Advocacy and Facilitation Skills in youth Work; Lead the Change.

According to the report of Council of Europe on 15th of December 1999, it was reiterated by the assembly that formal education alone cannot respond to the challenges of modern society and therefore welcomes its reinforcement by non-formal educational practices and it was recommended that member states recognise non-formal education as a de facto partner in the lifelong process and make it accessible to all. The elevation of non-formal education methods largely used in international youth works has attracted various kinds of professionals and young people to work in the field of youth. Impactful youth work and sustainable youth organisations needs two key skills domiciled within the organisation which are Advocacy and facilitation skills because youth activities revolves a lot around training and advocacy of change for or against status-co or policies. A lot of youth workers and youth leaders in voluntary youth sector are driven by passion and sense of determination to help and make society a better place. But zeal cannot replace competence. Youth organisations have conceptualized projects, but only to rely on only external professional trainers to carry out the training and facilitation’s.

This process denies them the opportunity to develop their own skills and the motivation to effectively lead and advocate change. After a recent training project on overcoming barriers organized by African centre for Development and Research and seen that facilitations were carried out by officers of the organization. There has been overwhelming request from organizations and youth workers to African Centre for Development and research to put this project together with a view to helping organizations to develop crucial skills of facilitation and advocacy. These skills are so fundamental that not only does it help youth workers, young people and youth leaders in their works at developing internal pool of facilitators and advocates but it is also the foundational skills for aspiring entrepreneurs. Ability to effectively explain your ideas to others for comprehension which you get in facilitation and ability to knock on doors of barriers persistently without fear of rejection with passion are bedrock skills of advocacy. The project gave youth workers and leaders’ multifunctional skills base to help young people to lead a better life in other spheres of life themselves. We believe there is no better time to address these skills problem than now when the new Erasmus+ project has been launched and taking root. Several youth workers have been brooding in the dark without these skills. If youth workers have achieved any form of success in their projects without this fundamental skills it will not be sustainable but with this project, youth workers will achieve more and grant funding will do the needed good it was set out to achieve in the life of young people and such projects will be sustainable on the long run and the multiplied effects will speak volume

 

Achieved Objectives:

• Trained 30 youth workers, youth leaders in facilitation skills.
• Trained 30 youth workers, youth leaders and young people in effective leadership.
• Trained 30 youth workers, youth leaders and young volunteers in advocacy skills.
• Trained 30 youth workers and youth leaders the fundamental principles of running a sustainable project
• Trained youth workers and youth leaders in team building and team leading skills which will enable them to manage diversities in the team to the benefit of the project and advancement of their works in community through advocacy.
• Trained youth workers and youth leaders public speaking skills
• Trained youth workers and leaders in core leadership principles and task delegation using MBI principles
• Trained youth workers how to avoid common pitfalls in advocacy
• Trained youth workers and youth leaders foundational entrepreneurship principles of perseverance.