Mobile Youth Work in the Global Context Aims, principles and methods
October 4, 2011, Foundation Archimedes, Tallin Estonia
Prof. Dr. Walther Specht
Mobile Jugendarbeit auf unserem Planeten Informelle Bildungsangebote auf der StraĂ&#x;e
October 4, 2011, Foundation Archimedes, Tallin Estonia
Prof. Dr. Walther Specht
Global Situation: In nearly all countries of the world exist youth and social work approaches dealing with formal and informal education problems, the problem of subcultural groups, juvenile delinquency, gang violence and drug addiction. Youth and social workers therefore practise Street Work, outreach youth work, detached youth work, travail du rue, Gassenarbeit or Mobile Youth Work. October 4, 2011, Foundation Archimedes, Tallin Estonia
Prof. Dr. Walther Specht
What are the target groups of Mobile Youth Work?
Why do we need Mobile Youth Work?
Difficult circumstances for street children and edangered youth Poverty School drop out Unemployment Broken home Homelessness Imprisonment Hunger Drug addiction, Internet addiction Health problems (HIV, veneral disease)
Definition of Street Children
Street Children are children under 18 who, for shorter or longer periods, live in a street milieu. They have their peer groups and contacts in the street. Officially they may have as their address their parents‘ home or an institution of social welfare. Most significantly they have very few or no contacts with those adults, parents, school, child welfare institutions, social services, with a duty towards them.
(Council of Europe 1994)
Dominating Reactions of the Society
Help or Control Care or Exclusion Treatment or Punishment Exclusion from formal Education Systems (schools) Leasure time activities, sports or Repression Ignorance, don‘t care, it‘s not my business; Rejection of responsibility
The History of Mobile Youth Work
Mobile Youth Work goes back to street work approaches in the USA of the 20ies of the last century. Target groups for social worker were delinquent and violent acting street gangs (street children) in large cities of the US. Today Mobile Youth Work is a highly developed professional concept of Social Work and Love for street children.
What is Mobile Youth Work?
It is a professional answer of youth and social workers towards social problems children and youth at risk have in our society.
2011 we have two approaches of Mobile Youth Work First approach of Mobile Youth Work is:
Social area oriented or Community-based or Takes place in living quarters.
Second approach of Mobile Youth Work is:
Focused on certain areas or places of several quarters like city centers, downtown areas, parks, railway stations, sports stadions, underground transportation, drug scences and others;
concentrated on action places of youngsters and gangs;
target group oriented, like towards punks, skinheads, hooligans, drug consumers, violent gangs, excluded ethnic youth groups.
5 Basics for Mobile Youth Work
Social area analysis Street Work, outreach work Case Work Group Work Community Work
Social area analysis Goals: 1. Getting hard and soft data about the living situation of street children and violent youths. 2. Development of an empowerment social work strategy on the basis of these data. 3. Taking in consideration the different cultural backgrounds.
Street Work
Street corner work Street Gang Work Area youth work Outreach youth work Detached youth work Field work.
Case Work Principles:
Trust between the girl or boy and the social worker Voluntariness Advocacy Gender.
Group Work
Main goal: Peer group learning by using the positive powers within the group for the individual endangered child or youngster. What else is to be seen? The function of cliques and gangs as compensation for the weak or missing family (broken home); advocating for group work against the global and dominating tendency to individuate counsel and therapeutic concepts; turning against the denunciation of juvenile cliques and groups.
Community Work
Community work is a professional and local policy form of social work. It should be seen as a holistic approach of Inclusion. It creates: social capital empowerment supports integration prevents exclusion.
International Society for Mobile Youth Work (ISMO) Goals of ISMO:
Fostering of local, regional, national and global networks, discussions und developments in context of the concept of Mobile Youth Work. Strengthening the European Network for Mobile Youth Work. Offer of training and qualification in the concept of Mobile Youth Work in European countries.
Vision
Each neglected child, each youngster living in a precarious situation anywhere in the whole world should be able to relay on a social liable reaction of its society. A female or a male Mobile Youth Worker will step up to give him or her support in the process of (re-)integration into the surrounding community. This reaction must be based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. (Walther Specht) 28
Thank you! www.ismo-online.de