Information for Youth Empowerment,
New Opportunities - Better Perspectives

Interactive education and Resource Network
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Project Partners

Education Science and Culture Foundation - ESCF, InfoYouth Member, Interactive and Resource Network Serbia - iEARN Serbia, InfoYouth Partner

 
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Outcomes

     
Activities in the life-cycle of the project from were running according foreseen dynamics in the Work Plan and Time Frame. There were minor delays encountered in the months October and November as a result of big interest of beneficiaries and delay in transferring of second instalment that impacted pace of activities.

Web site containing general information about the project is published on: www.imor.org.mk/programmes/youthempowerment.

Compared to first phase of the project where our efforts were focused on achieving diversity and richness of forms in the electronic space, matching with the interests of the young people, in the second phase the stress was set on the selection of information, on boosting its impetus and force and on uplifting the results and the impact.

 

In this manner continuity of the achievements from the first phase of the project was secured. After “planting the seeds” big range of diverse seminars and workshops for many disadvantaged young people closer to the computer technology and to the rich opportunities of the Internet we have concentrated on spreading the idea and information. Now, large part of the young people, who finished the courses and mastered initial computer proficiency, have become the object and the subject of the information that directly influenced the maturity of their social way of thinking and acting.

  • In Macedonia established close cooperation with the

  • National Employment Agency in Macedonia and its Employment centres in cities Skopje and Bitola

  • Centres for Social Welfare and Social Security in Skopje and Bitola

  • NGO community in Bitola and Skopje

  • Local authorities in Bitola and Skopje continued in the second half of the year too.

Initial pool of 20 young people on age up to 26 years identified to be young trainers was enlarged to 50. They were key actors along with other professionals, experts, and specialists in working with other young people.

Now, youth trainers identified from the pool of disadvantaged youth were identified and took the mastering of training in their hands and continued to work with many, many more young disadvantaged people from their communities and wider.

Groups were composed from diverse scope of disadvantaged youth - youth from rural areas, displaced youth, youth with long-time no-first employment, orphans. Youth that was participating in this training was/is suffering social exclusion and/or poverty and can not afford self-development activities. In the whole project more than 850 young people had upgraded their skills.

Along with Centres for Social Welfare and Social Security in Skopje and Bitola young trainers planned and conducted many activities in the line of working with approximately 130 young people that has problems in their families. Experts from these institutions were invited to join these training sessions. They actively joined these activities as experts and provided assistance to young people.

More than 170 young people from student boarding houses, especially from their final year of secondary education, or university students, were working with young trainers and specialised personnel from these institutions on gaining skills important to their navigation in the educational system if they are continuing their education, or successful navigation on the labour market.

Displaced young people from the area of Tetovo city that are currently living in Skopje were also targeted. Having in mind that these young people had completely changed their lives they were one of the most vulnerable groups. Therefore, special and sensitive approach was used in working with 50 young people from these communities.

Roma communities were also targeted with our activities. Such communities are in great demand of awareness raising and concrete and continuous support not only to young people, but also to adults. In the frame o these activities only young people were directly involved. Some of the activities besides working with them on their life skills and topics linked how to be employed and self-employed we were collecting school textbooks, purchasing notebooks and accessories for young Roma students, so they can in a first place regularly attend schools, at least.

Established links with employers associations in Macedonia were extended into cooperation with them. They are acquainted with the activities we are/were doing and were encouraging us in our efforts. Some of the employers were supporting us by providing some products and services to direct project beneficiaries.

These empowered young trainers who completed more than 60 days of training and work with other disadvantaged youth from different groups. These young people became not only trainers, but highly skilled resource persons.

The most important thing is that from our pool of young trainers already 4 are employed, 2 of them became our trainers or responsible persons in other our activities. From the pool of disadvantaged young people there are also employments encountered both – part-time and full-time.

In Bulgaria some of the key actions were channelled in avoiding and restricting the addictions of young people; preventive measures to curb the spread of the AIDS; upgrading professional qualifications and job hunt.

In order to have professional assistance, talks with experts in the various directions, sociologists and analysts were attracted to the Coordination centre – all of them people of experience and expertise – who prepared and released on Internet appropriate materials.

In this connection within the period of October 15, 2006 -November 15, 2006 four courses, embracing 10 students each, were organized. The attending students were taught to develop web sites on themes of the social realization of the young. The duration of each module was 15 hours and the students were given the chance to publish specialized texts and trace on-line the impact of themes like prevention of addictions and the AIDS, street criminality, etc.

Lectors were students from the Electro-technical University; upon graduating the course participants were awarded a Graduation certificate.

The graduates gathered on a round table talk on November 22, 2006 to discuss the subject-matter and effectiveness of future education programs. The round table, which took place in the Ministry of Youth, got a wide coverage in the press.

In early December 2006 a 15 day National Internet Forum was held on the topic: “New Internet possibilities for enhancing communications among young people”. The Forum’s goal was to initiate a dialogue on the opportunities in front the young and the role of the Internet for their realization. Participating in the event were tens of individual partakers and many national institutions.

The Forum was organized together with the Bulgarian Internet Society and attracted great number of young people between the age of 18 to 22. Two key discussions were held: on the social realization of the young and on giving equal chances to the underprivileged young people to meet the challenges of the computer world. Partaking in the Forum were the Internet clubs from three Homes for deprived children from the cities of Vidin, Plovdiv and Pazardjik.

In its endeavours to raise the quality of the materials, the Foundation touched the problem of the level of information as an element of the young people’s behaviour.

In this connection during the last holidays and the months of September, October and November sets of specially prepared materials referring to the level of information on professional qualification and job finding were distributed in the largest Internet clubs in the capital city. In the course of the 6 days-off, when the Internet clubs were overcrowded, discussions were kicked off on the distributed materials referring to forthcoming events and labour exchanges, presentations of students and professional centres. The discussions arose tremendous interest.

The risk groups were another task during the second phase of the project. The Coordination centre prepared a collection of specific methodological materials addressing the various risk groups. A new Centre for handling risk groups was opened in Varna on 24.09.2006. On the inauguration day scores of young people demanded information and advice and were consulted on matters of the AIDS, drugs and other forms of addiction.

Special selections of materials were disseminated in orphanage centres with a view to raise the level of knowledge of the parentless children, to provoke their attention to topical problems of the young people’s life.

Activities in Serbia in the period after July 2006 were narrowing down to their final cease, due to circumstances in Serbia and the communities where this project was operating. These were the reasons why regrettably this project lost one of its partners. This was additional stimulus to Interactive Education and Resource Network – IMOR and Education, Science and Culture Foundation – ESCF to engage extra forces and efforts to successfully complete this important project for young people.

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Loading organization:
Civil Association "Interactive Education and Resource Network" - I M O R
www.imor.org.mk

 
       
Target groups  
Diasdvantaged youth from Bulgaria, Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro:
- Young people with university diploma and no first employment
- Long time unemployed young people
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Students from last years of high schools who will be unemployed in the near future
- Young people facing poverty
- Young people from lower social status families – using social welfare funds
- Young people with one parent
 
       
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