Call for LGBTQI+, Roma, or Refugee Focussed Youth Workers in Belgium, Greece, & Italy

23 August 2024

The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), Greek Forum of Refugees, and Cassero LGBTI+ Center | APS Arcigay Il Cassero are offering the opportunity to attend a seven-day training course in Athens, Greece between 3rd and 9th of November 2024.

The training is open to applications from youth workers who work with marginalised young people on LGBTQI rights, Roma Rights, and anti-racist issues more broadly; as well as supporting young people on the move/ refugees and asylum seekers. The seven-day-training will improve youth workers’ knowledge and capacity to tackle the intersectionality of youth’s struggles within their work and the activities of their respective organisations.

Objectives of the training are for the participants to:

1. Develop a better understanding of the lived experiences of youth at the intersection of their multiple marginalised identities (such as being LGBTQI+ and Romani, or a person of colour who is LGBTQI+ and a refugee, etc.)

a) Be able to identify the needs as well as the structural, systemic, social, and interpersonal barriers faced by youth who are affected by multiple forms of discrimination.

b) Become better equipped to support youth who are facing multiple discrimination.

2. Learn about the work, good practices, needs, and gaps in the work and service provision of the three lead organisations; specifically, how they respond to ‘’intersectional invisibility’.’

3. Build an international community of youth workers, trained in: applying intersectional analysis in youth work, responding to the fragmentation that exists within youth work among and between the social justice movements focusing on the single-identity issues, and learning together how to make organisational spaces and youth work activities more affirmative and inclusive for youth with multiple marginalised identities.

4. Contribute to the professional development of youth workers working with socially marginalised youth by developing their knowledge and competencies in intersectional analysis of social injustices from a systemic, socio-ecological and critical perspective.

5. Create an opportunity for a dialogue between youth workers working with marginalised youth and guest experts working on LGBTQI+, Romani, and refugee human rights protection.

6. Raise awareness in the respective local communities on the intersectional issues faced by young people of multiple marginalised backgrounds by developing local actions after the training with other participants of the training (e.g. a local panel discussion for the public, or a workshop for other youth workers working locally; or other formats of participants’ choice: campaigns, educational activities to bring solidarity and intersectionality to practice.)

There will be workshops facilitated by the participants to present the work of their organisations, as well as expert guests invited to share their expertise. The whole training will be facilitated by two co-trainers affiliated with the lead partner organisations.

Profile of the participants:

• Over 18-years-old (no age limit).
• Residing in Italy, Greece or Belgium.
• Able to travel to Athens, Greece for the full duration of the training course (reimbursement of the travel expenses will be done only to those who attended the full training).
• Youth workers who work directly with marginalised youth, specifically on LGBTQI+, Romani, or migration issues and their intersection in one of the target countries (Belgium, Greece, and Italy).
• Youth workers associated with the partner organisations on this project, as well as with other organisations, associations, youth groups, and grassroots collectives working specifically with Roma and other ethnic minorities youth; migrants, especially young asylum seekers and refugees; and LGBTIQ+/Queer youth in Belgium, Greece and Italy, as we want to increase the collaboration and impact of this project beyond the participating partner organisations.
• Committed to participating in all the activities of the project, including organising and implementing together a local action at the end of the project based on their learning (e.g. a panel discussion, a workshop, a webinar, or a campaign on the topic of the project: intersectional issues within Roma, LGBTQI+, and refugee youth work.

Important to know

• The working language will be English. Your English does not have to be perfect, but you need to be able to follow presentations and have discussions in English. However, if you need a translation from Romani, Greek, Farsi, or Arabic into English, we will make sure to have it organised during the training course.
• Accommodation will be in a hostel in downtown Athens, in a shared dorm with 2 or 3 other participants. In case this arrangement does not work for you for health or justifiable reasons, please communicate it with us beforehand and we will do our best to accommodate your needs, if possible.
• There are no participation costs for this training course.
• The JINT- Belgian National Agency will cover the costs for accommodation and food.
• Travel reimbursement: after being selected, the project manager will get in touch with you about the overall procedure to arrange the booking of your travel tickets and the reimbursement of your travel expenses.
• Participants are entitled to receive a Youthpass certificate from the organiser, in recognition of their competence development during the activity. Read more about Youthpass here. 

How to apply:

To apply, please fill-in this form, by 23:59 on September 15, 2024.

Please note that only successful applicants will receive a reply. We aim to reply to successful applicants within 2 weeks of the deadline closing.

Note: 
*Priority will be given to participants of those mentioned above socially marginalised identities (Roma, LGBTQI+, refugees and asylum seekers) working with youth of these identities, as we want to support the capacity building and representation of socially marginalised youth workers.

*Participants of multiple marginalised backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply, for example: Romani LGBTQI+ youth workers, or LGBTQI+ refugees and asylum seekers.

*Both experienced youth workers and those who just started working on these issues and are willing to learn how to tackle intersectional issues in youth work and share their experiences are welcome to apply.

 

This training course is a part of the Erasmus+ youth mobility project ''Crossroads- intersectional encounter of youth workers working with marginalised youth''. It is supported by JINT- the Belgium national Erasmus Agency. The partner organisations are: the European Roma Rights Centre based in Brussels, Belgium; the Greek Forum of Refugees based in Athens, Greece, and Cassero LGBTI+ Center | APS Arcigay Il Cassero based in Bologna, Italy.