Brasov Youth Centre is an eleven month long project, designed and developed by young people for young people, with objectives in the area of non-formal education, employment, technology and civic education:
• Endowing various practical skills and abilities
• Preserving traditions
• Providing education in the field of artistic skills
• Providing added-value free time activities
• Promoting intercultural learning
• Supporting young people in choosing and pursuing a career
• Facilitating young people's access to new technology
• Supporting active citizenship
Reaching the objectives synthetically mentioned above implies a wide range of activities in the fields of arts, sciences, access to information, sports, intercultural learning, career, civic education. Approximately 10,000 children and youngsters take part at different workshops and clubs, seminaries, trainings, events, coordinated by AtelieR and its partner, ISJ Brasov.
All these activities are designed complementary to formal education, developing and augmenting subjects dealt with in schools, emphasizing on participative approaches to learning (like learning by playing or peer education) and on valuing youngsters' spare time. Openness to all young people, voluntary involvement without the fear of assessment of personal achievements, flexibility in structure and planning, learning based upon participants' needs and interests and the possibility of working at different speeds and in different ways - are principles guiding our work.
The youth centre represents a concept which, synthetically, implies the development of a set of modules of services, complex and specific for youth, in a determined location. This concept responds to a set of expectations like:
• Providing a diverse range of services for youth;
• Flexibility of the services, according to young people expectations;
• A natural combination, proposed through this program, of activities related to leisure time and educational activities, a vital perspective in approaching efficiently the potential beneficiaries;
• Getting the interest and joining the efforts of the community's structures and institutions in supporting this concept / increasing the trust of the "actors" at the community level in the viability and efficiency of this type of approach;
• Attracting resources of different nature;
• Providing an alternative, in an organised environment, beyond what young people get in the family and school.
Generally speaking, the youth centres are providing a suitable framework of communication, expressing oneself, information and counselling for the young people in the process of taking part in activities that are both educational and entertaining. These comes as an answer to the needs and interest of young people, which psychologically and educationally makes the youth centres "interest centres" meant to contribute to the development of youngsters personality and to their integration in the society.
Basically, our programme - Brasov Youth Centre - identified a very specific issue in Romanian young people's life: it's quite impossible, in the present context, to build up a harmonious personality, based on the individual fulfilment and on the social integration.
This happens because of the limited access to the real values, either by the inappropriate style of implementating values through the scholar's curricula or by the aggressive invasion of some sub cultural palliatives.
This is a real problem, part of the present "crisis of values", well known in the former communist countries, meaning change or transformation. According to this theory, the set of values will be selected by young people from those appropriate at the moment (sport, music, computers, and internet), resulting new ways of understanding, communication and relationship.
Most of young people don't have access to the information which could permit them to benefit from the opportunities and offers in the fields of educational, career, work placement and leisure time.
That's why we think that the Youth Centre can act as a resources centre, filling out this lack of information.
The city of Brasov has a diversity of ethnic groups / minorities living together in peace and understanding, thus the Youth Centre will offer its services to different communities.
The aim of our programme is to supply a feasible completion to formal education for children and young people from Brasov city and area, in the fields of non-formal education, career counselling, access to new technology and civic development.
Objectives :
• To endow practical skills by developing and augmenting subjects dealt with theoretically in schools - organize different workshops and trainings for children and young people from Brasov area, between April 1 st 2004 and February 15 th 2005
• To preserve traditions - organize courses in the field of 3 traditional skills - Icon Painting, Sculpture and Pottery for 700 children and youngsters each
• To provide education in the field of artistic skills - organize courses, exhibitions and events in the field of painting, decorations, graffiti and music for a total of 3000 children and youngsters
• To provide added-value free time activities for the children and youngsters of Brasov
• To promote intercultural learning among youngsters with different ethnic backgrounds
• To support young people from Brasov in choosing and pursuing a career
• To facilitate young people's access to new technology and latest information and communication means
• To support young people's involvement and civic education, to promote volunteering and active citizenship
Target Groups:
• Young people from Brasov & the area, including: children, students, unemployed, young people with less opportunities and visitors of Brasov area (volunteers from other cities and from abroad, tourists, young people in transit).
• Age range: 7 to 25 years old
• Estimated number of direct beneficiaries: approximately 10,000 persons
Indirect beneficiaries:
• Youngster's families and teachers
• Entire local community
Activities:
Arts
• Icon Painting Workshop
• Sculpture Workshop (new)
• Pottery Workshop (new)
• Decorations Workshop
• Graffiti Club
• Musical auditions
• Music classes and concerts
Sciences
• Paleontology Club
• Astronomy Club (new)
• Mycology Club (new)
Access to Information
• PC Club - Internet access, IT training courses (basic level)
• Library and Youth Information
Sports
• Table Tennis and Indoor Games
• Go Club
• Bridge Club (new)
• Dance Club (new)
Intercultural Learning
• Multi-ethnic Club
• German Classes for children
Career
• Training for Young Entrepreneurs
• Career Orientation and Counseling
• Journalism Club
Civic Education
• Youth NGOs Club
• Debate Club
Other Activities
• Developing a career orientation CD and website entitled Jobstart
• Brasov Youth Center's website
• Production and distribution of a newsletter and different informative materials
Workshops like the ones on iconography, sculpture, decoration or pottery, are not only giving the youngsters the chance to learn and rediscover old traditional skills, but are also providing the proper environment where they can interact, get to know each other, learn how to recognize genuine values.
In a very touristic area like Brasov there is an important demand for traditional artifacts, so young people can sell some of their works through exhibitions or in art shops. It's important to mention the added value of education in artistic field, now when young people are so much influenced by kitsch and doubtful values.
These are permanent activities, with rigorous schedules and special trainers for beginners or advanced groups. Exhibitions and interactive workshops are organized periodically.
Musical auditions, concerts, guitar classes, are activities promoting musical education among youngsters. These are organized as periodic events, with audiences varying between 50-60 people to 200-250.
The clubs of paleontology, astronomy, mycology and journalism are part of an initiative meant to encourage youngsters in taking part to activities that are enhancing their general knowledge level, facilitating the acquirement of theoretical and practical skills, spending spare times in the nature etc. These clubs are taking place on regular basis at the Youth Centre, but also field trips will be organized periodically.
Computers, trainings on IT, Internet, are facilitating young people's access to the new technology, latest information and communication means. The activities are taking place permanently, in the PC room.
The training on entrepreneurship and vocational counseling for youth are activities supporting young people in choosing a career according to their personal skills and abilities, and also encouraging them o start their own business. These activities are organized periodically, with a duration varying from several hours for the training on entrepreneurship and two - three months for career counseling.
Within the Multi-ethnic Club we are promoting intercultural learning. Young people from different ethnic groups from Brasov area are gathering periodically at the Youth Centre, presenting the specific elements of each minority group (folklore, costume, dances, music, gastronomy, specific holidays).
The Youth NGOs Club is promoting active citizenship, civic education, democratic values, volunteering, supporting young people's involvement in community, making young people responsible and approaching them as resources. The Debate Club is an environment where young people can developed of rhetorical skills and public speaking abilities through insights into theory and speech-making practice on civic issues. These are permanent activities.
We can classify the activities in categories referring to:
A. Employment:
Training for Young Entrepreneurs
Carrier Orientation and Counseling
Journalism Club
B. Technology:
PC Club - Internet access, IT training courses (basic level)
C. Non Formal Education:
All the activities
D. Civic Education and Democracy Building:
Youth NGOs Club
Debate Club
