Identifying, developing and sharing best practice approach for engaging with, retaining and working with Young Travellers Erasmus Project

Project Title

Identifying, developing and sharing best practice approach for engaging with, retaining and working with Young Travellers

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 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Youth (Participation, Youth Work, Youth Policy) ; Romas and/or other minorities; Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

Objectives;
The main objectives of the project were as follows:
• Priority1: Promote the best practice approach development for those engaging and working with young Travellers
• Priority 2: Build contemporary alliances between young people and those who work with young people
• Priority 3: Improve outcomes for young Travellers, awareness of Cultural Identity, resilience and employability in young people
Priority 4: Develop an on line bank of knowledge which can be accessed and maximised by organisations, service designers and managers, policy shapers and influencers, volunteers, and professionals alike.

Number and profile of participating organisations;
The project involves four organisations including:
Lead Organisation: Youth Work Ireland (trading as the National Youth Federation)
National Youth Federation Limited (trading as Youth Work Ireland) works to develop the potential of young people and to strengthen communities in Ireland through quality youth services. Young people are at the heart of the organisation and are supported with excellent standards in volunteers, leaders, staff and services. We are a national youth organisation, established over 50 years ago, a federation of local services run by local communities. This gives us a number of advantages in terms of reach and efficiency in delivering our work at minimum cost with maximum impact. Our Integrated Youth Service is responsive to local demand and not prescribed or top down. It harnesses the goodwill and voluntary effort of local people because of this. Our services are closely aligned with Local Government, Education and Training Boards and Children`s Services Committee’s working in these communities and able to form key strategic partnerships to deliver locally on national priorities. Equally, our national role allows us to take a unified approach and channel the local experience into national policies and practice.

Partner organisation: Youth Action Northern Ireland
YouthAction NI (YANI) is a membership based, regional, youth organisation, with a 70 year history of working with young people to tackle inequalities in their lives, improve their life chances and contribute to flourishing communities in a peaceful and shared society.
YANI are ambitious to tackle some of the issues most critical to young people, including youth unemployment and, with others, contribute to a flourishing population. Our vision is that young people are happy, healthy and hopeful. Our interventions work primarily with young people aged 13-25yrs, with over 15,000 young people benefiting each year. YANI support their membership and local community connections through a range of mechanisms including information, quality assurance of youth work practices, the development of an E-News newsletter, local and regional hub support, insurance services and discounted rates for events.
The organisation comprises over 50 staff (including youth work staff, apprentices, interns, administrative staff), 200 locally connected members and over 500 volunteers. There are regional offices across Northern Ireland, with some incorporating training rooms and learning hubs. Areas of expertise include youth employability/accredited training, rural based youth work, youth arts, equality work with young women and young men; and area based youth work strategies. YANI envisage and plan for outcomes which build young people’s resilience, increase their economic activity, increase their volunteering and leadership skills, increase their contribution to peace-building, increase their creative expression and which increase their advocacy and political engagement.
YANI operate a range of quality assurance and quality impact assessments. For example, the Investors in People quality mark, operate a purposeful quality assurance framework recognised by the Department of Education, and also utilize a range of outcomes based evaluation mechanisms. Self evaluation and reflective practices are embedded as the norm across the organisation. YANI are also in the process of modernising their monitoring processes through a new computerised social impact tracker, and improving youth workers ability to integrate ICT within their practices.

Partner Organisation: Involve
Involve is a specialist youth and community development organisation working young people and their families from the Traveller community. Originally known as the National Association of Traveller Centres (NATC), it was founded in 1972. The organisation’s original function was to act as a representative body for Senior Traveller Training Centres (STTC’s) with Government Departments and other Statutory and Voluntary organisations. In 1988, it was funded to provide youth services with young Travellers. The STTC’s were phased out 2012 and Involve’s vision and mission for youth work, which was already in place for the youth work bring practiced under the NATC umbrella, evolved and expanded further in different ways.
Involve’s work is based

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 95387 Eur

Project Coordinator

National Youth Federation Limited & Country: IE

Project Partners

• YouthAction Northern Ireland
• Involve LTD
• An Munia Tober