European Framework of Competences for Community Professionals in Gang Environments Erasmus Project

Project Title

European Framework of Competences for Community Professionals in Gang Environments

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Overcoming skills mismatches (basic/transversal); Home and justice affairs (human rights & rule of law); Recognition, transparency, certification

Project Summary

Since its inception, the European Community has been involved in conflict prevention and crisis management to protect human life and to promote human security. The Treaties of Maastricht and Amsterdam introduced new instruments for political/diplomatic and security/military action under the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). Gangs and gang crime similarly cannot be dealt with as a national issue in order to have real impact in communities. Membership of gangs is becoming complex and multicultural / multi ethnic as people become more mobile. The increasingly international Dimension of some street gangs poses a cross border threat. (Europol – European Police Office, Annual Report 2011). Most large European cities are increasingly confronted with the phenomenon of street violence often generated by urban youth groups. These groups are responsible for much of the violence committed contributing to a feeling of insecurity in and across our communities. Most gang members, especially in the groups studied recently in Europe, are juveniles or very young adults (European Journal of Criminology – Street Gang Violence in Europe – 2006).
Within FRAME GANG project, a set of piloting tools, materials and a training methodology were developed with the aim of identifying the competences that professionals need to engage within local communities affected by gangs. Three Intellectual Outputs were developed. The IO1 “Definition of the European gang context, professionals working in it and their profiles” brings forward the gang definition for each country and at European level, the portrait of communities affected by gangs and the professionals working in those communities and the professional profile based on a common structure. This desk and field report was the cornerstone for IO2, “Development of a European Competency Framework for Community Professionals working in gang related environments”. The Framework presents the needed competencies, knowledge and skills to deal, combat and prevent the gang phenomenon, aiming at reaching a common language and mutual understanding between professionals on how to address this issue. The third and final IO of FRAME GANG’s project is “Development of an online platform to support the structure and content of the previous outputs”. The partnership decided to insert the EFC-Gang “navigation tool” within the project website since it would promote the project’s visibility to a wider audience, while simultaneously providing background information about the project. Furthermore, a virtual library was created to allow access to a variety of rich resources related to each competency, further promoting the knowledge & skills of the professionals.
This was all accomplished due to the joint work of the project consortium that gathered 8 organisations from 4 different countries: Fundação O Século – Portugal, IPS_Innovative Prison Systens – Portugal, Centrul pentru Promovarea Învăării Permanente – Romania, Centrul de Educaţie Creştină şi Cultură Contemporană AREOPAGUS – Romania, Labdaros ir paramos fondas “Garstycios grudas” – Lithuania, Viesoji istaiga, Psichologines paramos ir konsultavimo centras – Lithuania, Università degli Studi di Sassari – Italy and Istituto Europeo per lo Sviluppo Socio Economico – Italy. Throughout the project lifespan, the partners worked closely not only to develop the project Intellectual Outputs, but also to disseminate the project and its results.
The partnership reached the following outcomes:
1) The development of a new platform for Community-Skills stakeholders and a common view regarding gang contexts;
2) A total of 82 professionals provided their contributions/experience to the project, through the organisation of 8 workshops and other 21 professionals participated in the semi-structured interviews;
3) A total of 39 stakeholders attended the short-term joint-staff training events focusing on the European Framework of Competences;
4) 1 project website;
5) Nearly 50 key-stakeholders – relevant to the local community, to the local communities, public policy makers and professionals – participated in the 4 workshops (multiplier events) to showcase the online platform and the project results;
The feedback received from experts, those participating in FRAME GANG, sustains partnership belief that the project will have long-term benefits since the European Framework of Competencies can be used, in the future, to guide the lifelong process of professionals and to provide a pedagogical structure for training providers interested in developing a new educational experience.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 192941,52 Eur

Project Coordinator

Fundação O Século & Country: PT

Project Partners

• QUALIFY JUST – IT SOLUTIONS AND CONSULTING LDA
• UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI SASSARI
• CRIS-DU Areopagus
• ISTITUTO EUROPEO PER LO SVILUPPO SOCIO ECONOMICO ASSOCIAZIONE
• VIESOJI ISTAIGA PSICHOLOGINES PARAMOS IR KONSULTAVIMO CENTRAS
• CENTRUL PENTRU PROMOVAREA INVATARII PERMANENTE TIMISOARA ASOCIATIA
• Labdaros ir paramos fondas “Garstycios grudas”