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Digitally Agile Youth Work in Finland and Scotland
Start date: Aug 1, 2015, End date: Dec 31, 2015 PROJECT  FINISHED 

The use of digital technology and social media in youth work is a growing area of practice across Europe. Finland and Scotland have different degrees of use of these tools, confidence and competence of youth workers and guidelines/ frameworks to support this work. This project aimed to further the development, strategic planning and professionalism of digital and online youth work in Finland and Scotland through the mobility and practice sharing of youth workers. YouthLink Scotland is the National Agency for Youth Work in Scotland. Verke is the National Development Centre for Online Youth Work in Finland. Objectives of the Project 1. Strengthen the participants’ ability to plan digital youth work strategically 2. Allow the participants the possibility to learn from each other and share practice about strategic planning in digital youth work including influencing context e.g. policy. 3. Using the Scottish Digitally Agile National Principles as a basis, explore the possibility of creating a similar set of principles for Finland 4. Scottish practitioners to consider further development, promotion and embedding of digital youth work within Scotland including relevant training needs The Digitally Agile Youth Work in Finland and Scotland youth worker mobility project involved the recruitment of participants from youth work organisations across both countries. Participants were recruited from 10 different youth work services; 5 per country representing youth work activity in the statutory and voluntary sectors, rural and urban and national and local contexts. The two partner organisations have a national remit in each of their countries. In preparation for the international seminar the participants conducted a 'Self Assessment' against the Digitally Agile National Principles to look at how their organisation could plan development according to the Principles. The seminar was held in Scotland and was an opportunity for participants to focus on the situation of online youth work in both countries, to share their practice and organisation's areas for development, to look at the development of this area of professional practice, and to start to develop Finnish digital principles. This was followed by a study visit to Finland where participants saw some innovative digital youth work practice, saw how digital technology was being integrated in youth work and community settings and learnt about the impact of 10 years of digital youth work and the context in Finland. Finnish participants continued to work on the development of Principles and plan the next stages of development including consultation with young people and the youth work sector. The methodology throughout both activities was based on non formal and informal education, including group work, expert input and visits and the practice and expertise that the participants had to share. The participants were of mixed age and gender and were representative of the range of youth work organisations across Scotland and Finland. As a result of the project Verke is in the process of developing Finnish digital principles for youth work with the involvement of the youth work sector. YouthLink Scotland has gained an understanding of how the Digitally Agile National Principles are applicable in Scotland and Finland. There are some resources being developed around ethics and policies to promote and support digital youth work in Scotland. Participating youth workers have increased enthusiasm and ability to plan and deliver digital youth work strategically in their practice and a new network of colleagues to share practice and plan partnership projects with which has built capacity in the sector. The longer term benefits of this project are to lay the groundwork for further development of the Digitally Agile National Principles in a European context by trialling their development in one other European country and gathering learning from this.

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