Youth Empowerment

Youth

Empowerment

The next generations

The youth is a valuable resource for all communities and a potential powerful source of change. As the next generation expected to take over in rebuilding and developing post-conflict societies, they should be given the best opportunities to learn, build networks, and express their views and ideas for the future.

In order to contribute to the rebuilding and development of their communities and countries, young women and men must learn how to be creative and visionary, and gain experience with civic engagement and democratic participation. Furthermore, young people’s resilience is strengthened when they gain hands-on experience with communicating and operationalising their ideas and visions for society, and when they are given the opportunity to be positive role models as volunteers, coaches, and assistant coaches for other young people and for children.

  • We educate the youth in our partner countries to become volunteer coaches and association leaders 
  • We gather  sports clubs  and  associations  in  networks  and  create  contact  between  civil  society and authorities 
  • We improve the rights and participation of young women and men in society 
  • We improve active citizenship and grassroots democracy to promote reconciliation, tolerance and peaceful coexistence 

Youth Leadership

Education

All volunteers in the Open Fun Football Schools programme are offered different education options, here among Cross Cultures’ specific Youth Leadership Education for young people aged 18-30. The Youth Leadership Education empowers young people, and just like Open Fun Football Schools, the key value of the Youth Leadership Education lies in its ability to facilitate the formation of a mutually reciprocal social networks – i.e. networks that empowers the individual to create opportunities and better living conditions for themselves and wherein each individual helps strengthen the network to impact society. 

Cross Cultures’ Youth Leaders Education is organised as an action-learning process encompassing three levels: 

1. Basic level

Open Fun Football Schools Coach

60 hours/15 credits

The young community organisers are trained in theory and practice how to use the social qualities of sport and our specific fun sport approach as a pedagogical tool to mobilise local resources and create positive relationships between people from different ethnic and social backgrounds.

2. Advanced level

Sport for Change

120 hours/20 credits

The community organisers are trained in how to bring the social qualities that arise between people when they play a joyful game together (friendships, cohesion, and social capital) into play outside the sporting arena.



3. Final level

Community Organiser

120 hours/25 credits

The community organisers design, plan, organise, execute, and evaluate their own project to meet a special need in their community.






If you want to go in-depth with our Youth Leadership Education you can download the education brochure here.

In the brochure you can read about:

  • Full description of level 1, 2 and 3
  • Narratives
  • Learning objectives
  • Skills
  • Competences

NARRATIVE: Being the next generation, which is expected to take over in rebuilding and developing post-conflict societies, the youth should be given the best opportunities to learn, build networks and express their views and ideas for the future. However, this is not always easy to achieve in a more official dialogue setting, which also involves adults. Hence, Cross Cultures’ Youth Leadership Education provides youth opportunities and a platform which is open for all youth to voice their ideas and visions and which enables them to generate new understandings of the ethnic, social and cultural cohesion across the region. Thus, by showing and putting young people’s experiences into words as well as putting their resources at stake in a new way, Cross Cultures’ Youth Leadership Education contributes as an inspiration to those seeking to find new, peaceful and sustainable ways of solving common problems.

THEORY OF CHANGE: If young people learn to communicate and operationalise their ideas and visions for the community and are given the opportunity through practical experiences to express themselves and become positive role models, Open Fun Football Schools leaders and -coaches for other young people and children, then it will improve their life skills. This will enhance their “sense of cohesion”-the more robust an individual’s “sense of cohesion” is, the more resilient they are likely to be when faced with stressors, demands and challenges.

INPUT: IF Cross Cultures mobilise and educate young leaders and coaches with (a) sports event management skills and approaches and (b) facilitates the co-creation of youth-led associations and consolidated regional and cross-sectorial networks.

INPUT: THEN the young leaders and coaches (1) have created an interregional youth network that provides young people with a platform to exchange experiences and perceptions with peers from neighbouring countries and conflicting communities and to express their ideas and visions for society and the future; and (2) gained hands-on leadership experience as well as opportunity to engage in a sustained and in-depth dialogue with relevant community stakeholders such as parents of the children, local authorities, sports associations, civic organisations, public schools.

IMPACT: Contributed to providing the participants with an “anchor” within their local community and enhanced their life opportunities and resilience by encouraging them to take action and positively influence their local communities – and personal lives.