Youth Empowerment is the process by which youth gain control over the factors that shape their lives. It is the process by which youth increase their skills, assets and attributes and build capacities to gain access and make their voice heard. It implies that youth cannot be empowered by others; that is, the youth can only empower themselves to achieve their desired social changes.
Thus, the youth are their own assets, our role as youth workers is to facilitate or accompany them by creating learning opportunities and the conditions allowing them to acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes towards their social, cultural, educational, and personal development. Hence, empowerment is a fundamental concept within the youth work, which emphasises the need to create favourable conditions for experiential learning which is built on and structured around the youth's own lived experiences.
Therefore, training in non-formal educational settings, which acknowledges and draws upon youth expertise and their practical experiences is the best investment in youth’s future. That is, consulting youth about their needs and knowledge gaps and taking them in consideration in youth work, plays a vital role in addressing the social, cultural, health, economic and employability, gender, educational and environmental barriers which negatively affect youth well-being on a macro-scale, and contributing to sustainable social changes.
That is, any youth empowerment initiative should be designed in a manner that facilitates youth to acquire the knowledge, skills, and competences they need to innovate and prosper. Therefore, empowerment has an important role to play in creating youth identity by building on their common values and cultures. Hence, youth work should seek to facilitate youth to articulate, engage, participate, and shape their own future by offering them an access to practical training and open educational information, tools, and resources. |
12 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
IN YOUTH’S EDUCATION
90 PROJECTS EXECUTED
80 PARTNERS ENGAGED
1500 YOUTHS REACHED