YEU Developing YOUth
About the Project
YEU Developing YOUth - Shaping Chameleons of Tomorrow
“YEU Developing YOUth – Shaping Chameleons of Tomorrow” is a YEU project that aims at improving quality youth work services to young people at the local, national and European level, enabling them to get the best possible learning experiences for their personal, social and professional development and to be the change-makers and agenda-setters in Europe. In order to do so, the project employs the methodology of Chameleon Leadership, focusing on flexibility, adaptability, consciousness, fluidity and mindfulness to help youth workers improve their skills.
The Chameleon Leadership Model emphasises self-management, effective communication, and critical thinking, enabling leaders to adapt while staying authentic. It promotes equity and inclusion through awareness and anti-racist practices, fosters professionalism by motivating teams, and encourages teamwork by supporting individual strengths. Additionally, it highlights the integration of technology in the workplace, ensuring leaders are knowledgeable and provide necessary training.
This project has been integrated with the 42nd YEU Convention, a significant milestone for YEU since the 1980s. YEU Convention brings together a diverse group of young people from various cultures to connect and discuss topics of interest every year. Initially aimed at helping youth understand how their peers across borders live, celebrate, laugh, and mourn, the Convention has evolved into a vital entry point for young people to engage with YEU, regardless of their prior affiliations.
For many, it serves as their first experience in international mobility, fostering new connections and broadening their perspectives. Participants are inspired to create change in their local communities once they are back home. Through this initiative, YEU contributes to enhancing youth mobility across Europe, promoting a culture of peace and understanding.
Objectives
The Training Course ToTo- Training of Trainers and Organisers: “YEU Developing YOUth – Creating Chameleons of Tomorrow” aims at enhancing youth workers’ skills and capacities in regards to flexibility and adaptability. The TC equips youth workers with innovative and sustainable methods and tools designed for an ever-changing world to work with youth events and programs at local and European levels meeting their target audiences and young people at eye-level. Becoming better leaders…
The three concrete objectives of the projects are:
- Getting to know current trends in quality youth work and Non-formal education (NFE) development at European and international level: exploring NFEs from other parts of the world, similarities and differences, what we can learn and adapt to the European context by exploring the concept of Chameleon Leadership;
- Promoting and embedding a culture of innovation in the mindset of youth workers based on the needs of young people and increasing the quality of events and programmes in the youth field by introducing youth workers to current trends in the fields of quality youth work and non-formal education, both at practical and policy level;
- Developing the ‘team’ concept in youth events/projects (responsibility, coworking, quality standards, etc.) and the basic skills of youth workers to work internationally.
Training Course: “YEU Developing YOUth - Shaping Chameleons of Tomorrow”
The implementation of this project was achieved through a 6-days training course, which took place in Mollina, Spain in September 2024. The training course explored the concept of Chameleon Leadership for youth workers across and beyond Europe in order for them to enhance their skills in agile and adaptive youth work in response to a rapidly changing world and societies in it.
It intended to explore the current situation and recent developments impacting the youth field including youth work and young people in order to explore agile solutions adaptable to future changes. In addition, the project builds on digitalisation, climate change and gender equality as part of YEU’s mainstreaming of sustainable development and contribution to the implementation of the UN’s SDGs as overarching and cross-cutting principles and priorities throughout YEU’s own strategic approach.
The activity gathered 34 people, including trainers, youth workers and organisers coming from 17 different countries, with different backgrounds and experience.
About European Youth Foundation (EYF)
The YEU Developing Youth project was applied and granted for under the International Activity grant of the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.
The European Youth Foundation provides financial and educational support to a wide range of youth projects, focusing on a range of different topics. International activities are international meetings of young people or youth leaders in Europe which contribute to the work of the youth sector of the Council of Europe in topic, methodology and with a clear European dimension.
Videos and pictures
Highlights from the training course in Mollina, Spain
Explore the best moments of our training course, where young people connect, learn and collaborate together. These photos and videos highlight the dedication and connections created through youth engagement in meaningful learning experiences.
The booklet of the project
The activities descriptions, session outlines, handouts and references are collected and organised in this booklet
Here you can find the booklet that contains the activities descriptions, sessions outlines, handouts and references of the Training Course that took place in Mollina, Spain in light of YEU Developing YOUth Shaping the Chameleons of tomorrow.
