This document discusses strategies for youth engagement and social change, including a leadership training program and an Action Week toolkit. The leadership training involved group dynamics, project management, and understanding social issues. Several youth leaders went on to work in social sectors after the program. However, some motivated young leaders did not find their place in existing youth centers. The Action Week toolkit is an 8-step guide to help youth groups build skills through activities like groupbuilding, listening, choosing issues, learning, planning, taking action, and celebrating accomplishments. The document acknowledges influences from theories of youth organizing and critical pedagogy.

1. Youth as actors of social change Youth Engagement Continuum Action Week Leadership-training Dirk De Block – D'Broej vzw

2. Youth engagement... Mission impossible? “ Youth are no longer interested in committing, engaging themselves” “ A leadership-training of one year? They won't last!” “ You want to change the world? Utopian!” “ Why don't you just propose them a animator-training?” “ You're working with an elite!”

3. Indications of some strange motivational force field... El Hoceima earthquake shook more than we thought... When a playing ground gets serious business Can an issue be too hot to handle? Palestine...

4. First try: the leadership training 18-22 year Potential volontary and interested in debates Understanding our personal experiences Group dynamics and leadership-attitudes Project-managing skills

5. First try: the leadership training Collectivizing individual experiences Against individual victim blaming Learning to see the structural, collective root mechanisms behind exclusion The causes are social, not cultural Against culturalizing and racist reflexes We're in it together! So why no try to take it on together?

6. Results of our first try 4 groups of youth leaders (in 8 years) 2/3 boys, 1/3 girlsan 10 avondsessies Interesting projects: documentaries – multicultural soccertornament – intergenerational exchange between children and third age – peercounseling against dropout – action against crowded classrooms – exchange between police and youth – documentary about youth that engage themselves – video-inquiry on reasons for schooldropout

7. Results of our first try Several leaders work in the social sector, social-cultural and social-economics Leaders are administrator in youth centre Leaders went back to school, took up language courses Leaders engaged themselves in political activities Leaders organized their own cultural events Leaders acted as spokespersones for neighbourhood youth Leaders realized their own project (exchanges, expositions, etc.)

8. Limits of our first try Motivated young leaders did not find their place in our youth centres Are the youth workers convinced that we have to take on together with the youth their issues?

9. Second try: The Action Week An audio-visual toolkit www.dbroej.be/toolkit

10. Second try: The Action Week 8 steps Groupbuilding Listen Choose Learn Plan Action Valuate Party!

11. We did not invent anything... Objectif Oriented Planning (Project Cycle Management) Freire's pedagogy of the oppressed Alinsky's community work and social action Youth Organizing Child-to-Child

12. Youth Organizing Funders' Collaborative on Youth Organizing Youth Engagement Continuum

19. Proces Youth Organizing Development and Skill Training Outreach and New Member Recruitment Community Assessment and Issue Identification Campaign Development and Implementation

20. Aknowledgments... Touria Aziz and Alhambra for their inspiring exemple and engagement in the aftermaths of the Kureghem-riots of 1997 Marie De Leener for her support and methodological expertise, for writing the leadership-training manual Bruno Bauwens for making the Action Week a succes, and writing the manual for the toolkit Caroline Van Kerckhoven for realizing the audio-visual material for the toolkit FCYO for giving us the YEC Makarenko, for helping me through some tough times with his pedagogical optimism

21. Summary - Slogan That's up to you!