After a couple of successful exchanges abroad with our network of European mobile school partners, StreetSmart took the initiative last year to organise an international seminar in Leuven. With the support of ERASMUS+, the team brought together youth workers from 15 organisations from 11 countries for three days of exchanging experiences and finding innovative solutions for common challenges.
On Monday and Tuesday, 25 participants took part in a two-day seminar in the StreetSmart office, which featured interactive workshops and reflection sessions covering a wide range of topics, from changemaker leadership and children’s rights, over play-based learning, digital youth work and impact measurement. During the seminar, StreetSmart also invited several close partner organisations such as the Tomorrowland Foundation, the Khazana Foundation and City Pirates to inspire our international participants during different StreetSmart Invites sessions. Throughout different informal moments, all participants were able to connect with fellow youth workers from other countries.
The culminating event on the final day was an open conference organised at Campus Corso in Leuven for the Flemish youth work community, where participants of the seminar took the stage as speakers during different good practice sessions. In addition to the good practice sessions by our StreetSmart partners, interactive workshops and masterclasses completed the programme to make sure there was something for everyone. Based on the many positive reactions from the 59 participants from 35 organisations, the first StreetSmart Conference was perceived as a great success. Therefore, our team will continue its efforts to bring together youth workers from across the world who strive for innovation within the international youth work sector.
During the international seminar and conference, all of our international master trainers actively participated in the organized sessions to connect with one another and engage with the StreetSmart content. To conclude the week, they dedicated an additional two days in our office to align our future strategy and to plan for the upcoming expeditions in the months ahead.
Please find below the wrap-up presentation of the Seminar & Conference:
This event was co-funded by the European Union .
