Colours of youth work

Every organization has its own tried-and-tested tricks that make their work easier. At EduEra, we decided to bring these experiences together – and that’s how the Colours of Youth Work project was born.

During an international expert seminar held in Bardejov, in eastern Slovakia, 34 youth workers from 28 organizations and 18 countries across Europe and Asia came together to exchange and co-create.

Over six days, participants shared their techniques, methods of working with young people and volunteers, and exchanged experiences – not only the positive ones. We also laughed about funny situations and openly talked about moments when we felt like giving up and running away from it all!

"Colours of youth work" is the result of this international seminar and contains a long list of useful activities and their main objectives, which can be implemented in many other workshops, seminars, and projects.

The main idea behind this Good Practice Manual in Youth Work is to highlight local, regional, and national activities in the field of youth work. The COYW Manual also includes feedback from our participants, who experienced these activities firsthand during the seminar. It shares activities and best practices collected from 34 experienced youth workers, offering inspiration and ready-to-use methods for other NGOs working with young people. All activities are adaptable and designed to respond to the diverse needs of different communities.

Each participant delivered their own “taste” of good practice through a series of mini-workshops – transforming the conference room we worked in into a constantly changing creative space.
At one point, it was filled with piles of magazine and newspaper clippings during a session demonstrating how to use such materials to address conflicts among volunteers. Later, participants gathered for an improvised stand-up workshop titled “Fk Up Moments of Youth Work”**, where they shared their funniest and most challenging experiences.
They also got to experience the power of art therapy firsthand, along with new tools and methods that many of them immediately added to their own professional portfolios.