Introduction

 

WELCOME TO THE YOUPART DIGITAL TOOLKIT

The YouPart Digital Toolkit for Citizenship Education and Civic Participation in Youth Work offers practical materials for everyone who works with young people in these fields. This toolkit is the methodological result of the Erasmus+ youth participation project “YouPart: Engage. Connect. Empower”, a unique cooperation of NGO and youth workers of 12 organisations from six countries: Austria, Czechia, Greece, Italy, Slovenia and Serbia.  

In the European Year of Youth 2022, young Europeans from all six partner countries joined YouPart not just to discuss youth participation and rights, but to fill the words “engage”, “connect” and “empower” with life. The project was particularly aimed at young people who have little access to political participation, whose voices are less heard in society and politics – but who have a lot to say. First, more than 150 participants, 13–24 years old, came together in local and national workshops. Second, 60 young people plus youth workers and members of the partner organisations met at two YouPart youth conferences in Vienna and Prague. They got to know each other face-to-face, discussed ideas and worked on demands addressed to political decision-makers at national and European level. Finally, the YouPart European Youth Demands were presented to interested MEPs at the EU Parliament in Brussels in December 2022.  

Many of the activities used and adapted in the YouPart workshops and youth conferences are included here in the YouPart Digital Toolkit. Other activities were tried and tested in the day-to-day youth work of the project members and their colleagues in open youth work in all six countries. Open youth work, with its voluntary and low-threshold settings knows exactly what tried-and-tested tips and tricks are needed to address the young people, especially those who are disadvantaged in many respects. It can be challenging to raise awareness of and interest in democratic political processes, enable participation and support civic engagement. For this reason, a comprehensive toolkit with relevant methods and activities can be very helpful. Thus, a great deal of experience, knowledge and feedback flowed into the writing of the YouPart Digital Toolkit from 2023 to 2024 to ensure the practical relevance and hands-on quality of its units.

 

HOW TO USE THE YOUPART DIGITAL TOOLKIT 

The YouPart Digital Toolkit includes 48 units in five chapters: 1. Theory, 2. Energisers, 3. Workshops & Other Activities, 4. Methods, 5. Feedback & Evaluation. In the first chapter, the toolkit offers theoretical guidelines. Focusing on practical units in the next chapters, short energisers are always a welcome introduction to workshops and other long activities, which are presented in a topic-specific chapter. Methods that can be used for various topics can be found in the fourth chapter. Finally, feedback methods and evaluation tools should not be missed.  

The YouPart Digital Toolkit offers instructions on both best-practice classics and innovative activities that inspire new, fresh implementations. It presents activities that can be implemented indoors and/or outdoors and/or digitally; from some low-threshold activities that require little preparation and can sometimes be organised at short notice, to workshops that can take place over several days.  

If you click on a unit, you will be taken to the website with overview information and PDF download. The corresponding PDF contains all the information with detailed step-by-step instructions. The specifications on age, group size and duration (in minutes) of the activities serve as a basis for orientation, but are of course not carved in stone. Many activities can be combined and modified as needed. The modular structure of the YouPart Digital Toolkit invites you to get inspiration for your own workshop design. 

No matter whether it is about youth participation at local, regional, national or European level, the authors are convinced that the YouPart Digital Toolkit has something to offer for everyone.  

Theory

 

In this chapter, 4 units highlight the intersections between participatory approaches in youth work, inclusion and digital tools, embedded in the global context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We emphasise the need to involve and empower young people from all walks of life, especially disadvantaged groups.

Have a look at specific models of youth participation that take place in both analogue and digital spaces. The approaches presented support the reflection and assessment of the different levels and quality of participation.

The Checklist Inclusion outlines strategies and success factors for the inclusion and participation of young people who are affected by social exclusion.

The importance of digital youth work for the participation of young people is presented in the respective unit. It emphasises the need for digital competences and awareness of the digital divide for responsible participation.

The fourth unit provides an overview of the SDGs with reference to Global Citizenship Education. In the following chapters on Workshops and Methods, you will find, i.a., inspiration on how to successfully address the SDGs with young people.

Participation

The document emphasises the importance of youth participation, which is supported by international conventions and various participation models.

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Checklist Inclusion

Cheklist for including disadvantaged young people in decision-making processes, emphasising trust and needs-based support.

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DIGITAL YOUTH WORK

Digital youth work is crucial to support and protect young people in a world characterised by digital media.

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SDGs

The Sustainable Development Goals are part of a development plan called the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations.

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Energisers

Some say that a good day starts with a good breakfast – and a smile. We say a good workshop starts with a good energiser – and a smile. In this chapter you will find activities that will really get everyone going in a fun way. They quickly help to break the proverbial ice between participants and/or to form groups.

5 fingers

The main aim of this ice-breaker activity is for the participants to get to know each other in a fun and relaxed way.

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Counting parts

A playful way to form groups randomly.

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Hand Moving & Clapping Game

Fun activity in pairs that helps people move and focus on each other in pairs because it needs good coordination of moves in the pair.

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Living sculpture

A hilarious “contact” game in which the “sculpting” is performed randomly, resulting in grimaces, chaos and laughter.

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Gesture greetings

A playful ice-breaker for group formation with music.

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Guess the leader

This is an activating guessing game that is suitable for both large and small groups.

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Who is the imposter?

A funny, dynamic group formation game that helps to ensure group diversity.

