I think I will start the new category and add my few comments about this what I see how the international youth work in Europe works.
And for the first topic I wanted to comment partnerships. Long time ago, might write ¨when I was younger, so much younger then today¨, each project that I was doing was a treasure. Was something that I dedicated a lot of time and energy and it was part of my life. And of course there were problems, but I always had a feeling that I ahve a great team (parterns) and we are doig stuff together! And always people gave me the motivation to continue!
Right now what I see the biggest nightmare of each project is how to find partners and then how to find participants. The yhoo mailing groups, as well as facebook groups are overcrowded. First if you need a partner just post one mail there and in one hour you will have the scans of part III. People over there can provide you everything, y want part III (document that confirms partnership) you have it, you need specific profile - you have it, you don´t want tons of questions type ¨can Turkey/Georgia/Macedonia (etc) participate¨ - well you have it!
But let´s be honest, when your boss two days before the deadline tells you find partners, as well not knowing a lot about the project, what can you do - go online and have all the part IIIs within an hour. but what next?
I have just checked the facebook groups, what can we find there today! And in teh first one:
- Very Urgent!!!! We are Looking for 2 romanian participants for a Training course!! (5 days before the training)
- Urgent call for 2 Croatian Participants for a TC (4 days before the training)
- Looking for participants from Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland or Lithuania for an approved Training (...) in Armenia (5 days before the training)
- Association (...) from Macedonia is urgently looking for 2 participants from Croatia, 1 participant from BiH, 1 participant from Russia (with valid schengen visa) and 1 participant from Ukraine (with valid schengen visa) for a Training Course - 2 days before the training, and here comes the issues of visa as well;)
And because today is 1st of November (deadline) on one group where people were trying to look for the partners for the last 2-3 days congratulate everybody for wonderfull job, and wished all the projects will be approved (please not!).
Honestly, making the projects only to do them, because they might be approved, and then fighting with organization, trying to find participants in the last moment, who are mostly very random, and doesn´t necessary have a profile needed is pointless. I did it as well, but experience teaches. And I don´t want to continue like this.
My suggestion:
- those people who are spending tons of time on facebook preparing the projects should move their asses and go to one project my themselve and fint partners there. Why not write the project within one facebook group to establish partnerships...
- before preparing the project think if it is really worth to prepare something that noone wants to take part (and the motivation that I need money is not enough)
- make the projects with your partners, make the needs analisis, it is really worth to make a project that is usefull
- and I think that we should open the discussio about the partnerships and quality of the projects, because I don´t want that my taxes will be spend on the projects that sucks (and remember the differece between project and activity - I am not comenting the second one. And I don´t want that the youth sector in Europe will have a bad fame, I have already spend a lot of time explaining that my work is not international drinking activity.
