From Ideas to Actions: Digital Hubs, Gaming & Community Impact
Latest News From Ideas to Actions: Digital Hubs, Gaming & Community Impact The event “From Ideas to Actions: Digital Hubs, Gaming & Community Impact”, hosted by YMCA Slovakia, was a great opportunity for us, as part of the representatives of 22 national movements, to connect with partners from the technology sector of our European movement, such as HP, Accenture and Microsoft. Since 2023, we have joined forces with HP Inc. to equip young people with the tools and digital skills they need to be ready for the future of work – as well as to be part of HP Inc.’s mission to accelerate digital capital for 150 million people by 2030. This joint mission is designed to explore the possibilities of implementing digital education and skills solutions in our communities, bringing technology closer to users, promoting digital inclusion and facilitating the use of the digital sphere as a tool for youth work, communication and community engagement. We were so happy with the presence of high-level key speakers at the event such as: The Managing Director for Central and Eastern Europe at HP Inc, the Leader for Partnerships and Social Impact Programs at HP Inc, the Director of Sustainable Impact for Global Communications at HP Inc, the Digital Corporate Manager at HP Accenture Slovakia, the Director of Social Impact Skills for Western Europe at Microsoft, as well as a representative from the Ministry of Education – Slovakia. In different panel discussions, they were present to deliver inspiring sessions on digital equality, artificial intelligence, games as a skill development opportunity, and digital hubs as pillars of the community, providing our national movement representatives with invaluable expertise and innovative steps to implement across Europe. This event was a significant step towards bridging the gap between technology and community development. By bringing together YMCA representatives and industry experts, the event fostered collaboration, knowledge sharing, and strategic planning for digital inclusion. Now, in addition to leveraging HP technology with the HP LIFE platform, the YMCA will implement the HP Gaming Garage solution, a leading gaming and maker education program designed to foster programming, design, and prototyping skills. With access to professional esports management and game development certificate courses, youth will have access to transferable skills for future jobs in the business, media, and ICT sectors. Designed by leading university professors for HP Inc. and hosted on edX, the HP Gaming Garage offers free access to 82 modules, available in English with translations in 11 additional languages. During this 2-day workshop in Bratislava, all participants were invited to a challenge to design a project idea on how to start a Gaming Garage in our centers, and the best three ideas would be presented and financially supported for implementation. We are very happy that our idea “Pay it Forward” is among the three winners and will soon start being implemented by our YMCA and YMCA Albania. Thank you to all partners and YMCA Europe for all the support you offer to our centers and the opportunities offered to young people and communities.
GLOW Club Summary 2024
In 2024, the YMCA, in collaboration with the Peace Corps and American Corner Bitola, revitalized the GLOW Club (Girls Leading Our World) in Bitola.
400 Young People Included in the Club for Digital Education
Latest News 400 Young People Included in the Club for Digital Education This year, we continued to see remarkable engagement with HP LIFE courses with the YMCA in the Youth Center, marking the second year these courses have been offered within the program for career development. The results speak volumes about the program’s growing impact: Participant Demographics: 52% of participants were women and 48% were men. Approximately 90% were elementary and high school students, with the remainder being university students and employees. Participation and Certification: In 2024, around 380 participants completed the courses, earning an impressive 490 certificates across 57 sessions. Popular Topics: Of the seven topics offered, Marketing stood out, with about 40% of participants rating it as the most interesting. Positive Feedback 98% of participants found the courses easy to learn. 100% said they would recommend the courses to others. 94% considered the courses useful, while 6% were unsure about their usefulness. Participant Insights In an anonymous evaluation, participants shared what they appreciated most about the program: Courses: Topics were engaging, relevant, and practical, with a particular emphasis on learning new skills such as writing professional emails and understanding useful tools for sales. Methodology: The teaching approach was praised for being clear and supportive, with facilitators offering helpful guidance and creating a relaxed, interactive learning environment. Participants also enjoyed the incorporation of games, exercises, and meaningful discussions topic related. Logistics: The Youth Center was commended for its clean and well-equipped facilities, good internet, and warm, welcoming atmosphere. Participants valued the flexibility of online access and the opportunity to receive certificates upon completion. When asked what could be improved, most participants expressed satisfaction with the current setup. Some suggested expanding the program to include more participants, adding music during sessions, or introducing additional topics. Next Steps As we move into 2025, we are excited to continue offering these courses, building on our successes, and reaching even more participants. For the second consecutive year, the HP digital education club has been the most visited initiative at the Youth Center, outshining the center’s other four active clubs in terms of the number of participants. Its continued success underscores its importance in bridging the digital divide and empowering the community through accessible digital education. Looking ahead to 2025, we are committed to enhancing and expanding this initiative even further. By continuing to provide valuable digital education opportunities, we aim to empower more individuals in our community, foster innovation, and help participants develop the skills needed to thrive in an increasingly digital world. We look forward to welcoming new participants and building on the strong foundation established over the past two years. Read what the participants are saying: Testimonials Photos from this Activity in this gallery.
