solobasssteve: Third day of #UrbSol today, and I'm exhausted. Hellooo caffeine, it's over to you...
Thursday May 31, 2012 7:34 solobasssteve [via Twitter]
Eddyca1: #UrbSol inspiring input from Dharmendra Khanani on BLF work empowering young people
Thursday May 31, 2012 7:55 Eddyca1 [via Twitter]
Steve Lawson: Day 3 - starting the day with a reflection on yesterday, Dan asks the attendees to spend some time thinking about the things that impacted them...
Thursday May 31, 2012 9:22 Steve Lawson
Steve Lawson: "we were talking about yesterday and we had a global conversation about the problems with young people, but nothing specific to Urban situations"
"we discussed principles of 'success' on these challenges, and we tried to map the key issues"
"key messages to be taken into account - that school is important and the role of teachers is values-driven."
"Yesterday I talked to a number of people about the way that the problems that our youngsters face are very similar. It seems a good thing for us to hear the voice of the disadvantaged youth themselves, and to amplify that voice on a European level. That seems like a key role for Youth In Action, to summarise the stories and give those people a bigger voice"
"we discussed principles of 'success' on these challenges, and we tried to map the key issues"
"key messages to be taken into account - that school is important and the role of teachers is values-driven."
"Yesterday I talked to a number of people about the way that the problems that our youngsters face are very similar. It seems a good thing for us to hear the voice of the disadvantaged youth themselves, and to amplify that voice on a European level. That seems like a key role for Youth In Action, to summarise the stories and give those people a bigger voice"
Thursday May 31, 2012 9:30 Steve Lawson
SALTOinclusion: Key role of Youth in Action is to look over the border, share good practices and make disadvantaged voices heard on int'l level #urbsol
Thursday May 31, 2012 9:31 SALTOinclusion [via Twitter]
Steve Lawson: "Yesterday we had the opportunity to hear a big range of opinions, so we had an overview of the common problems, but maybe it was a few too many inputs to formulate anything specific. So I'd like to focus on that"
Thursday May 31, 2012 9:31 Steve Lawson
Steve Lawson: Dan Smith "today we're going to be going out to projects, to see what's happening in the area, and also showcasing of your projects. But we're going to start with a discussion, using World Cafe model" - more on that here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_Cafe
Thursday May 31, 2012 9:34 Steve Lawson
Steve Lawson: here are the themes for the world cafe session -
Thursday May 31, 2012 9:43 Steve Lawson
Tony: There is a crucial difference between 'meaningful' participation (where young people really can make a difference and are listened to) - and 'decoration participation' (only because it looks good)... Do youth workers practice what they preach?
Thursday May 31, 2012 9:48 Tony
Steve Lawson: They are:
*Relationships - Young People / the police / schools etc...
*Success Factors for Youth Work
*Specifics relating to urban contexts for youth work
*An exploration of youth worth and the nature/nurture debate.
*Hardest to reach - issues surrounding those at the extremes
*meaningful involvement of young people - democracy, autonomy, power sharing, inclusion, institutions...
*Relationships - Young People / the police / schools etc...
*Success Factors for Youth Work
*Specifics relating to urban contexts for youth work
*An exploration of youth worth and the nature/nurture debate.
*Hardest to reach - issues surrounding those at the extremes
*meaningful involvement of young people - democracy, autonomy, power sharing, inclusion, institutions...
Thursday May 31, 2012 9:52 Steve Lawson
solobasssteve: "it's impossible to reach everyone, but you have to try" - idealism and realism in youth work meeting head on here at #UrbSol
Thursday May 31, 2012 9:55 solobasssteve [via Twitter]
Steve Lawson: really interesting discussion happening about the speed of 'visible benefit' for the youth that are being reached - if it takes two years for them to see any response to whatever empowerment initiative is being enacted, they'll be utterly disillusioned with the process before you get anywhere close to it come to fruition. There need to be, in the words of Bob, 'smaller loops, that show change'.
Thursday May 31, 2012 10:01 Steve Lawson
SALTOdiversity: Interesting discussions about how to engage those young people that are harder to reach - how do we do this? #UrbSol
Thursday May 31, 2012 10:03 SALTOdiversity [via Twitter]
SALTOinclusion: Are our 'participation methods' adapted to young people: meetings, lectures, formal venue - OR should we use other creative methods? #urbsol
Thursday May 31, 2012 10:03 SALTOinclusion [via Twitter]
Steve Lawson: Quote from @joanl on twitter - "When I did youth work, I wondered if it was best to make a bit of difference for a lot of kids or a huge difference for a few"
Thursday May 31, 2012 10:03 Steve Lawson
solobasssteve: @joanl it's a huge issue, that defines pretty much everything you do after you make a decision... #UrbSol
Thursday May 31, 2012 10:04 solobasssteve [via Twitter]
ihatemornings: @darkomarko Hey Darko! Marija Kljajic is here. She’s not on Twitter, but she says hi. ;) #UrbSol
Thursday May 31, 2012 10:07 ihatemornings [via Twitter]
Eddyca1: #UrbSol How helpful is it to have a police presence in schools - different views across Europe
Thursday May 31, 2012 10:12 Eddyca1 [via Twitter]
Ben Walker: Overhearing interesting conversations about creating interfaces between companies/government and small children (in Finland) so they can become involved in the running of their society. Notetakers will give us summaries at the end of the session and we'll capture the good bits for you...
Thursday May 31, 2012 10:12 Ben Walker
SBS_II: RT @Eddyca1: #UrbSol How helpful is it to have a police presence in schools - different views across Europe
Thursday May 31, 2012 10:15 SBS_II [via Twitter]
ihatemornings: Coded a new looping jQuery Flickr slideshow for the #UrbSol site this morning. Handy for the TVs. http://ihm.gs/ae 
Thursday May 31, 2012 10:23 ihatemornings [via Twitter]
Steve Lawson: Really important discussion happening at the moment about the different kinds of disadvantage, and how purely economic categorisation can be unhelpful - middle class kids can be abused and therefor disempowered, and there are a whole load of perfectly stable families living on little money. Understanding and factoring in a broader range of criteria for measuring inclusion/empowerment/'at risk' status is vital for meeting the broader needs of young people in any given catchment.
Thursday May 31, 2012 10:41 Steve Lawson
art_PiT: City environment and creatively designed spaces are very important for working and inspiring young people #UrbSol
Thursday May 31, 2012 10:51 art_PiT [via Twitter]
Ben Walker: How to involve young people meanigfully and how to share power Lots of good concrete examples came up. It's important to find common ground to engage and communicate with young people. What to we mean by meaningful? What do we mean by power? With urban planning, how do we make sure we build our cities for young people?
Thursday May 31, 2012 10:54 Ben Walker
SALTOdiversity: Interesting question at #UrbSol - How do we ensure the meaningful involvement of young people in Urban environments?
Thursday May 31, 2012 10:55 SALTOdiversity [via Twitter]
Ben Walker: Relationships - Young People / the police / schools etc. Good examples of police going into schools and telling kids in a friendly way what they shouldn't do – what's illegal. Many countries didn't have this experience. It's important that social workers talk to the police, but also important that they keep the secrets and trust of the young people. Important to talk to the police when the young person is a victim of a crime.
Thursday May 31, 2012 10:57 Ben Walker
Ben Walker: Success factors of youth work People involved in youth work should be diverse – from different background, different educational experience, a gender mix, and when working with certain minority groups it's useful to have someone from a that minority working with them. Listening to young people, listening to their needs, learning from their experiences and understanding what they are trying to achieve. Young people should give input to the projects – it's a two way process. Sometimes youth workers need to be pragmatic. You can have great ideas but they are useless unless you can find ways to practically implement them. It's also important to believe in what you're doing, and to find time to reflect.
Thursday May 31, 2012 11:01 Ben Walker
Ben Walker: How to reach the hardest to reach groups Keep thinking critically whether we are reaching the people we need to. Don't wait for them to come to us. Get out there and be creative. When there are visible problems (eg. criminality) the politicians want to fund projects. We have to try to reach people in need whether it's a visible political problem or not. There are problems that can be solved, and people to be reached by having a diverse group of social workers.
Thursday May 31, 2012 11:06 Ben Walker
getamara: Be honest when speaking of good practice #UrbSol http://fb.me/1TD0qSuMe
Thursday May 31, 2012 11:31 getamara [via Twitter]
Tony: Showcasing the enterpreneurship project of the Common Ground Foundation (Birmingham)> inspiring positive change http://www.commongroundfoundation.org.uk/
Thursday May 31, 2012 11:42 Tony
Tony: You can't judge people by their names - At Common Ground Foundation they use it as an icebreaker in their sessions - because there's funny stories behind the names. And it also shows stereotypes (people associate things just because of the name)...
