The youth worker is only a profession and is housed in Navarinou
What is o “new employee”; Is it a profession or a function? And, after all, can one learn to teach young people to give?
All the questions in the above questions can find a home in a specially designed space at Navarino square in the ActionAid Youth centreat Thessaloniki, in the city that has always been the birthplace of the cultural avant-garde. Above all, however, this space can embrace any new person for anything they wish. There, ActionAid together with other organizations aim to actively involve young people in the events of the city.
Of course, this culture is still in a very good stage in Greece and many are alienated by the idea. “What does it mean to learn to work with young people and to have formed a place that educates young people and instills in them the logic of volunteering?”
The Thessaloniki program manager, youth worker and trainer in Non-Formal Learning tries to give the answer.Olympia Datsi, which says that it is everyone’s responsibility to give young people aged 18 to 30 the opportunity to obtain a safe place. A space of creation where they will have the opportunity to talk with people who are trained to work and give.
“Shortly before the coronavirus, a survey was launched with local civil society organizations about what young people in the city need in terms of the changes they want to see in the areas of conservation, the environment and the arts, and they have shown that they can play an active role in improvement. city’s. Thus, the 2020 Youth Center in Thessaloniki was established,” she says.
The main goal that must be understood is that young people need a common place of reference where they will interact through some workshops and also get to know each other, something that, as she adds, has not existed to such an extent until now.
“Most of the children are close to the university, they are children from the center and the surrounding areas. Of course, it is our responsibility to invite people from municipalities to get to know our effort”, adds the program manager.
What exactly happens at the Youth Center and how can one get involved?
But what does one do in the Youth Centers? “All the work we wish to do here is to inform and sensitize young people, who in turn will pass on the knowledge to other peers through various activities,” emphasizes Ms. Datsi.
This is achieved in a variety of ways. “For example, last Spring, young people gathered to discuss climate change by making dolmades and thus created a large kitchen. People reached the sidewalk and we realized that something as simple as a conversation brought so many people and made information easier,” commented the program manager.
“In the post-Covid era, the task of socialization is quite difficult, and the groups that are set up here help to a great extent in this,” she emphasized.
“Typical days in the office start with young men and women doing counseling sessions, being informed about what’s going on in here, in the afternoon there are skills workshops and from the beginning in the afternoon groups come in, such as the Pride, who close the space and sit and talk. There are also meetings for podcasts and photos. “Someone may want to present a workshop and we see if it is in line with ActionAid’s policies and program and move forward,” commented Ms. Datsi.
Those who do not bring… change through art have the opportunity, whether they are artists or not, they do not wish to develop their skills and, through mural arts, bring art into the public space. During the workshop, experienced professionals and youth leaders collaborated with the participants to create a mural in the center of Thessaloniki. One of them was at the 43rd primary school of Thessaloniki on Proxenou Koromilas Street, where 50 young men and women together with the street artist Apset took up their brushes and breathed new life into the building.
There are also Job Readiness programs for youth, environmental awareness programs and Comic N’ Play comic book and board game exhibitions.
Read about it – Thessaloniki: Impressive symbolic mural for the pandemic by 50 young people (vid)
And he became… a youth worker
What exactly is this original term? Since there is no exact term in Greek, it is usually found as a youth counselor. It teaches what young people have not learned through formal learning by organizing educational, cultural, social, political, etc. actions aimed at young people to gain knowledge that will help them broaden their horizons.
The main goal of the youth worker is to empower young people through a set of educational activities. At the same time, the youth worker through his work promotes equality and the fight against social problems (unemployment, inequality, etc.).
In this Member State it is institutionalized and recognized as a profession. However, in countries like Greece this is not the case and it is practiced in NGOs, youth organizations and informal groups, by people who work in them. Regarding the educational part of youth working, it is acquired through the specialization offered by relevant seminars, Erasmus+ Youth programs or additional specialization after obtaining a relevant degree (e.g. Social Sciences).
“What we are trying to do is to recognize the profession of youth worker in Greece, a person who deals with youth,” says Mr. Datsi. “Normally every municipality should have a Youth Center, which is not the case.”
Of course, as she says, the part of volunteering takes up a lot of space, as it is not possible to become a youth worker only by profession, it is also a function. “If you haven’t been through many groups, if you haven’t volunteered, if you haven’t understood the essence of learning and being receptive to every young person, you won’t become a good youth worker,” he adds.
In Thessaloniki, the organization employs six people, while the Youth Center receives approximately 600 young women and men who wish to instill in them the logic of the volunteer, with the aim of empowering other young people after they have empowered themselves. “The most important thing is to have the space, a common point of reference, as it is in the local community, schools, etc. You can of course also do youth working through mobility programs”, he concluded.