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Description
Združenie Informačných a poradenských centier mladých (ZIPCeM) operates at the national level and currently covers 14 youth information centres (ICM) with local to regional activities, the network has the ambition to expand to active youth organizations. The centre covers all important areas of young people''s lives.
With the development of technologies and the changing information needs of young people, an analysis of the state and management of organizations, a map of the current needs of stakeholders, and innovative methods and technologies used in ICM are needed. The outcome of the project will be a modern ICM and the establishment of cooperation between public, private and non-governmental actors in the field of youth work. We will achieve this through expert consulting services in the management of organizations, establishing a common strategy and professionalizing ICM representatives in relevant areas.
The current problems of the association are, for example, insufficient capacity security, lack of a clear vision and strategy of ICM and ZIPCeM, as the largest provider of information and counselling services for young people in Slovakia, lack of regular education and professionalization of employees of member organizations.
The association will take a few steps to upgrade services according to current trends. First of all, an analysis of the state of the organization, management, setting the strategy of the network of organizations providing information and counselling services for youth etc. will be carried out. Subsequently, the needs of ICM and ZIPCeM staff in relation to the planned innovative activity will be mapped. After participating in the project activities, the organizations involved in the project will prepare its own timetable for further work, which will be in line with the new strategy and will use the acquired competences in practice. The target groups of the project are civil society organizations.
Summary of project results
The aim of the project was to work more efficiently and specifically, to innovate and modernize the form and tools in providing information, to reflect on the current needs of young people and to strengthen the specific competencies of staff needed for the activity.
Through the project, it was possible to strengthen the network of organizations that gradually lost their identity, create a clear and realistic strategy, innovate the visual side of the organization towards young people, increase the professional level of staff and subsequently expand cooperation with other entities.
The activities within the project were implemented logically from identifying the needs of the target group, through the analysis of the status and needs of the organizations themselves, to meeting these needs by strengthening staff competencies and monitoring the impact of direct youth activities at each involved organization. A starting document was created for the subsequent SWOT analysis with all organizations, also 16 measures, incorporated or in the process of implementation. The project implementers set the vision and defined the values of the organization together with the member organizations, the output of which was communicated at the conference, then added to the site and incorporated into the annual report. The project also focused on creating a new visual identity for the organization: the new Youth Information Center logo was consulted with young people on social networks.
As part of the project, the consultants of the member organizations have mastered the topics they deal with intensively and have professional expertise in them. A list of contacts for individual topics will be created on the website www.icm.sk consultation. Within the project, 12 trainings were held, which were attended by 114 participants and 25 activities with 239 direct participants.