The Erasmus+ Youth Professional Development Activity for Youth Workers on the topic of Advocating for Green, Inclusive and Virtual Volunteering – European Youth Workers Building Competencies in the Context of COVID-19 took place from Friday, May 5th to Tuesday, May 10th 2022 in Berlin. This five-day long training course was organized in cooperation with ICJA Freiwilligenaustausch weltweit (ICYE Germany) involving 22 participants and 2 trainers/facilitators from 12 different partner organizations in 11 EU countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Russia, Slovakia and Spain) plus 10 participants from 9 countries outside of Europe (Japan, Nepal, Peru, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA).
The aim was to foster the professional development of European youth workers and enable them to advocate for green, inclusive and virtual volunteering with the aim to strengthen young people’s social and civic engagement, especially under pandemic conditions. The training included many insightful discussions on the role of digital and technological opportunities, ecological sustainability and diversification of funding in the IVS field. The participants also had the chance to create an advocacy campaign with the guidance of Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service (CCIVS), exchange good practices on developing inclusive volunteering, visit ICYE’s international office, as well as assess the work of ICYE Federation’s Sub Committees.