Thursday May 31, 2012 11:50 Tony
Steve Lawson: Hearing about the work of Caritas Jurgendstreetwork, Graz, Austria - a street-work project, and a weekday drop-in centre, that operates on an 'anonymous, confidential, accepting" principle, offering support and advice...
Thursday May 31, 2012 11:51 Steve Lawson
Steve Lawson: From the Caritas website ( http://jugendstreetwork.caritas-steiermark.at/ ) ::
"An organisation on behalf of the youth welfare office of the city of Graz
We are approaching youngsters and young people, who:
· are between 13 and 21 years old
· are having stress
· need someone to talk to
· need/want support
Youngsters and young people can find us:
· on public space (e.g. streets, parks, squares…)
· at our contact point (Schönaugasse 12a) "
"An organisation on behalf of the youth welfare office of the city of Graz
We are approaching youngsters and young people, who:
· are between 13 and 21 years old
· are having stress
· need someone to talk to
· need/want support
Youngsters and young people can find us:
· on public space (e.g. streets, parks, squares…)
· at our contact point (Schönaugasse 12a) "
Thursday May 31, 2012 11:53 Steve Lawson
Tony: Common Ground Foundation is working on issues of 'heritage & identity", 'cohesion & community safety", "equality & human rights" and "citizenship & entrepreneurship". They organise programmes in schools and in the community.
Thursday May 31, 2012 11:55 Tony
Steve Lawson: "last year we reached 350 teenagers" - Caritas
Thursday May 31, 2012 11:56 Steve Lawson
Ben Walker: Listening to Petter Falk talk about a "norm-critical approach to conflict and discrimination". Started with a game of micro-societal game of musical chairs.
Thursday May 31, 2012 11:57 Ben Walker
Steve Lawson: Caritas are part of the international committee of street-workers. - networking is really important, both nationally and internationally, including with the Daphne program: http://urbansolutions.posterous.com/daphne-programme
Thursday May 31, 2012 11:58 Steve Lawson
Steve Lawson: Caritas, as often as possible, take the teenagers they work with to any youth work conferences they are going to, and gave them Flip Cameras to document and interview their peers, to give them a voice, particularly within the Daphne project.
Thursday May 31, 2012 11:59 Steve Lawson
SALTOinclusion: Talking about identity #urbsol: is it a shopping list? How do we present ourselves (name, religion, race, place,...) Do we (need to) fit in?
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:00 SALTOinclusion [via Twitter]
solobasssteve: hearing about the Caritas Youth Street Work project in Graz, Austria - info on their site - http://is.gd/6dgcP1 #UrbSol
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:01 solobasssteve [via Twitter]
12:03
Petter Falk creating a description of a "normal" person to demonstrate the norms of society.
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:03
Ben Walker: Many of our norms are so strong that we never even think about them. How often do you get asked why you eat meat, for example? Vegetarians are asked all the time...
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:08 Ben Walker
SBS_II: Daphne Project: http://www.daphneproject.eu/ project supporting women who are victims of domestic violence. #UrbSol
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:10 SBS_II [via Twitter]
Steve Lawson: Summary feedback from the questions explored in the World Cafe session earlier -
The Questions asked were:
*Relationships - Young People / the police / schools etc...
*Success Factors for Youth Work
*Specifics relating to urban contexts for youth work
*An exploration of youth worth and the nature/nurture debate.
*Hardest to reach - issues surrounding those at the extremes
*meaningful involvement of young people - democracy, autonomy, power sharing, inclusion, institutions...
The Questions asked were:
*Relationships - Young People / the police / schools etc...
*Success Factors for Youth Work
*Specifics relating to urban contexts for youth work
*An exploration of youth worth and the nature/nurture debate.
*Hardest to reach - issues surrounding those at the extremes
*meaningful involvement of young people - democracy, autonomy, power sharing, inclusion, institutions...
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:11 Steve Lawson
SBS_II: Feedback from the World Cafe session, looking at questions facing Urban Youth Workers - http://is.gd/NHWIR3 #UrbSol (audioboo)
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:13 SBS_II [via Twitter]
Steve Lawson: The Caritas team use their backpacks to signify to the youth they work with that they are on duty...
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:15 Steve Lawson
Steve Lawson: looking at the use of social media in youth work:
question "is it easier for young people to build relationships with youth workers in online social networks than face to face?"
