Supporting Youth Workers with Mindful Leadership Training

Erasmus+

1st Nov 2020 - 30 Sept 2021

Summary The countries involved in the project are Slovakia, UK, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey each of the partner will send 5 participants for the project. "Supporting Youth Workers with Mindful Leadership Training" course aims to empower youth workers/leaders by learning about the importance and usage of mindfulness to enhance their leadership and self-development skills in their work with young people facing high level of stress and anxiety. We will focus on self-awareness, concentration and self-consciousness by practicing various mindfulness and leadership methods. It is well known, that it is to start from one’s self first to be aware before being able to guide and help others. As the Study – „Understanding Burnout in Child and Youth Care Workers” of Sean W.Bardford and William J. Whleton indicates, human service occupations like youth workers are facing plenty of stressful and difficult situations by working with marginalized communities, people with fewer opportunities for various reasons or with migrants facing exclusion. In order to be able to help their integration and wellbeing, youth leaders shall be well set with their own selves and aware of their own actions/reactions and attitude. By knowing themselves more through theoretical and practical experiential learning based and non-formal educational methods in leadership and mindfulness, they shall be more aligned with their own body and mind while being more aware of the necessity of being self-confident and self-conscious. In a healthy body lies a healthy mind. Anxiety and stress are our accelerated world’s by products on people, that can be successfully handled by slowing down and concentrate more on what really matters and are important. The objectives of the training are:

• To understand and acquire Mindful Leadership skills to effectively work with stressed and anxious youth.
• To understand the concept and importance of leadership for youth work.
• To experience and learn innovative methods of Mindful Leadership by theoretical and practical - physical and mental health oriented activities for self-empowerment and youth development.
• Learn about ways and exercises, how mindfulness, concentration, calmness and silence can be introduced in youth work. (yoga and wellbeing)
• Awareness training and self-directed stress reduction techniques acquiry to be used in youth work and NFE setting for wellbeing enhancement.
• To discover the value of Erasmus+ as a tool for the development of young people.