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WORKSHOPS & OTHER ACTIVITIES

After kicking off with getting to know each other and an energiser, let's move on to the key activities. In this chapter, you will find topic-specific workshops and activities: from creative media education ideas to inspiration for civic engagement. The tried-and-tested step-by-step instructions invite you to have a go. However, they also allow some activities to be combined in new ways, e.g. as parts of workshops or as programme items on different days. Find out more by clicking through these 16 units. 

I Shape The World Too

The goal of this workshop is to encourage young people to explore the links between their daily lives and global processes.

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Practise how to vote

The goal of this activity is to make the democratic electoral process interesting to experience.

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CHANGE THE SLOGAN, CHANGE THE IMAGE

This media educational activity is designed to engage with political slogans and images in a creative, critical and playful way.

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Create your Own Politician Avatar

Creative workshop to discuss about politics and politicians, the commonplaces and their negative and positive aspects.

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World Creation

This activity is designed to encourage young people to deepen their knowledge of media and politics by imagining different worlds through abstraction.

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Yes, you can participate

This information event with workshop elements aims to invite young people to participate in a youth participation project.

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Networking Workshop

This workshop aims to provide young people with the opportunity to brainstorm ideas for future collaboration.

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Group Mural Painting

Group activity with young people in legal public space (or on the wall of the youth centre) in order to raise awareness of a specific topic.

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Let's get loud!

In this workshop, participants learn about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and consider which ones they think are the most important.

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Local actions for global change

Short guidelines to support young people in planning and organising local actions about global challenges.

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Magic growth

A short playful activity about the need for cooperation that reflects the absurdity of limitless economic growth.

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Volunteering workshop

The aim of the workshop is to inform young people about volunteering and its values and to encourage them to volunteer.

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Youthful city walk

This activity serves to familiarise the participants with the host city in a youth-friendly way.

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The road to the land of equality

This group activity aims to promote understanding and respect for gender equality and justice in a creative way.

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Leading and following

This applied theatre activity aims to provide an experiential process that encourages young people to reflect on leadership and followership.

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How to present to a large audience

A workshop to explore various exercises that can help participants feel confident and comfortable when presenting to a large audience.

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Methods

You already have a topic that you would like to work on with young people. But you are still looking for the right method – online and/or offline. In this chapter you are sure to find the appropriate method for your setting: from classical facilitated group work to innovative brainstorming and creative role-playing. Take a look through these 15 units. 

 

 

CARD SORTING

Card sorting is a research method that is useful for gaining valuable insights into how young people organise and prioritise information.

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DIGITAL STORYTELLING

Digital storytelling is the presentation of a topic using multimedia combined with narration.

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World Café

The "World Café" is an interactive method that promotes open conversations and collective intelligence within a large group.

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Group work with facilitator

This is a collaborative method that involves organising individuals into small groups, guided by a facilitator.

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Playing with pictures

This method uses pictures to brainstorm on a topic.

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YES AND...?

Method to brainstorm on the topic you want to reflect upon and to start creating a sense of community among the participants.

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Fishbowl Discussion

This is a group conversation method where some participants have a discussion in the center while others observe from the outside.

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6-3-5 Brainwriting

The 6-3-5 Brainwriting technique is a brainstorming activity. It enables participants to come up with many ideas in a short period of time.

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Focus Group On Youth Policies

This method aims to gather data on attitudes, opinions and experiences of young people in relation to local youth policies.

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Moving debate

This method allows to encourage participants to express their views and start a debate on a chosen topic.

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Virtual exchanges

This activity enables online-facilitated discussions between participants in different geographical locations, with the focus on dialogue.

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Timeline

This activity visualises the historical development of social movements, institutions and rights in a creative way.

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Role-playing

This is a participatory method that encourages the engagement and active involvement of the participants by taking on different roles.

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3 VARIATIONS of QUIZ GAMES

Activate small and large groups of young people through quiz games to encourage teamwork and creativity: online, offline and outdoor.

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Guidelines for youth parliaments

Basic guidelines for the establishment and implementation of a youth parliament.

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Feedback & Evaluation

Evaluation in youth work is about assessing and measuring the impact of youth programs and activities on young people. It involves collecting data, analysing it, and using the findings to improve the effectiveness and quality of youth work programs.

It is an essential aspect of youth work, as it helps to ensure that programs are effective and meet the needs of young people. By continually evaluating and improving youth work programs, we can better support the development and well-being of young people in our communities.  

To effectively report and use the findings of the evaluation, it's important to clearly understand the research questions and objectives as well as the target audience for the findings. By using a rigorous and thoughtful evaluation process, youth work programs can ensure that they are making a meaningful and positive impact on the lives of young people.

A Letter To Yourself

A letter to yourself can be a creative and reflective way to conduct a pre- and post-evaluation of a youth work programme, e.g. a workshop.

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Digital Evaluation

The digital evaluation method enables the exchange of feedback in real time and preserves the anonymity of the participants.

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Photovoice

Photovoice is a participatory research method that can be used as an innovative evaluation tool at the end of a youth work programme, e.g. workshop.

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Before and after

An anonymous evaluation tool to assess whether expectations of participants were met during the activity and to provide feedback on the overall experience.

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Gallery walk

Participants can express their opinions or their preferences by walking through a space and give specific feedback or decide on different options.

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The hand

This method can be used at the end of an activity, workshop or seminar – the participants individually reflect on what they have learned.

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PROJECT PARTNERS

DISCLAIMER

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

CC BY-NC-SA: This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms.