YouthPass

What is Youthpass? (handout, Part 1) Some young people may find it useful to have some written information to refer to when first getting to know Youthpass. Much of the official documentation around Youthpass is written in language which is abstract and difficult for some profiles of fewer-opportunity youngsters to understand. This handout was developed by youth worker Gabi Steinprinz (“Princensluis”, the Netherlands) to explain Youthpass and how it works in more simple language.

For simplicity, the original handout has been divided here into two parts. Part 1 is a general introduction to Youthpass and the idea of self-assessments. Part 2 (see below) provides a short explanation of the eight Key Competences and gives examples to help youngsters more easily imagine what is meant by the different categories.

Depending on the profile of your youngsters, you can choose to distribute the two parts separately or to combine them together into one document. This version is aimed at young people preparing to take part in a Youth Exchange, but you can easily adapt it for participants in EVS or other Youth in Action activities.

WHAT IS YOUTH PASS? Youthpass is a new European certificate (like a diploma) which is used in the international projects of the Youth in Action program (like Youth Exchanges). You can learn a lot on a Youth Exchange and Youthpass was made to put that learning on paper.

The European Commission thinks that there should not only be diplomas for what you learn in school but there should also be something like a diploma for learning experiences outside of school and so they created a European Youthpass. Officially this is called ‘recognition of non-formal learning’. You can use a Youthpass with your other certificates and diploma, for example in a job interview.

HOW DOES YOUTHPASS WORK? Youthpass is composed of three parts: 1 THE OFFICIAL PART This first part is the most official part. It is about your data (your official name, birth date and place of birth) and explains what a Youth in Action Youth Exchange is. The personal data is filled in by the organization (usually your youth worker) and the part on the Youth Exchange by Youthpass people (Youth in Action). On this page we will put the official signatures....yours and ours!!

102 MINI-TOOLBOX