PROJECT LAB "FutureCraft: Redefining Sustainable Development, (De-)Growth & Social Justice in (International) Youth Work"

Objectives

This 5-day event will bring together organizations, trainers, youth workers, and educators from diverse backgrounds, united by their commitment to fostering social justice, education for sustainable development (ESD), and de-growth in their work with young people. Participants will explore how these critical topics intersect within broader societal and ecological systems. The event will highlight the interconnectedness of social inequality, environmental degradation, and unsustainable economic growth.

Firstly, the event will feature expert voices from in & outside the non-formal education sector, including activists, academics, and practitioners in social justice and sustainability. Secondly, the need for a cross-sectoral approach in non-formal education has never been more urgent, as the complex challenges of today - ranging from climate change to inequality—cannot be solved by one discipline alone. By integrating perspectives from diverse fields, participants will develop a deeper understanding of how social, psychological, and economic systems shape the behaviours and attitudes of youth, and how they influence global challenges.

Cross-disciplinary collaboration will allow participants to break out of the borders that often limit innovation in non-formal education. For example, experts in psychology could offer insights into how young people process and engage with these large-scale issues, while economists and sustainability experts could provide a critical understanding of how systemic forces, such as consumerism, inequality, and resource depletion, affect communities.

Co-creative spaces will encourage participants to reflect on their roles and explore strategies to disrupt harmful cycles. Using the experts’ insights, they will be invited to develop new methods and tools, grounded in a multi-disciplinary understanding, to integrate into their local and international youth work and tackle these complex challenges.

As an additional layer of the event, we will create space for networking, future collaboration, and project development. This will provide participants with the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and organisations, explore new partnerships, and lay the groundwork for innovative initiatives aimed at driving positive change as described above.

Expected profile of participants

People regularly involved in civil society & academia, as legal representatives, project managers, project coordinators, researchers, educators, trainers, facilitators, social/youth workers and volunteers coming from Erasmus+ programme countries to work on future potential cross-sectoral collaboration opportunities that address current challenges  in civil society, youth work and respective fields of engagement.