BRIDGE: Boosting resilient inclusion through digital & graphic education

Özet, Erasmus+ Project Results platformunda yayımlanan İngilizce metindir.

Amaç

The project BRIDGE: Boosting resilient inclusion through digital & graphic education has been designed as a Training Course co-developed by eight organisations active in the youth work field and coordinated by Oriel APS. Its conception is rooted in a co-writing process within the partnership, actively involving youth workers, facilitators and educators through surveys, focus groups and local consultation meetings. From this needs analysis it emerged that the majority of youth workers feel underprepared in the use of digital and visual tools, and that there is a lack of structured non-formal education pathways truly accessible to young people with fewer opportunities.
The project aims to respond to these challenges by equipping youth workers with innovative tools, transferable methodologies and practical competences to make non-formal education activities more inclusive, participatory and resilient. The ambition is not only to strengthen the individual skills of participants but also to build a European network of youth organisations capable of sharing good practices and developing common approaches.

From the perspective of youth work, BRIDGE pursues five main objectives:
to strengthen youth workers’ competences in group, visual and digital facilitation, multiplying them in their local and international contexts;
to integrate innovative visual thinking methodologies and digital tools to overcome linguistic, cultural and cognitive barriers, creating a common and more accessible educational language;
to promote the active participation of young people with fewer opportunities, valuing their learning styles and fostering agency and protagonism;
to consolidate a resilient network of youth workers and organisations able to sustain and disseminate the use of graphic and digital methodologies in youth work;
to develop a digital and graphic Toolbox collecting 40 non-formal methodologies, co-created during the Training Course, as a concrete resource for the consortium and for the wider European youth work sector.
Through this approach, BRIDGE aims to contribute to the evolution of European youth work towards more inclusive, creative and needs-based practices, capable of addressing the real challenges of young people and local communities.

Uygulama

The project foresees a complete learning cycle that combines preparation, implementation, follow-up and dissemination. The core activity will be the Training Course “BRIDGE”, hosted in Italy, bringing together 24 youth workers (3 per each of the 8 partner organisations) with different backgrounds but all actively engaged in non-formal education, youth participation and inclusion. The group will include youth workers who regularly work with young people with fewer opportunities, such as NEETs, young people with migrant backgrounds, those from rural or remote areas, and those facing cultural, social or economic barriers.

In the preparatory phase, the partnership will carry out joint needs assessment activities in each country, including local consultations, focus groups with youth workers, and an exchange of good practices. This stage will also include online preparatory meetings with participants, the definition of the travel plans, and logistical and linguistic support.

The main activity will be a 7-day residential Training Course in Verona, Italy, designed with interactive non-formal learning methods. It will combine theoretical sessions, workshops, simulations and practice labs, focusing on visual facilitation, digital tools, and inclusive group dynamics. Participants will co-create methodologies, test them in practice, and exchange their own experiences in order to strengthen their competences in group facilitation, graphic facilitation and digital education.

The follow-up phase will ensure that learning outcomes are transferred into the local contexts. Each partner organisation will engage the trained youth workers in disseminating the newly developed tools and practices, through workshops with colleagues, local youth groups, and community stakeholders. This will include multiplier activities, online webinars, and the co-creation of a Digital and Graphic Toolbox collecting 40 methodologies for inclusive non-formal education.

Finally, the dissemination phase will ensure visibility and sustainability. All partners will share the results on their websites, newsletters and social media channels, as well as through their local and international networks such as Europiamo, Prisma Network, Eurodesk, garagErasmus and DYPALL. The aim is to reach a wider community of youth workers, educators and organisations across Europe and beyond.
In total, the project directly involves 24 youth workers, but it will indirectly reach a much larger number of young people with fewer opportunities and professionals in the youth field, strengthening capacities and fostering long-term impact across all partner organisations.

Sonuçlar

The BRIDGE project aims to generate results and impact at multiple levels.

At the level of participants, the youth workers involved will acquire innovative competences in visual, digital and group facilitation, certified through Youthpass, strengthening their ability to work with young people with fewer opportunities. They will become multipliers in their local contexts, thanks to individual Action Plans and follow-up activities, transferring inclusive and accessible methodologies to young people, colleagues and volunteers within their organisations.

At the level of partner organisations, BRIDGE will leave a legacy of trained human resources recognised as facilitation focal points, integrated into the organisations’ annual work plans. An open-access Toolbox with at least 40 replicable methodologies will be developed, serving as a structural capacity-building tool. Partner organisations will strengthen internal procedures, inclusion policies and European co-design strategies, creating a pipeline for new joint initiatives.

At the local level, trained youth workers will become hubs of facilitation and mentoring, embedding youth work into the real needs of their communities. Young people with fewer opportunities will be actively involved in youth-led activities and local multiplier events, fostering direct empowerment and social inclusion.

At the national level, the project will contribute to the recognition and quality of youth work by disseminating innovative methodologies within the national networks of each partner and involving at least five external organisations per country. This will reinforce the adoption of inclusive and visual practices in non-formal education programmes and national youth networks.

At the European level, BRIDGE will provide a concrete contribution to the EU youth policy framework, in line with the European Youth Goals (in particular “Inclusive Societies” and “Information & Constructive Dialogue”) and with the European Youth Work Agenda. The transnational impact will be ensured through the dissemination of results on European platforms (SALTO, Erasmus+ Project Results Platform, Youth Academy), networking events and the creation of a transnational co-design hub among the partners.