Participants’ Voices: Testimonials from the YMCA+HP Digital Education Program for 2024
Latest News Participants’ Voices: Testimonials from the YMCA+HP Digital Education Program for 2024 AndreaAs one of the most regular visitors to the Youth Center, who regularly attends various events and workshops, I also learned about the HP LIFE courses. These are digital literacy courses run by Natasha from the YMCA. I learned a lot of new things that I should normally learn at school, but unfortunately, they aren’t part of our education system. After taking a few courses, I decided to recommend them to my classmates because I believe everyone should be educated on basic things. After all, we live in a time where almost everything is digital. I must also mention that every time I attend any HP LIFE course, I gain knowledge, confidence, and make new acquaintances. My favorite category is communications. LukaI am satisfied with these courses because we are living in a modern age where everyone needs to have an understanding of technology, online business, and many other things. I am very grateful to the YMCA for offering the HP courses because they are very useful for young people. I have been taking these courses for a while now, and I can say that I like and use them a lot. I also want to praise Natasha Darkov, who is our educator and is always ready to explain any part of the course that is unclear to us. I am sharing this course with my friends and classmates because it is beneficial, and I hope they will like it because it is very relevant today. In the future, I plan to study all the courses, but I would single out the marketing topic as the most useful. MarkoI am 17 years old and I was introduced to the HP courses at the youth center where I regularly volunteer. I am thrilled I started attending these courses because I learned about different aspects of the IT world. This way of getting some new skills through such courses should be applied in education because when I can get this much knowledge, everyone else should and deserves to get it. The courses can help a lot and I would share them with more of my friends. DavidI’m David, a student in my second year at SABA high school, majoring in business. My school always shows interest in non-formal education and that is why for the second year we partnered with the YMCA for the digital education courses the YMCA offers supported by HP Life. I attend these courses with many of my classmates to enrich my knowledge of digital marketing. I know that the future lies in digital education, so I study all the courses with great dedication. I would recommend all young people to take advantage of this free opportunity and I know that if they come at least once, the YMCA Digital Hub will become one of their favorite places in our city. LinaI am Lina, a second year of studying business at SABA high school and I have also been attending HP courses for the second year, provided by the YMCA in our city. I found out about these courses through our school, which is always willing to suggest and provide us with additional knowledge so that we can improve ourselves more for our future. The topic of digital marketing is my favorite, but of course, I also enjoy the new courses on the topic of Digital Business Skills, which are much related to my current education. In the future, I would like to study business-related studies, and I know that the knowledge gained about digital marketing will be of great importance to me. I recommend it to all my classmates and friends, this is a great opportunity for us and it would be a great shame if you do not take advantage of it. Read more about this program here.
