«We managed to bridge the skills gap in digital marketing and strategic communication in the youth sector, providing youth workers with concrete tools to promote their activities, Erasmus+ opportunities and their own professional role». Thus, satisfied, the volunteers of the Messina association “The Cave” announce the end of the training course which ended yesterday, Monday 17 November, at the Tindari Village Camping. Specifically, 27 youth workers from Italy, Bulgaria, Germany, North Macedonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovenia and Spain participated, from 11 to 17 November, in an Erasmus+ initiative, also promoted by the Italian Youth Agency and financed by the European Commission.
«In the youth work sector, effective promotion is essential to involve more young people, strengthen the visibility of initiatives and attract new collaborations. This is despite the fact that many organizations and youth workers do not have adequate skills to communicate strategically, limiting the impact of their activities”, comment the volunteers of the association “The Cave”.
Hence the result that was pursued during the week: strengthening the ability of youth workers to communicate in an effective and professional manner. As? Through a practical and interactive training course, led by trainer Emanuel Caristi, which allowed participants to acquire fundamental skills in digital marketing, storytelling, social media management and multimedia content creation, allowing them to develop targeted communication strategies, increasing the visibility of youth work and improving their ability to attract and involve young people in educational projects and Erasmus+ opportunities.
An activity of particular importance was also the one carried out in Messina: an event which saw the 27 youth workers as protagonists in involving the local population and raising awareness about non-formal education. This activity allowed participants to test digital engagement and storytelling techniques in a real context, putting into practice what they had learned in the previous days, as well as giving great visibility to the project.
As evidence of the activities carried out, the participants also created a handbook on promotion in the youth sector: «It is a tool (here is the link) that collects digital strategies, communication tools and engagement methodologies tested during the training», conclude the volunteers, explaining how this manual represents a resource accessible to other youth workers and associations who wish to improve their promotional capacity.