Shiny sophisticated new tools? The last thing Erasmus+ needs, the last thing that Youth Work needs!

Introduction

Shiny sophisticated new tools….it really is the last thing we need! Before I explain why I believe this let me first set out my stall – a set of disclaimers as it were.

What this written piece is not is a criticism of Creativity, Imagination, Innovation, or the Entrepreneurial Spirit. Humans would not have evolved had we not have any of these and contrary to any suggestion implied by the title, I positively embrace these things. Creativity and Imagination are two things I value most – especially imagination.

What it is however is an argument that we now focus so much on all these things that we have lost sight of what I believe – especially in this current era - is our primary purpose, particularly in a post Covid 19 context, which is to create spaces for conversations because if there is one thing we do not have enough of in the modern era, is conversation - basic meaningful conversation, the kind of just sitting over a ‘cuppa’ and chatting - this of course alongside discussion, debate and dialogue which are still an absolute necessity.

My belief is that we have become stuck on a constant journey of exploring, designing, and producing endless shiny, sophisticated new tools, not only those of a physical kind, but tools of all varieties, e.g., methodologies, approaches, and models of practice, that we overlook the more important things in life, i.e., conversing, being present, listening, supporting, reaching out and ‘just being there.’

I will argue that in a broader sense we have Forgotten the Fundamentals, and in relation to our sector, that being the non-formal education sector, or youth work as I still prefer to call it, we have lost sight (somewhat) of some of our priorities. I believe we have reached a point in our evolution where we are, to a large extent, re-inventing the wheel.

I will come to the fundamentals later, but first, a word or two on Erasmus+. I am a big fan of Erasmus+, and an advocate of International Youth Work, but I think that Erasmus+ has actually contributed to the ‘problem’ I now see as infecting our sector.

There is no doubting that Erasmus+ has encouraged and nurtured the Creativity, Imagination, Innovation, and Entrepreneurial Spirit of the wider youth work community across Europe. It has done so in abundance most recently by putting a much greater emphasis on what has become commonly referred to as outputs, particularly noticeable in the last cycle of the programme, i.e., things, products, tools, etc.

Events like the annual Tool Fairs contribute to this way of thinking. This of course is a little bit risky my saying this, as I had most recently been invited to speak at Tool Fair XV and made exactly this point. Taxi for Barr! It could quite possibly be the first and last invite I ever receive to a Tool Fair, or at least to speak!

It might sound like stating the obvious, but Tool Fair would of course not exist without tools, and I can’t imagine anyone would keep coming back to see the same tools over and over again, so to give the Tool Fair validity, it is by its very nature, reliant on new tools being ‘rolled-out’ or developed or re-imagined, and of course, has to keep profiling new tools in order to have a reason for its existence.

Now I must hold my hands up – I’m not adverse to creating tools myself. Back in 1999 I hosted my first International Youth Programme – young leaders - Israeli, Palestinian, Greek and Turkish Cypriot, German (from both eastern and western parts), and Northern Irish took part.

Not only did I organise / host the programme but produced a video documentary about it. In fact, over the next four to five years, first under the then YOUTH programme, and then Youth in Action, I hosted a number of Training Programmes, documenting several of these on video, some of which were also accompanied by activity packs to support learning. I made (I think) around seven videos accompanied by three or four activity packs during this time. Therefore, I’m not new to the idea of developing tools myself. But this all before it become regular or common place.

So why might I claim that we focus too much on Creativity, Imagination, Innovation, and the Entrepreneurial Spirit? And what makes me qualified to say that?

Well, the first thing I’d like to say is that I’m not an expert – not in anything – not even an expert on myself, so what I express is merely opinion. I am however, at a stage in my life when I have noticed emerging or rather re-emerging patterns – things that are re-forming, things re-emerging, things repeating themselves, a recycling of previous ideas, and so on. That of course is something that just comes with age. And no, this is not my being cynical as often is the perception that comes with being a particular age.

I am however at that particular age (now) where I feel that I can make statements with confidence, and I now truly believe that our efforts to create new tools is not where our priorities should lie. I believe we are mistakenly putting energy into ‘products’ much more than facilitating what is for me the most important element of any of these programmes, i.e., ‘the experience.’ Of course, tools can contribute to ‘the experience’ – of this I have no doubt, but I believe the emphasis is now moving in the wrong direction.

How Erasmus+ has affected our thinking

Between the beginning of October 2020 and 13th September 2021, there was approximately 292 calls from SALTO – 25 of which have been what I would classify as national calls for things like Trainers, Facilitators, Authors, etc.