630 young people included in the club for digital education
Latest News 630 young people included in the club for digital education Digital literacy, a skill that is now as important as reading and writing, is the ability of citizens to use computers effectively in their workplaces and in their daily lives. The ability to use devices for games and entertainment does not define digital literacy among young people. Digital literacy is much more than embracing new technologies, using social media, or creating and tracking photo and video content. It is the ability to use digital technologies to create, select and connect information from multiple sources, in multiple formats, and use them to improve effectiveness in any area – learning, work, etc. On 22.03.2023 we started with the first term for courses and so far we have 110 terms with a total of 630 participants (of which 50% are female and 50% are male), completed about 30 different courses from the categories of marketing, communications, finance and startup /innovations. After 9 months of delivering activities related to YMCA’s digital education courses in collaboration with HP, we would like to share with you some of the findings from the evaluations completed by the participants. We are happy with the feedback we receive from the participants who describe the courses as easy to follow, interesting, interactive, they would recommend them to their friends and almost all of them want to come again on a new topic. In the last several years across our country have been created a dozen of a youth clubs. This has been one of the most attended program! We are very happy with the impact we have created. In addition, are the answers of the participants about the difficulty of the course and their future involvement in it. In addition, we share some of the most frequent comments that were repeatedly shared regarding what they liked about the courses: About the HP Life courses: The subject of the course and the opportunity to learn new knowledge and skills. Practical knowledge that can be used in everyday life. The class was easy and understandable and the topic was relevant. The course was easy to understand and educational. The course was effective – I learned a lot of useful information in a short time. I learned new things that I didn’t know before. Easily acquired skills. I liked that there were free courses on the things that interested me. About the approach/methodology we used: Informal meetings and socializing with other participants while learning new things. The way the course topics were presented to us was interesting. Communication and interaction between participants. The professional approach of the lecturer, the way of presentation with examples, and the communication during the course. The approach of the staff and the course was quite easy and not boring. How the course was presented, and how easy it is to understand and give you confidence that if someone can achieve their goal then so can I. About the logistics and overall settings: How they welcomed us and everyone was kind. Very positive and relaxed atmosphere and energy to work. The equipment we worked on, the place and the room where the course took place. The room was warm, we had a good explainer, and it was very clean and nicely decorated. Read here impressions from some of the participants included in this program Read here impressions from some of the participants included in this program
Youth Meaningful Work Survey
Latest News Youth Meaningful Work Survey At the World YMCA, we dream of a world where all young people can access decent jobs and meaningful work. To achieve that dream, we need to understand the views and experiences of young people.The YMCA is delighted to launch the “Youth Meaningful Work” survey, designed by young people for young people. What the survey involves:• The survey asks young people aged 18-35 all around the world what meaningful work means to them, and their hopes, fears, needs, expectations, and how ready they feel for work in the future.• The survey is open for 8 weeks, until Friday 15 December 2023 and takes about 10-15 minutes to complete. Why have a survey:By hearing the voices of thousands of young people across the globe, the survey will provide a strong evidence base to help design solutions for young people, with young people. We need your help:For our survey to be successful, we need your help in making sure we hear from as many young people from diverse backgrounds as possible across the world.• Complete the survey if you are aged between 18-35 – we want to hear about your career aspirations and experiences, and what you might need to achieve your aspirations. Access the survey through our website via this link: Youth Meaningful Work Survey• Distribute our survey – we ask that you distribute the survey widely by sharing the above link to young people, partners and across your networks, to help amplify the voices of young people within your local communities. Need more information?• See our website dedicated to the Youth Meaningful Work Survey. The website will provide tools and resources, responses to frequently asked questions, our communications kit and other supports, and will share videos posted by young people from all around the world!• For more information or support, please refer to our new website or contact the Global Meaningful Work project team at contact@youthmeaningfulwork.com. Thank you for your support of this important project.
Participation in Education Program for Support of Youth Workers in the Field of Career Guidance
Latest News Participation in Education Program for Support of Youth Workers in the Field of Career Guidance Guided by the goal of offering better services for youth employment, we are happy that as a member of the Union for Youth Work we had the opportunity to participate in two trainings for counselors for career guidance of young people and to learn about two new methodologies. One of them was according to the methodology “ProfillPASS – Start your career!” and the other according to the methodology “Sport for employability” (S4E) as part of the program for education and support of youth workers entitled “Youth work for active and involved youth”. Through these trainings, I along with 17 other youth workers from our country acquired knowledge, skills and competencies for using proven methodologies in their daily work with young people from vulnerable categories. The youth workers were trained to use the “ProfillPASS” tool, which will allow them to direct young people to explore their possibilities for personal and professional development, thereby helping them to improve their position in the labor market. Using #S4E as a tool for encouraging and developing skills, will help youth workers in supporting and encouraging young people from their communities in the direction of awareness of their skills and potential, as well as their further development. After the training, the involved youth workers will carry out practical activities applying the learned methodologies in their environments. As a trained youth worker from the YMCA, I will apply my knowledge in working with young people in the Youth Center in Bitola, as well as in preparing the programs that the YMCA implements. The Union for Youth Work implements this program within the framework of the regional project “Social Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups in the Western Balkans” and the global program “Sports for Development” implemented by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ). The training for these methodologies was conducted on 21-24.09.2023 and 30.10-02.11.2023 in Dojran, Macedonia. The training for #ProfilPASS was conducted with the help of trainers from the Center for Lifelong Learning, and that for #S4E with the help of trainers from TACT.
