FUTURE LABS – New Digital and Social Innovative Tools for Youth Work Erasmus Project

Project Title

FUTURE LABS – New Digital and Social Innovative Tools for Youth Work

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 youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation

Project Summary

A) The main idea of Future Labs project was to improve the competences of youth workers by increasing their capacity to innovate in their daily work and also by mainstreaming already existing innovative methodologies including ICT tools. In order to achieve our goals the project organised common trainings for youth workers, who tested the new tools with youth groups and gave feedback which was used to further develop the tools. There were hands-on approach, sharing the knowledge on online and offline methods by disseminating the results and the new tools and intellectual outputs produced by the project. Our aim was to rise the quality of international youth work practices and contribute to the modernisation of NGO’s by creating an innovation eco-system that allow organisations and individuals to discover innovative approaches and new methods – both online and off-line.

B) Objectives of the project were:
1) Capacitate youth workers in digitalization and in social innovation
2) Test new approaches with young people in a co-creative manner
3) Evaluate, adapt and spread the tools wider in the European youth work community. In addition a secondary object was to strengthen the cooperation among partners and that way to enhance the horizontal and transnational exchange of experiences from the grass root level to the network level.

C) Number and profile of participants and target groups:
1. Primary target group were the professional youth workers in partner countries: multipliers, members/experts’ from the partner organizations and the local youth workers from different NGOs & municipalities. Profile: experienced youth workers and motivated to experiment and innovate their activities with tools focused on social inclusion and digital media.
2. Secondary target group: young people (age 12-30) in the test/co-creative groups in every partner country: camp schools, local youth groups and volunteers in youth centres, and NGOs, trainings and workshops for youth, pupils in upper secondary school, school councils, young people with fewer opportunities and students from the Degree Programmes of Youth Work.
3. Third group of participants: local youth workers, lecturers, teachers, NGOs, municipalities and policy makers. Dissemination activities (the video tutorials, live streams, podcasts, training curricula and eHandbook) and multiplier events made by each partner, networks, other contacts, social media and websites.

D) Description of activities. The Future Labs project organised and produced
– 3 Transnational Project Meetings (Nurmes/Finland 13 participants, Vinci/Italy 13 participants and Vila de Marmeleira/Portugal 10 participants). Total number 36 participants.
– 2 International Trainings for Youth Workers (6 days/training, 41 participants, places: Bratislava-Malinovo/Slovakia ja Ostrava-Broumov/Czech Republic). Total number 41 participants.
– Testing groups of youth and youth workers: 1st training young peoples 252 and youth workers 64 and 2nd training young people 545 and youth workers 106, total number in testing groups were 967 participants.
– 4 Intellectual Outputs: Training Curricula for Digital and Social Innovative Tools.(The PDF format is on the drive), eHandbook (144 pages ), 17 Episodic Podcasts about Digital and Social Innovative Tools in Youth Work. The podcasts, “Talking Youth Work” are found in PodBean, iTunes, Spotify etc. (over 2306 downloads) and 18 Video Tutorials and 3 Live Streams are found Humak Youtube Channel and the webpages of project.
– 9 (10) Multiplier Events: Finland 1 (2), Portugal 2, Italy 2, Czech Republic 1, Slovakia 2 and Slovenia 1. Total number of participants were 286.
– Dissemination activities: FutureLabs website (at least approximately 4445 visits) and links to partner websites, Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) over 40000 people reached, presentations or visibility in the other ways in 13 seminars (approx. 1500 participants) and in 64 meetings (approx. 250 participants), newsletters reached over 319 receivers, dozen of articles in websites or online publications etc.

E) Methology used in the project: ICT tools: Google Docs, Skype, Slack, WhatsApp, Video Tutorials, Podcasts, Digital Storytelling and other tools: Design Thinking, Learning Experience Design, Gamification, Humour Techniques, Art of Hosting, Visualisation Techniques, Photovoice.

So far the project has reached and influenced directly to 1336 people all over the Europe and indirectly through social media and other online channels numbers are approximately over 50000 people so far.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 187297 Eur

Project Coordinator

SUOMEN HUMANISTINEN AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU OY HUMAK & Country: FI

Project Partners

• HA MOMENT CRL
• NUORISO- JA MATKAILUKESKUS HYVARILAOY
• KULTURNO IZOBRAZEVALNO DRUSTVO PINA
• ASSOCIAZIONE AGRADO – APS
• Team MAIS, Unipessoal LDA
• YOUTHWATCH
• Asociace neformalniho vzdelavani, z.s.