Description
The aim of the project is to develop leadership skills among young people aged 15-18 in Sielsia (focus on 3rd graders in secondary schools). Korba (Polish for 'crank') is understood as creativity, organisation, development, building and activity. 60 young leaders will be trained to become active in their communities and to develop 50projects for a minimum of 7,000 local community members. The project's innovative research component will help us understand the factors driving the impacts such community leaders may have on their peers' attitudes. The project will employ the following techniques: workshops developing hard and soft skills, youth projects designed by young people, expert webinars, tutoring, peer mentoring based on spontaneous peer education, exchange of best practices with Iceland, innovative research into the impacts of leaders' activities on youth in local communities.
Summary of project results
"According to Youth 2013 CBOS report, more than half of the respondents believe they can only rely on yourself these days and only 28 per cent think it is more important to have collaboration skills. Furthermore, the 2013 Social Diagnosis suggests that youth aged 15-18 is the least socially sensitive group of all. Formal education provisions must be improved to teach youth to function in a democratic system and help develop organising and social skills. The PISA 2013 study confirms that youth in Poland score very high in general education but very low on enterprise, coping in the face of new challenges and social skills. The goal of the project was to develop several dozen youth leaders aged 15-18 so that they implement community initiatives and involve their peers. The Crank (Korba) Project developed 56 such youth leaders (52 in the Silesia Province and 4 in Reykjavik); they gained skills that are essential in community projects, i.e. skills to assess local needs, coordinate projects, managing a team, recruiting partners and fundraising. Participants of the Crank Project attended a series of training sessions and workshops on social and management skills (e.g. Leadership TakeOff, Leader Toolbox) and uses peer mentoring and a 7-month tutoring to support project implementation and personal development. Fifty five community projects were implemented including concerts, workshops, fund-raising campaigns, videos, publications, debates, international meetings and sports events. There were nearly 13,000 beneficiaries and 234 youth volunteers. The project was implemented in partnership with Association ProjektPolska.is from Iceland. The partner was responsible for recruiting participants in Iceland, management part of the youth exchange, delivering workshops for participants and co-ordinating the Icelandic team."
Summary of bilateral results
The project team shared its experience in working with youth leaders with the partner organisation (the Polish partner has much more experience in this field). These practices are replicated by teachers and Polish community leaders in Iceland. By directly attending workshops organised in the framework of the Korba Project in Poland young people from Iceland gained skills and were encouraged to lead and implement community projects in Reykjavik (e.g. the Icelandic version of the Grand Orchestra of Christmas Help final concert) and among their peers at school. The study trip to Iceland resulted in new networks for future joint projects. A youth leadership training was discussed with ProjektPolska.is, the newly established WINDA Association and the Polish Embassy for young Poles in Reykjavik and other parts of Iceland. It is due to start in the second half of 2016. This international project has resulted in new lasting friendships between project participants from Poland and Iceland.