A REPORT on a project
working with marginalised young people in the UK to develop their
understanding of global issues, such as poverty and international
development, has found that it changed their mindsets to the extent
that they actively supported charity campaigns, or chose to buy
Fairtrade products.
"Global Youth in Action",
run by the relief and development partner of the YMCA, Y Care
International, involved more than 1100 young people aged between 16
and 25. It took place, over three years, in 33 separate youth-work
projects in different locations across the UK, and included Skype
sessions between Nottingham and Zimbabwe, and sessions on
immigration and gang culture.
The aim of the project,
which was funded by the Department for International Development,
was to enable "marginalised" young people - those who were
homeless, economically deprived, or marginalised because of their
disability or sexuality - to find out about development issues. At
the end of the project, 91 per cent of those who took part said
that they could see links between their lives and people in the
Global South.
The author of the report,
Dr Momodou Sallah, of De Montfort University, said: "This is about
engaging young people who are marginalised: young people in
prisons, young people who are homeless, young people who are
disabled.
"By looking at global
issues, and how young people are at the centre of them,
marginalised young people in the UK can begin to see their own
lives in a different way, and consequently begin to take action in
their own lives that is commensurate with their abilities."
Almost all those who took
part in the project say that they learned a skill from it. They
also reported that their behaviour had changed as a result of what
they had learned, with many saying that they now bought Fair Trade
products or signed up to charity campaigns.
The director of Global
Youth Work at Y Care International, Tom Burke, said: "This report
shows that youth workers can effectively engage disadvantaged young
people in making connections about the world in which they live. .
. We will use the evidence collected by De Montfort University to
advocate for wider change to ensure all young people have access to
global learning."
www.ycareinternational.org/2013/04/24/global-youth-work-in-action