Until sunday representatives of 36 youth work organisations from 14 countries are meeting in Hattingen. Together they prepare a project with a European scope: During the summer break they organise twelve international youth encounters all over the continent. At each of these workcamps youths from North Rhine-Westphalia together with young people from two other European countries will make one concrete project a reality.
The about 240 youths participating in the ewoca³ programme this year have a lot on their plate: They want to renovate youth centres in Lithuania, Turkey and Germany and create places of encounter in France and Italy. In Romania they will set up a nature trail, on Cyprus a peace memorial is to be erected, and in Belarus a traditional Sauna will be built. In order for the participants to be ideally supported in both task-related and pedagogical matters, the workcamp leaders will use this weekend to prepare for the specific challenges of international youth work together.
“At each of the camps youths from three countries will live and work together. In most cases they do not even speak a common language„, says Katharina Teiting of the International Association for Education and Exchange (IBB) in Dortmund, which created the ewoca³ programme. “But after only a short time, communication with signs and gestures works much better than generally believed. Nonetheless we train the camp leaders of the local project partners, which often are volunteering their time, and prepare them for potential conflicts. Through meetings like this we create an international network of youth work professionals.„
Besides this educational input, the practical experiences are most important. The team members, 26 year old on average, have the chance to act out specific situations from the camps beforehand. Methodically the focus is mainly on conflict solution strategies and intercultural learning. The goal of the ewoca³ project is thus also a professionalisation of international youth work.
04/11/13