the everyday methods of HO work with youth through involvement in its regular activities;
*assessing possibilities of facilitating youth initiative by taking part in practical workshops,
brainstorming, discussions, organized by the members of HO;
*exchanging the working methods with the HO, brainstorming how to adapt them to corresponding
audience,
*learning methods to discover own identity more;
*witnessing and evaluating the outcomes of the HO activities on a running basis after every small
stage of those;
*improving self-confidence through better understanding of own abilities and potential,
*exploring and developing own creativity through working with youth in different areas and stages;
‘Social and civic competence’:
*discovering the social atmosphere of HO, facing the realities in YCA,
*enhancing leadership skills, with workshops, trainings, games and different sessions,
*networking among youth,
*group work, daily cooperation for achieving results,
*developing skills such as conflict solving and mediation among youth, being sensitive with other
Her actions:
– https://www.instagram.com/p/B2V-SP5D9DI/ – leaded Instagram of YCA for one week (made a test of it)
– https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17847712885606726/ – introduction of the Russian organsiation Sphere
– https://www.instagram.com/youthmediaforum/ – leaded Instagram of Youth Media Forum, project by YCA
Her events:
– language café – https://www.instagram.com/p/B2v4bnGlNoT/
– workshop about comminicative skills – https://www.facebook.com/groups/239925402760646/permalink/2426450000774831/#_=_
– NGO marketing session – https://www.facebook.com/groups/239925402760646/permalink/2416272381792593/#_=_
– Presentation about JOB shadow project in Social centre – https://www.instagram.com/p/B2xBw_KlKLG/
– helped with the Youth Exchange for GIRLS –
– ESC meeting, introduction about the programme – https://www.facebook.com/groups/239925402760646/permalink/2423238651095966/#_=_
– helped to organise Youth Media Froum – https://clubactive.eu/portfolio/ymf/