Leaving these to one side, there have been 267 calls made by groups / organisations, etc including NA’s (National Agencies) for the likes of what I would call the ‘usual suspects’, i.e., YOCOMO (5), APPETISER (1), ESC (TOSCA) (4), FOCUS Learning (1), Euro Academy of Youth Work (1), BiTriMulti (4), The Quality Bonus (1), IMPACT+ (1), Connector (1), Spotlight on SALTO (1), Quality Label (10), TICTAC (1) ToT (3) EYE LINER (2), ATOQ (1) and Tool Fair XV of course.

If you take these out of the equation, it leaves 229 calls made by organisations right across Europe – this of course does not of course reflect the total number of actual programmes funded under E+ as some are not publicised through SALTO, but those that are offer a snapshot of themes addressed.

What I attempted to do with the remaining calls was to categorise them under common themes, e.g., Sport, Democracy, Citizenship, and so on.

If you subtract ‘the Usual Suspects’, i.e., YOCOMO, APPETISER, etc – it leaves 90 themes that I have identified across the remaining 229 programmes, which equates to every theme having on average 2.54 programmes.

What can we conclude about this? A thriving sector perhaps? Lots of diversity? Plenty of imagination and creativity? Yes, all of this and more.

On the flip side however, what else can we conclude? Youth work is all things to everyone? Youth Work is now stretched across every possible avenue? Two of the calls were geared towards business – is this what working with young people is now about?

Including calls from NAs and SALTO, from the 267 issued, 46 were geared towards Youth Work (17%). But from the 229 calls issued by organisations, only seven were actually geared towards youth work – Non-Formal Education (4), MOOC (1), Intro to International Youth Work (1) and Centre-Based Youth Work (1). This equates to 3.1%.

Now of course, it might be reasonable to assume from the reamining 97% of programmes all are delivered using NFE (Non-Formal Education) methods. You could also argue that most likely youth workers, young leaders and young people are participants, therefore preserving a youth work focus.

Aside from my being in receipt of all SALTO calls by e-mail, I’m also a member of countless Erasmus+ Facebook groups, and just anecdotally, my observations are that I really don’t see a lot of youth work oriented programmes these days.

I see a multitude of themes that brings young people, young leaders, youth workers, practitioners with a remit

for young people, other professionals, academics, policy personnel and so on together. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that at all.

It is, however, well known that quite a few participants in programmes are coming from what could be loosely described as a non-youth work background. In some respects, there is nothing actually wrong with this, as Erasmus+ is designed to reach out to as many young people, and if that means introducing people to non-formal education, then this is a good thing. I would contend though that the sector is some ways now becoming almost all things to everyone and therefore begs the question if we are in danger of collectively diluting the very sector we profess to love?

There is something not entirely right, if only 3% of E+ programmes are actually about youth work. If 229 programmes that are advertised are stretched out across 90 themes, it does raise the question of whether or not youth work is being a ‘something for everyone’ sector.

If I remember correctly, the last cycle of the Erasmus Programme focused on three key themes – Employment, Education and Enterprise. It also opened up opportunities to forge cross-sectoral relationships. It was of course no longer strictly the youth work that we had come to know as unique to Youth for Europe, YOUTH and Youth in Action.

Another significant difference with Erasmus+ was a much stronger emphasis on creating products, be those new tools in the form of games and activity packs, or guides, reports, etc.

Now there is a benefit to this, it makes us think more about physical manifestations or visible and tangible results – in the past, we often brought people together, with the focus much more on what I simply call ‘the experience.’

With a focus on products, it also forces us to try and offer more value for money to demonstrate that the opportunities we offer are just not about bringing people together, like a kind of holiday as it were, which I think was certainly a perception among some policy makers previously, who didn’t fully understand the benefits of just bringing people together for a sustained period of time.

As a result, we now seemingly just keep producing things – which begs the question, do we just now produce stuff to tick a box? Of course, many good things have been produced, but as someone who (somewhat ‘sadly’) collects all the tools that are circulated through SALTO, I can tell you that some of the documents and tools produced fall into the ‘we just had to produce something’ category.

The SALTO toolbox has 2,195 tools – brilliant but how often do people access these tools? How many people here have accessed the SALTO toolbox in the last 6 months? How many people have accessed the SALTO toolbox more than once in the last 6 months? More than twice? More than 5 times in the last number of years? More than 10 times ever?

