Call For Partners – Youth Exchange for Young Offenders

Call for partners:

Youth exchange for Young offenders 

Main aim:Raise awareness by bringing young people together and provide them with the right environment to share ideas and experiences on crime and youth offending.

This project aims to change mindsets and promote social inclusion as well as reach disadvantaged youth and those who typically have no knowledge on youth offending.

 

Duration of the project: 1 year

Duration of the YE: 7 days, excluding the travel days (2). The YE will take place in the UK between June/July 2017. Further information about the exact location will be released later.

Participating organizations: This call is open to all EU based organizations active in this field. We especially encourage Scandinavian organizations to contact us.

Each participating organization will send 5 participants (4+1 team leader). The participants must be aged 18-30 years old. The leader should be 18+. We encourage the participation of ex and young offenders and/or young people who have had friends who have committed crimes or have been a victim of crime themselves.

Further details about the role of the participating organizations will be displayed after the selection process is concluded.

Objectives:

  • Promote open discussions about crime and its effects among the participants. Encourage the sharing of personal experiences.
  • Identify main criminal offences committed by youth in each participating country.
  • Identify EU initiatives/programmes addressing this issue.
  • Use non-formal education methods (particularly music) to discuss how criminal offences committed by young people affect their communities and find ways to prevent it.
  • Present/identify main causes that lead young people to commit criminal offences (it can be the school, family, peers etc.). Each international team will offer a personal overview on the topic.
  • Identify additional support young offenders/ at risk groups can access to help them deal easier with their situation (it can be local, regional, national or even European initiatives).
  • The project aims to bring together young people that have been involved in criminal offences/ at risk groups and young people who have limited knowledge of this topic. This YE will promote peer-learning activities and will include participants with fewer opportunities.
  • Allow the participants to exchange knowledge in an international and multicultural setting.
  • Challenge the participants to break down barriers and discuss stereotypes society displays towards young offenders/ at risk groups. 

Expected results:

  • Equip the participants with skills that will prevent them from getting involved in criminal offences.
  • Develop tools/materials that can be used afterwards by other organizations/institutions to raise awareness about the chosen topic and to promote international cooperation among individuals/organizations active in this field.
  • Research how different countries across Europe deal with young offenders and/or at risk groups.
  • Offer young offenders/at risk groups the chance to interact with participants that have never been convicted. Bringing young people together in an international setting will lead to the personal development of all participants.
  • Increase the participants’ awareness about cultural differences in Europe.
  • Enrich the participants’ knowledge on EU legislation about youth offending as well as inform them about available support programmes in their region.
  • This YE aims to make a positive impact and change the participants’ attitude towards young offenders.
  • By the end of the youth exchange, the participants would have gained an in-depth knowledge of the chosen topic. The participants will act as ambassadors promoting the outcomes of this YE in their communities with additional support from the participating organisations.

Interactive games, debates, outdoor activities etc. based on the non-formal education principle will be used to deliver this YE.

If you are interested and feel that your organization could contribute to this project, please feel free to contact us.