Launch of the HUMANNESS Toolkit and Insights from the Final Conference on Advancing Social Justice in Youth Work

On October 22, 2024, the Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU) hosted the HUMANNESS project partners, stakeholders, and policymakers at the “HUMANNESS Final Conference: The Role of Youth Work in Advancing Social Justice.” This gathering marked a pivotal moment for the HUMANNESS project, a collaboration among Libera – nomi e numeri contro le mafie  (Italy), Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (Belgium),  “Hope For Children” CRC Policy Center (Cyprus), Between (Portugal), OBESSU (Belgium), in collaboration with the Intercultural Development Agency (Uganda). Over two years, the project has driven efforts to improve knowledge-sharing on cohesion, democracy, and inclusion across various communities.

Conference Reflections and Project Outcomes

The Final Conference presented an opportunity to reflect on the project’s milestones and the transformative potential of youth work. Attendees explored the project’s outcomes and discussed its contributions to fostering active participation among marginalized youth. During the Conference, these diverse themes, outcomes and experiences had a central stage in the stimulating roundtable discussion.  Chaired by OBESSU, the roundtable was composed by  representatives of Libera – nomi e numeri contro le mafie, the “Hope For Children” CRC Policy Centre, the World Scouts Movement (WOSM) and the European Youth Forum. 

Participants gained insights into the essential themes that the HUMANNESS project addressed, including civic engagement, social inclusion, solidarity, and sustainable youth empowerment.

Key HUMANNESS Initiatives:

Throughout the project, HUMANNESS achieved several critical processes, including:

• Research and Mapping: Over 100 youth workers participated in focus groups and mapping exercises to uncover key challenges and needs, focusing on diverse geographical and socio-cultural contexts.
• The HUMMANESS Toolkit: Titled “Building Connections: A Humanness Toolkit for Youth Engagement – Navigating Relationships, Promising Experiences, and Challenges,” this toolkit provides youth workers with resources to empower young people and encourage their active role in communities. Available in six languages—English, Greek, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Swahili—it includes practical strategies for building trust, managing solidarity project requirements, and sustaining impactful youth work.
• The School of Active Citizenship: This immersive program held in Uganda brought youth workers from EU and non-EU countries together to discuss solidarity and civic engagement, with sessions covering peace, social justice, systemic well-being, and youth empowerment for sustainable development.

Roundtable Highlights and Future Directions

The roundtable discussion chaired by OBESSU included voices from Libera, “Hope For Children” CRC Policy Centre, the World Scouts Movement (WOSM), and the European Youth Forum (YFJ). Together, this panel underscored the significance of collaborative, co-designed initiatives and highlighted their invaluable role in mobilizing young people to become active contributors to their societies.

In closing, the HUMANNESS Consortium extended thanks to all attendees and organizations involved, emphasizing that the outcomes of this project offer a model for collaborative learning. Key principles emerged as foundational for sustaining youth work, including aligning grassroots needs with institutional efforts, ensuring youth involvement in initiative design, protecting their civic rights, and establishing sustainable conditions for youth workers.

Access and Utilization of the Toolkit

The HUMANNESS toolkit remains a resource for practitioners looking to inspire and empower young people. It provides essential tools for enhancing youth work practices, available in six languages, to ensure widespread accessibility and adaptability to different contexts. Practitioners are encouraged to use this toolkit to continue fostering social justice, inclusion, and solidarity.

For more information, or to download the toolkit, please download: toolkits and report 

The Consortium would like once more to thank all organisations and people involved throughout the project’s lifespan, looking towards further exploitation of the project’s outcomes and to further cooperation and development that can support achieve its aims starting from CHANCE network and its collaborations.