Statistics on the SALTO website are somewhat revealing – at the time of writing (beginning of October 2021) 1426 users have visited 702 tools which equates to 32% so effectively two-thirds of tools have never been looked at. An inference, or at least a question can be posed from these figures, i.e., do we really need more tools?

If we assume that most of these tools have been developed during training programmes, or specifically for the purposes of being used in training programmes (which is the most likely destination), and if as we know most training programmes have in and around 20 or more participants per programmes, might the inference be that only those attending training are accessing the tools produced?

Now it is only an inference of course, but I certainly believe there is merit in it, but in any case, what is clear is that two-thirds of tools are not being accessed. If producing tools was a business, it would not have survived, or would have been closed down.

Something else I’ve seen in recent times, and it is very evident throughout social media, is that the focus on creativity, imagination, innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit has seeped into the thinking of individuals – we are no longer just doing youth work - be that you are professionally qualified, a volunteer, a young leader or a fulltime professional that works with young people. I have touched upon this above with reference to our having to constantly re-purpose ourselves.

We are all now trainers, facilitators, moderators, mentors, coaches, project managers, writers, graphic facilitators, digital facilitators, consultants, editors, authors, experts, content creators, and so on.

But there is an external context that has helped shaped this – we are no longer merely one profession anymore, we have to be all things to everyone, we have to constantly re-invent ourselves, to be multi-faceted, to have a wide skillset.

The focus on producing things combined with such a wide and diverse range of themes has in my opinion taken us away from the fundamentals of non-formal education, which I will come to, I promise.

Question for you – have you posted something on social media in the last hour or so? Last few days? Imagine how it might have been years ago before social media. As I’m about to get into the car to travel to the youth centre, I stand in the street and shout out loud, ‘It’s a beautiful day, going to work, hashtag love my work.’

You arrive at work – you announce to everyone you have arrived. You then shout out randomly reports that have been completed, and during lunch you suddenly declare ‘beautiful lunch with exceptional colleagues’ and so on. You get the drift. Like why? What has happened to us? Why do we do it? Why do we feel the need to do so?

Let me reiterate – there is nothing wrong whatsoever with creativity, imagination, innovation, or the entrepreneurial spirit, it is how we have evolved and made progress.

However, the emphasis on these is at the risk of missing out on what I think is the important stuff. The emphasis on creating, innovating, imagining and being entrepreneurial means that we think in terms of how we can fix things, develop responses, produce outcomes, respond to need in a re-active way as opposed to focusing, in a pro-active way what’s in front of us, the people around us and the situations that we are in.

If Covid 19 has taught us anything, it has demonstrated what is really important – we need to be in the company of others, we need connection, that we are not alone; we need to know people care for us, that people are interested in us, that people value us and vice versa.

The Forgotten Fundamentals – The 6 R’s

I have been involved in Youth Work for over 30 years. I graduated with a professional qualification in Youth Work in 1995. I have managed youth organisations, youth projects and delivered a range of youth services to a wide variety of young people, across a multitude of settings and age groups. I don’t say that to ‘big myself up’ but as a demonstration of my experience in this area and to offer some credibility to my central argument.

I have reflected on my experiences, and I have come to a clear conclusion – no matter what tool, methodology, practice or gimmick we develop, there are certain things that young people require and look for. And it’s this I believe is what we need to re-focus on, and within the wider context of the challenges we face in the future.

Below is what I refer to as the Forgotten Fundamentals, or as I affectionately refer to, ‘The 6 R’s.’

Reception: the need to be heard, that you have a voice…..

Young people need to be heard. They have much to say but often cannot find the words to express what it is they are thinking or feeling in a particular moment. Perhaps they do not possess the ability to articulate their feelings or thoughts in ways that truly represent the message they wish or need to convey to those that most need to hear it. Irrespective of this, and more importantly is that someone is listening, that someone is picking up the message, that there is a reception for the signal emanating from them. We need to be that receiver that picks up the signal, no matter how distant or feint it is.

Recognition: the need to be visible, that you exist…….

It’s nice to be recognised. I’m not necessarily talking about someone that you know recognises you and even addresses you by name, but rather that people see you – you are there, you are visible, you are not forgotten, and you have merit in the eyes of the person or people that see or hear you. Everyone needs to be seen - even if someone forgets your name, which of course isn’t so nice but just to know that people know you are there, that you are not ignored, overlooked or forgotten, cannot be underestimated. Just having recognition opens up so many possibilities and provides a way in.