...answer 'depends on the person and situation. Facebook offers a certain perceived level of distance and 'safety' for some'
response "sometimes we've found that our young people pretend to be a different age or even gender online, so we encourage them to come and meet with us"
question "is it easier for young people to build relationships with youth workers in online social networks than face to face?"
...answer 'depends on the person and situation. Facebook offers a certain perceived level of distance and 'safety' for some'
response "sometimes we've found that our young people pretend to be a different age or even gender online, so we encourage them to come and meet with us"
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:18 Steve Lawson
Steve Lawson: "Graz has been a 'city of human rights' since 2001 - it's still the only one in Europe. We are proud of it, and it means that those human rights act as a guideline for all political decisions and actions."
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:20 Steve Lawson
solobasssteve: discussion here about whether banning alcohol in public spaces is an infringement on human rights. What say you, twitter? #UrbSol
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:24 solobasssteve [via Twitter]
Steve Lawson: the big questions from the Caritas session
'What Is Public Space?"
"Who Owns It?"
"What Can We Do To Share Public Space/Area Among All Of Us, Without Bashing/Displacing Anybody?"
'What Is Public Space?"
"Who Owns It?"
"What Can We Do To Share Public Space/Area Among All Of Us, Without Bashing/Displacing Anybody?"
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:26 Steve Lawson
Tony: You can even gain educational credits when you participate in Common Ground Foundations programmes - they got their programmes accredited by Warwick University - wow - power to the young people!
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:28 Tony
Steve Lawson: on the subject of alcohol bans in public space, @mikebirtill on twitter says
"it's a sledgehammer to crack a nut. There are current laws to deal with drunk people in public Ie drunk and disorderly.
also those banning orders are misunderstood. You can still drink in them unless asked by a police officer not to.
again petty law misson creep."
"it's a sledgehammer to crack a nut. There are current laws to deal with drunk people in public Ie drunk and disorderly.
also those banning orders are misunderstood. You can still drink in them unless asked by a police officer not to.
again petty law misson creep."
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:28 Steve Lawson
solobasssteve: @mikebirtill so it's functionally flawed, rather than ideologically flawed? #urbSol
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:29 solobasssteve [via Twitter]
12:29
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:29
Ben Walker: Big question from the norm-critical approach session: who gets the violin?! They may only be stick men, but this argument could go on all day.
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:29 Ben Walker
solobasssteve: now discussing definitions of public space. Or the illusion of public space (like Canary Wharf)... #UrbSol
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:29 solobasssteve [via Twitter]
Steve Lawson: "what happens when a private entity benefits from their space being used as a public space, but then attempts to restrict the nature of the public use to maximise their commercial advantage, but in so doing excludes citizens from those functionally public spaces that have often replaced government-managed public spaces?" - my provocation in the conversation about the nature of public space...
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:33 Steve Lawson
joanl: @solobasssteve Bit of a blunt instrument! Why not smarter penalties for pple who get drunk? e.g 1yr drinking ban #UrbSol
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:34 joanl [via Twitter]
solobasssteve: @joanl indeed - the problem isn't drinking, it's anti social behaviour, tiggered in this case by drunkenness.. #UrbSol
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:37 solobasssteve [via Twitter]
Steve Lawson: @aka_hige on twitter about the banning of alcohol - "Tougher laws and fines on violence/anti social behaviour etc would be a much, much better option than a blanket ban."
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:40 Steve Lawson
joanl: @solobasssteve I really don't like the term "anti-social behaviour". It's classist & ageist. Deal w/ crime properly! #UrbSol
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:43 joanl [via Twitter]
solobasssteve: @joanl yeah, sorry, bad choice of words - I didn't mean it in an ASBO sense, more about actual crime... I'll shut up now ;) #UrbSol
Thursday May 31, 2012 12:44 solobasssteve [via Twitter]
Steve Lawson: from @PhilWBass on twitter, re alcohol in public spaces: "I think, if anything, our society is far too permissive when it comes to alcohol
alcohol abuse has a massive effect on the human rights of the children I work with"
and from @steverumsby "There are lots of things we don't allow in public spaces. Things that cause one person to impinge on the rights of others."
alcohol abuse has a massive effect on the human rights of the children I work with"
and from @steverumsby "There are lots of things we don't allow in public spaces. Things that cause one person to impinge on the rights of others."
Thursday May 31, 2012 1:02 Steve Lawson