The Talking Youth Work Podcast

Hello dear listeners, We are back with another conversation that will make you look at young people (and at yourself ) quite differently! In this episode we talked with Dr. David Yeager, professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and author of the book “ 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People ”, and we explored what really drives the motivation of young people and how a...

Hello dear listeners,   In this episode, we talked with Elena Avramosvska, a researcher with over 10 years of experience studying democracy, political participation, and gender equality, with a special focus on Generation Z across Europe. The conversation was rich, nuanced and at times surprising. Elena challenged the common narrative that young people are simply apolitical or disengaged. The real...

Hello dear listeners, We know you missed us, you don’t have to play tough, we missed you too! In this episode we talked with Paul Menier , Executive Director of the Youth Intervention Programs Association (YIPA) , and we discussed how we can support the next generation in a fast-paced world. A clear idea that our guest left us was that effective youth work begins with the practitioner’s own self-a...

Hello Dear Listeners, In this episode we had the absolute pleasure (and a bit of a "starstruck" moment) of talking to Dr. Barbara Oakley , a professor of engineering, researcher, and the mind behind some of the most popular online courses on the planet, including the famous “Learning How to Learn” and “Mindshift”. Youth workers, often pride themselves on creating engaging, social, and beautifully...

Hello dear listeners, In this episode, we explored youth participation and democracy, and how children and young people are engaging with public life in new and challenging ways. We talked with Andrés Falk and Marcela Guerrero, Executive Director and Project Manager, respectively, at CoGlobal , whose work across Spain focuses on creating meaningful participatory spaces for children and young peopl...

In this episode, we talked to Alena Tomanová, Youth worker, innovator and researcher, currently the chairwoman of YouthWatch .  In our conversation, we explored what makes Generation Z, and the emerging Generation Alpha, so distinct from the generations before them. We reflected on how digital culture, instant access to information, and shifting social norms are influencing how young people learn,...

Hello dear listeners, In this episode, we talked with Ashley Fell , a social researcher, TEDx speaker, and the Director of Advisory at McCrindle , an Australian-based research firm renowned for its work on generational trends. Ashley is also the author of two insightful books: Work Wellbeing and Generation Alpha , and she hosts The Future Report podcast. Together, we explored the unique characteri...

Hello dear listeners, In this episode, we talked with Romy Alexandra , an expert in psychological safety and experiential learning. Her work with NGOs on youth leadership and human trafficking prevention highlighted the need for engaging, effective learning methods, leading her to experiential learning and psychological safety as its foundation. Romy defines psychological safety, drawing from Dr....

Hello dear listeners, In this episode, we begin exploring the idea of unlearning, joined by Juan Camilo, a youth worker from Colombia who has been living in Iceland. Juan has a background in international education, cultural media communication, and religious studies. He is also an artist and educator who uses transformative pedagogy and non-formal education to promote human ecology and holistic h...

Hello Dear Listeners, We are back and we missed you! Did you miss us? In this first episode of our fourth season, we talked with Katya Sherer about youth work trainers’ wellbeing. Katya is a trainer, active in the youth sector since 1998. She began her journey as a volunteer and peer-to-peer trainer, later advancing to roles as a trainer and project manager for initiatives in youth work and human...

In this episode, we had a conversation with Mark Postema, an EduScrum trainer who also teaches English and Physics. Edu what? You might say. EduScrum is a framework that comprises tools and ceremonies aimed at creating a user-centered learning experience. It involves learners and a facilitator working together to achieve this goal, with the framework built on four pillars: transparency, adaptation...

Hello dear listeners, In this episode, we had the privilege of speaking with Vika Matuzaitė, a non-formal education trainer and facilitator, who enlightened us about the concept of Queer Youth and how youth workers can support Queer young people. In today’s world, there can be significant confusion surrounding this topic, where gender, identity, and sexuality are often erroneously treated as inter...

Dear listeners, In this edition, we had the pleasure of conversing with Jan Lai, an expert in international youth mobility, non-formal education, youth work, digital literacy, and online learning. Jan is a passionate and restless soul who enjoys a good challenge. During our chat, Jan shared how he initiated an esports* team with a group of young people in his hometown, Cagliari, with a modest budg...