Reassurance: the need to know someone is with you, that someone cares……

If you feel that no-one cares, it can be a pretty lonely place, so letting someone know you care is nothing short of reassuring – for some it can be the difference between life and death. It can simply be a ‘check-in,’ a phone call, a message, an e-mail. Humans are vulnerable and susceptible often to their own thoughts and if no-one is taking an interest in you, or pays you little or no regard, and doesn’t take a moment to ‘check-in,’ then unless you are eternally confident, and able to function without fear, by yourself, then this can be a very lonely existence. Young people need supportive adults in their life, and research has shown that if a young person has even one supportive adult in their life, it can have such a positive impact. Young people are trying to ‘find themselves’ so to speak and to also learn how to navigate many of life’s challenges in their adolescent years and therefore having the reassurance of that one solid person in their life is worth its weight in gold.

Reputation: the need to be ‘known for something,’ that you have value……

It’s not really possible to go through life without having some sort of purpose – just in the way that you might draw, sing or write, most need to have something in their lives beyond the usual suspects, i.e., education, work, family or partner. Every human wants to be known for something – it gives them a sense of purpose, a sense of identity and of sense of worth and a feeling of value, and brings with it recognition, credibility and ultimately, reputation. Everyone needs this - no more than young people - who often need to feel they have something to give, something to get up for and to live for. Especially in this modern era where young people are under more pressure ‘to perform’ than they have ever been - be that in education, work or through a new additional pressure that is of course, Social Media, they need people to find that ‘something’ gives them purpose and helps them achieve reputation among others.

Reflection: the need to be able to change course, that you can think and feel differently….

Young people are well known for getting themselves stuck in the proverbial corner or taking a position that they feel they can’t change or appear unwilling to change, for all sorts of reasons, even sometimes for what seems like ludicrous reasons, where no end of reasoning can persuade them otherwise. As is often the case, people feel they can’t change, that they have gone too far, because to do so will appear to be contradictory, hypocritical, or inconsistent.

Young people often grow up learning that they can’t (or are not supposed to) hold two differing opinions. They can’t ‘sit on the fence’ or rather can’t be ‘neutral’ or assume an impartial stance, that they have to choose, that it’s either/or, one way or the other, this or that, and feel that they can’t shift, or rather as is often the case, they can’t find the words to articulate a change in position and remain aligned to a position they might not support, or end up becoming stuck, and feel they can’t move, even when they might want to.

It’s an imperative, and the onus is on us as adults, to let young people know it’s ok to change, that you can hold two differing opinions, that things don’t have to be fixed, but with our encouragement and support they can indeed reflect on the ideas, thoughts, opinions and positions they hold on a whole range of matters and can shift their focus or change their mind. We have to ensure young people know it’s ok to reflect and reach a different conclusion.

Recourse: the need to know that there is a way back, that you can save face…..

Because young people often haven’t worked out their position on a whole range of matters, they often take decisions only to discover that it was the wrong one, or that it certainly wasn’t one that proved correct or brought them any kind of real benefit. For different reasons, they then feel they must stick with it, often afraid to change their mind because it might appear to be a sign of weakness.

Just as it’s important that we assure young people they can change their mind through a process of reflection it’s also vital that they can ‘find a way back,’ that when the decision they have made isn’t to their benefit, that they can ‘save face’ and have the confidence and ability to articulate a route back. This perhaps means having the capacity for humility, or to acknowledge when they might have been in the wrong or can reconcile with those they might have been in conflict with.

Equally, and more importantly, it also means that they know that whomever they have been in conflict with can also reciprocate towards them and help them to find a way back. If a young person decides they want to change their mind and articulate as much, they need to know that their efforts will not be rejected or spurned. If they take the risk, they must know they have a way to ‘save face’ - they need to know we are there for them, that we can help smooth the way, and that we do not judge them, nor use their way back as a means to point out their error(s) or to gain any kind of ‘one-upmanship.’ Young people need to know there is a way back – they need to know there is recourse – and that it is safe recourse.

Final Word

Youth Work is full of great practice, tools, methodologies and ultimately, practitioners. They are among the most passionate, caring, dedicated and inspiring people you could hope to meet. They have proven their worth - initiating and developing responses down the decades to a wide variety of challenges. There is a growing focus on creating, imagining, innovating and the entrepreneurial spirit and as necessary and welcome as it is, in my opinion it has also steered us away from our primary purpose; and in an effort to meet the demands placed upon our sector we have inadvertently, forgotten the fundamentals. We have lost sight of what our sector is ultimately renowned for providing, i.e., ‘the experience’ and have become distracted by the need to create and produce.