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Global Youth Work Network Event – ‘On the Edge of ESDGC: Engaging Marginalised and Diverse Young People in Global Sustainability Issues’

On 21st July a Cyfanfyd Global Youth Work Network event was held at the Temple of Peace in Cardiff. The purpose of the event was for participants to get ideas for how to engage marginalised young people in learning about global citizenship and sustainable development (ESDGC).

Three practitioners with expertise in engaging marginalised groups shared their experiences and the whole group discussed blocks to engagement and strategies for overcoming these.

The Global Context of Marginalised Young People

Stuart Wroe is a global learning specialist offering global youth work training and advice to voluntary and youth organisations throughout the UK and globally. As well as his work with Cyfanfyd, his clients include the DEA, YMCA Training, Global Education Derby/East Midlands Global Youth Project, Lancashire Global Education Centre’s Global Youth Work Training project at the University of Cumbria, Manchester Metropolitan University and the North West Regional Youth Work Unit.

‘My involvement in global learning has involved me in facilitating a wide range of marginalised young people to explore their place in society and wider global processes and to take action, in settings as diverse as prisons in the UK and Sierra Leone; amidst the slums of Mumbai and Bangkok; with gang members in the UK and Honduras as well as in HIV and AIDS orphanages and clinics in South African townships, India and Thailand.

With development education or ESDGC often located in the formal and higher education sectors, marginalised and excluded young people are clearly being further excluded by many agencies involved in this work. When working with marginalised young people here in the UK, it is important to be aware that there are similarly marginalised young people elsewhere in the world who have a sense of alienation and being excluded from both their local and global communities. Many academics believe that within globalising processes as few as 20% of young people benefit from globalisation and there are as many as 60% totally excluded from the global system, with the rest squeezed by it.

I have found that amidst the diversity of realities experienced by marginalised young people and youth work responses to their exclusion there are many commonalities. Through a commonalities lens, instead of looking for differences between marginalised young people, their countries and cultures; global youth work and ESDGC should focus on shared experiences, creating opportunities for young people to learn from each other and identify personal and shared advocacy actions, making change in individuals, communities and global society. From my work with marginalised young people here and globally I have found the greatest impact of global youth work and ESDGC processes when working with marginalised young people’.

For more information T. 07951 105339 E. gyw@live.co.uk

Global Sustainability Issues Reaching Marginalised Young People

Stuart Wroe is a freelance Global Youth Work consultant who has experience of working with young gang members in prison within Wales and overseas. The summary of his approach is that he uses DVDs and reflects on young people’s own experiences and identifies personal solutions. His key reflections on engaging this marginalized group of young people are:

1. Worked within strictures and structures of prison
2. Informal education
3. Centrality of dialogue
4. Starts from, and ties in with, young people’s personal experience of gang membership
5. First experience of global dimension of their experience and often first time opinions sought and valued
6. Focused on commonalities
7. Explored place of ‘respect’
8. Explored place of ‘family’

Nia Adamson works for Communities First in Cardiff and has experience engaging a wide range of young people including NEETs (not in education employment or training). The bottom line of her approach is that she uses responsive methods of informally integrating ESDGC into ongoing work with young people. Her key reflections on engaging this marginalized group of young people are:

1. Responsive – reacts directly to an issue raised by young people themselves
2. Relevant – as it is connected to something real and tangible to the young people they are more able to consider the ‘bigger picture’
3. Ownership – young people lead the exercise with your guidance.
4. Participative – everyone can get involved
5. Integrated – brings numerous ESDGC issues and core youth work issue based topics together.
6. Empowering – enables young people to see the impact their local actions can have on global issues

Hanna Miyir works for Cyfanfyd and Black Voluntary Sector Network Wales and has successfully engaged with BME and minority faith groups in ESDGC. Her overall approach was to use short films to incite discussions. Her key reflections on engaging this marginalized group of young people are:

1. Fun and engaging (can be used with different groups as well)
2. Diverse views and experiences (depending on the topic of choice)
3. Easy to set up and reflect on (Young People Film Club)
4. Dynamic – different types of films (Hollywood films, British films, International, Documentaries, Animation etc.)
5. Various approaches or methods can be used to get young people to discuss – games, debates, reflections etc.
6. Young people can also take part in producing a film or a short documentary. This is more empowering and educative
7. It can be used on diverse communities and age groups 8. Depending on age different types of topics can be covered – gang culture, cultural issues, teenage pregnancy, climate change, war, religion, poverty etc.