Pay it Forward

Professional Development Activity

Youth Worker’s Seminar

28.11.2024 – 06.12.2024

Side, Türkiye

About the Project

Pay It Forward was a Seminar for Youth Workers that took place in Side, Türkiye, from 28 November to 6 December 2024, coordinated by Euroactive NGO and implemented in cooperation with partners from 12 Erasmus+ Programme countries: Romania, Serbia, Türkiye, Bulgaria, Portugal, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Croatia, Germany, Greece, and Hungary.

Jump to the project results

Objectives

In today’s interconnected world, many NGOs work independently, which often leads to inefficiencies and missed opportunities for collaboration. Pay It Forward aimed to bridge this gap by encouraging knowledge exchange, promoting the use of digital tools, and fostering long-term partnerships that strengthen the collective impact of youth work.

The project focused on co-developing strategies that enhance the use of digital tools in youth work, supporting organizations in modernizing their approaches to communication, outreach, and project management.

1st Objective

Encourage partner organizations to exchange methods, tools, and successful strategies that enhance digital competencies in youth work.

2nd Objective

Equip participants with digital tools to improve communication and outreach efforts, ensuring greater visibility and impact for their organizations’ activities.

3rd Objective

Build a foundation for continued cooperation between the partner organizations beyond the duration of this project.

Activities and Methods

The seminar included a mix of workshops, collaborative sessions, and networking activities focused on digitalization in youth work.

Each partner organization delivered a practical workshop to present a digital tool or method applied in their daily work.

The sessions covered a wide range of topics, including digital escape rooms, AI tools for project management, digital storytelling, and visual communication.

Participants worked in international groups to design strategies for integrating digital tools into youth work and to exchange approaches for improving communication and outreach.

Each day concluded with a group reflection and evaluation session, allowing participants to summarize what they learned, discuss challenges, and collect input for future cooperation among partner organizations.

Project Results

Download the handbook

The project resulted in a practical collection of tools, strategies, and examples designed to support youth organizations in strengthening their digital capacity and cooperation.

The main output of the project is the “Pay It Forward Handbook – A Collection of Practices, Tools, and Strategies for Youth Organizations”, created with contributions from 20 partner organizations across Europe. The handbook gathers real experiences and tested methods used in youth work, focusing on digitalization, communication, and creative approaches.

It introduces digital platforms such as Genially, Action Bound, Mentimeter, and Goosechase for interactive learning, as well as management tools like Zoho, Text Lightning, and Template Manager 365.
The publication also explores the use of AI in youth work, creative storytelling for engagement, and reflection tools such as THOR and Conflict Transformation models.

All examples are based on real practices shared by the participating NGOs, aiming to inspire other organizations to adapt and apply them in their own context.

Through reflection, numbers turn into meaning and experiences turn into future actions.

"Every piece of knowledge was valuable, but for me, learning how to use ChatGPT effectively and how to customize it was especially important. The email template app — Anıl’s presentation — was also interesting and definitely useful."

<< describe your experience in this project and its impact on you >>

"I found the development and use of artificial intelligence to be very productive, and I definitely see potential in applying these tools in our work. I also witnessed, once again, the power of networking."

<< describe your experience in this project and its impact on you >>

"Firstly, I learned how to create more non-formal workshops, such as online escape rooms and treasure hunts. Secondly, I learned about many digital and non-digital tools that will be useful in my work, and I am now more motivated to explore them further and discover their full potential."

<< describe your experience in this project and its impact on you >>

"I realized that I need to develop myself in the digital field. I’m not bad at it, but I still have a long way to go — and if I don’t do it, no one else will do it for me or for the association."

<< describe your experience in this project and its impact on you >>

" I had the chance of exploring new partnership opportunities with people. It was very useful to have so many insights from people who know about the programme and have experience not only in Erasmus+."

<< describe your experience in this project and its impact on you >>

"What I liked best was the individual exchange of experiences. For example, the fact that some people have founded an NGO was very impressive. It was also inspiring to hear what creative projects the other participants were planning. Getting to know other (digital) methods and ways of working was also valuable. This knowledge will hopefully stay with me for a long time"

<< describe your experience in this project and its impact on you >>

"I gained so many knowledges and new insights that it would be hard to count, but key notes on how to manage my organization and crucial digital tools such as mindmeister or the microsoft/google suites are what I will use the most, apart from amazing human connections!"

<< describe your experience in this project and its impact on you >>

Find out more about Erasmus+ Program here

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

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