Twoja pasja - Twoja przyszłość

<< Background >>Youth Cultural Centre No. 2 (MDK2) is a place where young people can develop their passions through non-formal education. We decided to implement the project because of the decrease in interest in various forms of passion development among young people over the age of 12, which has been observed for years. After interviewing the participants and their parents, we found out that the main reasons for this trend are a decline in parental involvement and a strong emphasis on formal education and school success. The lack of motivation of young people to develop their passions is often due to a lack of parental authority in this area and a lack of awareness of the benefits of having a hobby. The pandemic from 2020 onwards has further affected young people, requiring us to adapt our actions to the new reality. We realised that young people were looking for new ways to develop and connect with their peers in a changing society. The project responded to these needs by promoting the development of key competences and active attitudes that are essential in adulthood. Education, which includes not only formal aspects but also the development of passions, as Ken Robinson points out, is crucial for the all-round development of young people.<< Objectives >>In the project, we wanted to emphasise the importance of non-formal/extracurricular education in personal and professional development and in preparing young people for adulthood. Our aim was to enable young people to develop their passions and interests, which is crucial in the process of discovering their own identity and building a professional future in line with their passions.We wanted to give young people the space to express their needs and aspirations in the context of a changing world. The project aimed to raise young people's awareness of the benefits of developing passions, especially in the context of developing the key competences necessary for success.We planned::Organising an international meeting for 30 young people, where they could present their passions and learn how developing them can support them in their adult life. The young people received tools to support the development of key and soft competences.Training for leaders and youth workers to teach them how to support young people to develop their passions and key competences and build awareness of their development. Training based on lessons learned by young people.Local activities to promote the development of passions, talents and interests, planned<< Implementation >>The project was based on 3 main activities:- youth exchange - presentation of passions, work on proactivity and leadership competences, development of recommendations- training for youth workers - supporting young people in consciously developing their passions, working on key and soft competences, sharing experiences- local implementation - dissemination and promotion of developing passions and finding one's way to adulthood Everything was summarised at an online meeting during which we presented the results of the project, as well as at a youth conference in Piekary Śląskie.In addition, the following activities were implemented: preparing young people and youth workers for the exchange and training - surveys and interviews were carried out and on-site and online meetings were held for 30 young people and 15 youth workers in order to obtain information about young people's passions and interests and the implementation of their project form and expected working methods.<< Results >>At the end of the project, we expected to have achieved an improvement in young people's awareness of the benefits of developing passions in the context of key competences and succeeding in the future. We planned to equip 15 youth workers with the competences to support young people in shaping their future and to equip 30 young people with the tools they need to develop their passions and to be ambassadors for non-formal education as a path to self-exploration. We are convinced that we have achieved much more. We have shared our experience in youth work and inspired each other, as youth workers from different countries, by being able to meet/train and share our good practices, we can now implement these solutions in our youth workplaces. Thus, thanks to the good practices brought from Estonia, we are using interesting games created by this organisation with and for young people to teach about the development of competences and strengths needed to get a future dream job. In turn, the group from Poland shared the organisation of the work of institutions such as Youth Cultural Centres .