Social inclusion is a process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society—improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity or circumstances. Examples of social inclusion in practice are: promoting equality of access to opportunities and resources; raising awareness about anti-discriminatory practices; working towards social cohesion and equality across the board (gender, religion, ethnicity, status, income, etc.). Social inclusion is seen as part of human development and progress, in view of the social effects of globalization, especially the negative ones such as the rise of extremism, racism and discrimination, and radicalization.

Leadership concerns each one of us, as we are all leaders of our own lives in various contexts, both on the personal and on the professional levels.

The training course aims to support the personal and professional development of people working with a community in a non-profit sector and provide them with tools, knowledge and experience for effective, inclusive leadership. Social inclusion is introduced as a ‘lens’ in projects that participants design and lead in their communities (or elsewhere).

AIM

The aim of the course is to introduce social inclusion as a necessary aspect of community development and to empower youth workers to become effective leaders in their communities, and also to increase their understanding and application of anti-discriminatory and inclusive practices.

HOW WILL WE WORK

In this training course, you will discover and work on your skills and how you can use them to work in your community. The program is based on:

• Experiencing: improvisation and outdoor activities as tools for community leadership.  We will explore applied improvisation and outdoors as tools for willingness to take responsibility, taking a risk, sense of initiative, discovering one’s own limits, working with mistakes and other essential skills for effective communication.
• Reflecting: on the own/European reality, on the methods used, on the personal learning process.
• Transferring: to the own reality of participants and exploring the possibilities in the Erasmus+ Program to work towards social inclusion.

OBJECTIVES

• To raise awareness about what social inclusion is.
• To raise awareness about positive changes we can make on a personal level so that we can be more inclusive on the collective level.
• To raise awareness and support better understanding of different realities we all live in.
• To support youth workers in becoming leaders in their communities while being inclusive – where the inclusion is seen as a progress in the view of radicalization as a negative consequence of a globalized world.
• To provide practical tools to be used by participants in their communities when working with social inclusion and community leadership.
• To discover the possibilities of the Erasmus+ programme to build projects and to work towards social inclusion.

PARTICIPANTS’ PROFILE

• Youth workers, youth leaders, social workers, or volunteers actively taking part in their local community through projects or social actions which involve young people.
• Young people who want to become active agents in their communities by leading projects or social actions.
• Community organisations’ leaders/employees who want to enhance their skills in leading their projects.
• Participants are able to use English as working language.