Global youth work funding

3 June 2011

Ten youth work organisations have today received new funding totalling £40,000 to help bring a global dimension to their work with marginalised young people. The Global Youth Work in Action projects will help youth groups to make connections between the lives of young people and complex global issues.

The projects have been supported by Y Care International, the international development and relief agency of the YMCAs in the UK and Ireland, distributing funding provided by the UK Department for International Development.

Projects have been selected for their innovative methods, their work with young people experiencing disadvantage or discrimination, and their excellent value for money.

Tom Burke, Director of Global Youth Work at Y Care International, said:

"We live in an increasingly interdependent world – young people in the UK are affected by, and impact on, the lives of others thousands of miles away.

We know that some of the UKs most marginalised young people want to learn about their world and bring about positive change. These projects will provide this opportunity to young people who all too often miss out from global learning in schools".

Y Care International will offer training and support for each organisation to design, deliver and evaluate their project. Each project will collect detailed monitoring and evaluation data which will be scrutinised by academics at De Montfort University. A final report on best practice in global youth work, drawing on these and other programmes, will be published in 2013.

In Spring 2012 young people involved in the projects will come together to share their learning and lessons learnt with other young people and youth work professionals.

Notes to editors:
1. Y Care International works in partnership with young people worldwide through the YMCA movement to help them enrich their lives and to build a more just world, free from poverty. In the UK and Ireland we support local YMCAs and youth organisations to bring a global dimension to their work with marginalised young people.

2. Specific projects funded are:

Cyfanfyd, Cardiff: Workshops with 150 young Muslim women, with 20 progressing as Global Citizenship Champions in their communities. 

Inspirational Volunteer Journeys, Nottingham: 15 young people not in employment education or training and from BME communities will take part in 8 weekly Skype sessions with peers in Zimbabwe to create a peer-education programme for young people in Nottingham. 

Nottinghamshire YMCA: Workshops with 15 young disabled people who then conduct interviews with peers from the global south to create 6 podcasts that will be uploaded and shared on the internet.

West London YMCA: Study visits to local and national institutions of the criminal justice system before taking part in 19 workshops that will explore similarities and differences to the system in Togo.

MADE in Europe, London: 15 young Muslim women will explore how the environment and global economy is linked to food production through 7 weekly sessions at Spitalfields City Farm and a series of workshops. They will share their learning through a campaign during Ramadan and more informally through links with local mosques. 

Restless Development, Newham (London): 20 young people will take place in dance-based peer-education workshops delivered by young people and facilitators from the global south about HIV. This will allow them to learn the skills to run their own workshops and action-taking events. 

West Bromwich YMCA: 6 young YMCA residents will explore experiences of and attitudes towards immigration by conducting interviews with peers in a variety of locations in the UK and raise awareness in their community.

Sunderland YMCA: 5 young YMCA residents will conduct research into child labour of the past and present and put their learning into action with a “Free From Child Labour Fashion Show” for their peers across the North East and raise awareness in their community. 

Refugee Youth, London: 30 young people from Diaspora communities will take part in 7 workshops that allow them to explore their heritage and teach them photography skills to document this. Their project will be presented at the British Film Institute and raise awareness in their community.

Downside Fisher Youth Project, Camberwell, London: Young people at this open-access youth club will learn about poverty and development issues during a summer programme that will enable them to become active global citizens. 

4. For more information on Y Care International’s Global Youth Work contact Tom Burke, Director of Global Youth Work at Y Care International on 020 7549 3160 or Sue Wheat on 020 7549 3156 or email globalyouthwork@ycareinternational.org