3.5. Location

Too often, the tendency is to transmit (transversal) skills without listening to young people' s needs. Everyone has their own values, and mentors must be open to understandingother points of view without judgement.

Figure 2: Visual map of features that a good tutor or counsellor should have

3.5. Location

The concept of location also contains the methodology used in the place; it is not only a shell but also the soulthat is contained init. The partners interviewed are very aware of the importance of educational space.In fact, they told us about the characteristics it should have, as well as the setting and the value: — The place has a strong value for vulnerable youngsters, but also for families and stakeholders. If families perceive the solidity of the place, theywillingly entrust them… if the young one perceives the welcome,they attend more lessons…If thestakeholdersperceive the value of the place,they will be more willing to support it. These three aspects must be read all together…without one of these, everything is lost. If young people don't want to attend, if the families do not recognize the location as their place and if stakeholders do not recognize the

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place as a model that can be replicated, they will not attend, support their children to attend lessons and give funding. — The care of space is necessary to take care of people's experience. — The creation of the materials, the arrangement of the space… it took me a long time to understand this, but the preparation of a place where you enter and often there is an almost ceremonial dimension…If the space is well prepared it allows the conductor to activity not to be preponderant… if you have to replace the inadequacy of space with a lot of information, solicitations, you don't work on the emancipation of the participant in the activity. On the other hand, if you prepare the space well, you allow serenity and give greater freedom by welcoming individual action.

With respect to the characteristics that locations should have, the most important is safety. A good location must be a safeand invitingplace.The young ones must be able to express their vulnerability. It is also important to rethink locations after the pandemic: — The place has to be large enough to give the possibility of getting the distance from each other… since my relation with young adult has to do with art, the place has to have a good natural light. —When we choose a room where people don't feel comfortable… if there's not enough space for everybody for feel good, can compromise the atmosphere of the workshop… —If you enhance the space you enhance the experience and if it hasvalue,you participate in a more immersive context. The place is even more important if we work with people who are used to living in contexts without care. Finally, an interesting category that emerged from interviews is called ‘outside-in –inside-out’ : it is very important to make the space permeable, to let people live in environments to which they do not usually have access. It is also very important to take the activities for young people outofthe organisation but also to bring them into organisations (museum, municipality, school, enterprises). In fact, sometimes it is better to removeyoung people from their contexts (and give them new perspectives); other times can be more suitable to approach them withintheir familiar and safe places. Therefore, the concept of permeability is connected to accessibility.For instance,to makeart accessible by taking it out of museums, but also to bring young people to live in new spaces, far from home, in order to create new experiences and get them out of their comfort zone. Making spaces accessible and permeable also favours the encounter between different territorial realities: schools and companies (in order to favour the transition to the labour market), but also schools and art (concerts and theatre) to sowpossibilities and inputs for experimentation among the most vulnerable young people. The enhancement of skills cannot pass only through formal education but must follow less traditional paths, to bring out potential and passions that are often hidden: —Now we wait for people to come to our location but what we don't do is go outside… I would like to involve people, preparing concert/cooking sessions with the youngest, inviting entrepreneurs, also in a playful way.

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—Iwould like to involve youngsters inthe creation of the building spaces (colors, murals…), to make the spaces welcoming, suitable for young people and to reduce the distance between the inside and the outside…the space should not be formal, but the beneficiaries must be at ease. — I would like to create a workshop for vulnerable youngsters, but also open to the community… artists and citizens can work together in order to create something that is a contribution for the region. — When we bring our activities outside the organization, we try to bring out beauty, as the value of taking care of others, which is what we try to do every day.

Figure 3: Visual map of features that a good location should have in order to develop effective activities with the target population

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