Lower Saxony State Chancellery Project: Handbook for (Extracurricular) Youth Work in Africa (Project Académie Bilimon)

Project Management and Application: Prof. Dr. Margit Stein

Project Management and Project Staff: Dr. Koffi Emmanuel Noglo, Académie Bilimon

Duration: April 2022 – March 2023

Funding: Lower Saxony State Chancellery/Lower Saxony State Office for Social Affairs, Youth and Family

Grant Amount: €20,000.00

Project Description:

The aim is to document and translate youth work materials that have been successfully used by the Académie Bilimon in workshops with adolescents and young adults in West Africa, and which have previously only been passed on orally to youth group leaders during training and continuing education courses. To consolidate youth work permanently and sustainably, the following steps are now being taken:

- Significant additions to the content of the materials based on pedagogical principles

- Didactic and methodological revision

- Documentation and compilation in the form of a comprehensive manual for youth leaders

- Layout design and graphic, youth-friendly preparation

Translation from German into French and English, as well as Kiswahili (East Africa) and Ewe, Kabiyè, and Hausa (West Africa), in order to reach as many young people as possible in the African context.

The overarching goal of the project is to contribute to a comprehensive and independent education for the next generation on the African continent. The goal is to support young people in taking responsibility for their own lives, with all the consequences for the community and society. The long-term goal is to support the development of mature, self-responsible citizens who are open to the social, economic, political, ethical, and cultural concerns of their country through training courses.

The training courses are divided into four modules, led by trainers who have themselves completed this training. They thus become "ambassadors" who reach an increasing number of young people in a positive, snowball-like manner.

Workshops on the topics of "Identity," "Responsible Sexuality," "My Life Project," and "Social Engagement" have been implemented in Togo, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon.

In a joint project between the Académie Bilimon and staff and students of the University of Vechta, under the direction of Prof. Dr. Margit Stein has initially transcribed the workshop materials, which had previously only been passed down orally, into German and supplemented them with additional materials, resulting in a total of approximately 250-300 pages of workshop materials.

The compiled handbook for youth leaders will then be translated into French, English, and also Kiswahili (East Africa), as well as Ewe, Kabiyè, and Hausa (West Africa) from 2022 to 2023 and made available online for continuing education as a valuable resource for practitioners in youth education. They will also be made available online in digital form free of charge on the Académie Bilimon website and the website of the project for good schools in Tanzania:

www.bilimon.de or / or www.bilimonacademie.org

www.against-violence-at-schools-in-tanzania.com