  Hello dear listeners, In this episode, we talked to Snežana Bačlija Knoch, an educational consultant in the European youth field and a facilitator of learning for nearly two decades. She loves to create encouraging and inviting learning environments, facilitate action-oriented value-based learning, and experiment with (and sometimes create) different educational tools and approaches. We started...

Hello dear listeners, This time our conversation was with Michael Kimming, an intercultural trainer, coach, online instructor and facilitator. Michael and other colleagues published an eBook called  “How to Talk About War – Facilitating Learning in the Face of Crisis” , which became the topic of our conversation. Michael was facilitating a workshop when the war in Ukraine began. Some of the partic...

Hello dear listeners,  In this episode, we talked with Paul Kloosterman, a youth worker and author of several publications for youth workers and facilitators. We heard Paul’s story of how he got involved in youth work, but the main topic of our talk was Self-Directed Learning. As the name implies, self-directed learning it’s a process where individuals take responsibility for planning, continuing...

  Hello dear listeners,   After more than a year, Talking Youth Work is back.   We did miss you. A lot!    We hope you are doing well and are curious to learn about Youth Work with our guests.   This time we spoke with Niels Floor , a pioneer of the concept of Learning Experience Design .   Niels is a designer himself, and he brought the curiosity and problem-solving abilities of designers to the...

Dear listeners,   We spoke with Paavo Pyykönen who is a senior program advisor for the Finnish National Agency for the Erasmus+ Youth Program, an european funding line that supports youth work related projects.   Paavo talked about the importance of international youth exchanges, where youngsters can meet peers from other cultures, pursue their interests and grow together as individuals and as cit...

In this episode, we travel to Madeira's island to explore a new and exciting project: the Digital  Nomad Village . We talked to Gonçalo Hall - the founder of the project - who had the project's idea while on an Erasmus+ project in Italy.   Gonçalo discovered digital nomadism six years ago, fell in love with remote work and became a remote work consultant. He also hosts a podcast called Remote Work...

Hello dear listeners, First of all, we wish you a super 2021, as this is our first episode this year. To lighten up things we talked to Carmine Rodi, a trainer and standup comedian. Sometimes humor is the best way to bring awareness to certain topics, and youth work has some particularities that Carmine explored in a very humorous way. In the work kit that youth workers and trainers use, comedy an...

Hello dear listeners, In this episode we talked with Pedro Fabião, an international clown, actor, director, trainer, and psychologist. ​He directed the biggest professional clown organisation in Portugal ( www.narizvermelho.pt ), where he worked for 16 years. The conversation was about the Art of Clowning and how it can help people develop empathy and self-awareness. Clowns have had a function thr...

Hello dear listeners, In this episode we go green. We talked to Antonio Jovanovski, a trainer, an activist and a social entrepreneur. He is a member of the Pool of trainers of Youth@Work partnership ( www.youthatworkpartnership.org ) and the founder of a youth environmental NGO ( www.gogreen.mk ) where he works on training and policy development related to youth eco-activism, education for sustain...

Hello dear listeners,   We are joined in this episode by Elin McCallum, one of the co-founders of Bantani Education , a non-profit organisation supporting entrepreneurial and creative learning. Elin is also a member of the Youth@Work Pool of trainers . One of the topics of our talk was how to measure impact in youth work, from the example of the Youth@Work Partnership. We also talked about a model...

Dear listeners,  Hope summer treated you well. We did miss you, and we hope you are all doing well. In this episode we talked to Nik Paddison from the UK, a trainer of trainers, youth workers and activists in the European youth field. For the last few years he has been working as a full time freelance trainer, writer and consultant. The main topic was Facilitation of Learning and how it is a proce...

Hello dear listeners, In this episode we talked with Maria-Carmen Pantea and Dunja Potočnik, members of the Pool of European Youth Researchers (PEYR) who did important research in the field of youth employability and entrepreneurship for the Youth@Work Partnership . Our conversation covered some of the tensions that the youth field faces regarding youth employability. Although the younger generati...