This morning the group began by exploring the trends and challenges which are affecting youth work and youth trainers. Nerijus led the session and began by introducing himself and giving some background about himself. He went on to explain that everyone comes with their own biography (or bias) which influences the way that they work, and that as youth workers or youth trainers they are socially active people which also has a baring on their work.

Nerijus spoke about how the past and the present are the things which people are often thinking about, in terms of responding directly to things and that generally people work in this way rather than thinking and planning for a future. These historical realities or immediate problems are not necessarily trends but things which are influencing youth work and youth trainers.

He went on to share two definitions of trends…

1. A general direction in which something is developing
2. Fashion

…and two definitions of challenges…

1. An invitation to do something difficult, funny or embarrassing for a good cause
2. To discuss the truth or validity of something

Finally, Nerijus shared a video of Marshall McLuhan from 1965 in which he predicted worldwide connectivity which you can view below.

Next the participants split into groups and set out to identify the key trends and challenges of the current time. They were asked to base their findings on concrete sources where possible but also using their knowledge from authentic engagement with young people.

After the break out groups the participants added their identified trends and challenges to a jigsaw diagram of categories for the whole group to see. Below is a table of their findings.

You can find Nerijus presentation slides on ISSUU here.

GROW coaching teams

Next Buzz and Kirsten introduced the GROW model of coaching (developed by Sir Johnson Whitmore and Carol Wilson). The model is made up of four key steps and two additional steps at the end. These are…

• 

  Goal – seek to establish the goal that the person wants to reach. What are they struggling with achieving?

• Reality – what is happening now and how is it affecting the attainment of the goal? Actively listen to the person being coached.
• Options – what are the possible solutions?
• Will – what actions are they going to take to reach their goal? Create desire and intention.

The further two steps are…

• First Aid – make suggestions or proposals – go back and recheck that all the previous steps have been completed.
• Closing – make sure the person being coached is brought into making the necessary steps.

There are some example questions for the GROW model which you can find here (PDF).

The participants split into small groups and shared with each other a personal challenge they are currently facing. They then selected two of the struggles that they have shared and received the GROW coaching on their struggle from the other members of their group. The groups spent 40 minutes coaching on each of the two struggles which had been shared.

Following the time spent coaching the participants came back together into the large group and shared their feeling about the process. Overall they felt that the model was fruitful and a simple process to follow which gave the opportunity for personal challenges and learning. They also thought that the model enabled them to dig deep – but many wanted to go deeper into the conversation if time had allowed.

Some people felt that they wouldn’t want to use this model with young people as it might open up too many issues that they are not equipped to deal with. However, many agreed that it was a strong model to help ask the right questions to support people to find their own solutions.

Come back to the blog tomorrow to read about the afternoon’s activities.