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Description
In the town of Malacky there is a large group of unorganized youth (12-18 years) who spend their free time in an undesirable way in the local park and surroundings (alcohol consumption, vandalism, radical and extremist tendencies). The aim of the project is to implement an accredited development program for unorganized youth and young people at risk of social exclusion in order to develop their key competences for life by linking non-formal education, mentoring and implementing their own youth initiatives. Target group of the project includes unorganized youth up to 18 years, Roma youth, boys with mental disability from reeducation centre Velke Levare and young people from disadvantaged family backgrounds at risk of social exclusion. The project will create a bridge between young people, important adults and involved municipalities, where it identifies current conditions and needs and proposes a Concept for Youth Work in the town of Malacky and surrounding villages. Partner of the project will participate in mapping the needs of a vulnerable group, provide a methodology for the implementation of non-formal education workshops and provide 2 volunteers who will help with the coordination of local community activities. The overall purpose of the project is to: 1. bring young people to experiences that formulate their values and 2. motivate young people to start working on themselves, reveal their strengths, discover their intrinsic motivation and to become civic activists on issues that concern them.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to meet the complex needs of young people including unorganized youth, disadvantaged youth groups, clients of the Reeducation Center and socially excluded groups. All these groups were involved in the accredited development program with the aim of developing their key competences for life and the labor market by linking non-formal education and providing a mentoring program. At first we mapped the current level of civic participation among 350 young people, which became the basis for further activities. Thanks to the implementation of open discussions/meetings and focus groups (6) with representatives of 3 participating municipalities, it was possible to identify the needs, barriers and possibilities of participation. These activities contributed to the creation of mutual cooperation and communication. We implemented 10 local youth initiatives based on mapped needs, which brought positive ecological, social and educational impacts to the community. We created a working draft of the Concept of youth work in the city of Malacky and surrounding municipalities, which can serve as a basis for the development of youth work in the region. Young people involved in the project developed personal, social and educational competences. The long-term impact of the project is the development of civic participation of youth in the community. 60 people from the vulnerable group benefited from the project.