Cross the Line, European youth work for future youth workers (March 2024)

From 18th – 23rd March 2024, six students from Ireland participated in an international training course called Cross the Line in Tata, Hungary. This provided an exciting opportunity for students from Ireland, Estonia, Belgium, and Hungary to learn more about European youth work. The project was led by the Hungarian National Association and through Léargas in Ireland, students from the Technological University Dublin, Ulster University, University College Cork and Maynooth University were invited to participate in this weeklong training.

Cross the Line sought to build bridges between higher education and youth work and between formal and non-formal learning. This created space for sharing, reflection, debate, and dialogue regarding value-based youth work at the European level. The project helped students identify common dilemmas and obstacles in value-based youth work, using a critical approach to understand the role of a youth worker in overcoming these. Students had the opportunity to enhance their professional identity by exploring different European contexts and explore how EU programmes such as Erasmus+ Youth and European Solidarity Corps can be used to empower young people to tackle different topics and challenges through international cooperation.