Participants’ Impressions from the YMCA+HP Digital Education Program
Latest News Participants’ Impressions from the YMCA+HP Digital Education Program Martha I am Marta from Krushevo, I am currently studying in Bitola. I found out about the courses through Natasha from the YMCA because we know each other from before. Today I attended the fifth course and in the future, I plan to attend several more courses. The courses are interesting to follow, and the atmosphere in the Youth Center is harmonious and pleasant. I plan to use the courses that I have followed so far and the experience I have gained from them for my career and development. Antim I am Antim Atanasoski, 18 years old from Bitola. I feel honored to participate in four courses made by HP and implemented in cooperation with the YMCA. One of the courses that I liked the most was Social Entrepreneurship, which was very practical and informative, unlike other courses of this type that I have visited online. What you learn from the course can be used practically every day of your life. Of course, I plan to visit other courses in the future, because there is a lot to learn from each course. Ljupco First I want to say that digital education is not just about new skills, it is most important to think about growth and embrace quality improvement. I am Ljupco from Bitola, I found out about the courses through the YMCA where I am a volunteer and have participated in many events and workshops organized by them. I just saw the application on social networks and immediately signed up without thinking if it would be interesting or if it would be useful to me, and to be honest I did not make a mistake! I attended five different courses in the categories of communications and marketing, as the most suitable subjects for me. I believe that every young person should study these courses, which will be very useful in life, in everyday life and the job search. I am currently working abroad, but after my return to Bitola, I will apply again for the courses, especially for the topics of innovation. YMCA and HP thank you for this opportunity you have given me, see you again soon! Elena Being employed and being a parent at the same time is much more difficult than it seems, I am Elena Ivanov, 28 years old, from Bitola. I have been in the YMCA for several years with short breaks. My job position is office manager. In the past years, we worked on non-formal education and organized summer camps, but after the great pandemic that happened, I can say that the HP courses are the best thing that happened at the YMCA. In addition to my daily duties, I still had the opportunity to take several courses on the subject of communications, which is what attracts me the most and I would like to share with you that the Business e-mail and Business Communication courses are courses you must attend. The courses are not long, the maximum time you will need is 1 hour. I would be very happy if you decide to attend these courses of the HP life program and of course, I want to thank HP and the YMCA for this great opportunity of free courses in our city. Philip Hello, my name is Filip Bozinovski and I am 17 years old. I want to say that I have completed all the courses of the HP Life project and I can say that I am quite satisfied. I learned about the HP Life courses from my high school “Josip Broz-Tito” from Bitola. Through these courses, I have acquired quite useful and good skills that I find myself in in the future. I desire to further study at a university whose task is to acquaint us with skills that use technology and help humanity. The courses are easy, short, entirely online, and above all, free. I would personally recommend these courses to all my friends and acquaintances as a starting point for acquiring useful computer skills that can help everyone, especially young people who are interested in starting their own business or upgrading their computer skills. Now, I have finished my last course, and as my favorites, I can single out the communication courses, as well as the Success Mindset course. I thank the YMCA as well as the HP because they provide conditions for a quick way of learning useful skills. Jana From my experience so far, I only know that digital education opens up a world of possibilities for me. My name is Jana, I live and study in France. I have a very busy schedule and I am very happy that I am in the right place at the moment where I have access to high-quality courses that help me to keep up with the latest trends in my 3D printing industry, all thanks to YMCA and HP courses. I had the opportunity to choose whether I wanted to listen to the course in English or French. I chose French, which is really of great importance to me. The courses are easy to understand, they are not long and the most important thing is that I also received a certificate for completing the course, and all for free! Guys, I hope that you will manage to find at least one hour a week and dedicate it only for you and you will improve yourself above all as individuals. YMCA and HP, thank you for the opportunity you gave me, see you again that is for sure! Read here to learn more about this project
Overview of HP & YMCA digital education program and opportunities 2023
Latest News Overview of HP & YMCA digital education program and opportunities 2023 The goal of the collaboration between HP and YMCA is to use technology in a good way, to achieve digital inclusion by providing access to technology and digital education to everyone in an easy and interesting way. The courses are made by experts in their fields from the HP company and conducted by YMCA youth workers. We find these courses useful for adding value to the informatics curriculum in schools as well as for practical use in our everyday lives. The courses are short in duration from 20 to 50 minutes, in five topics with several courses in each of them. They are easy, interactive, and filled with short videos, dialogues, pictures and quizzes. The courses offered are in the following topics: communications, finance, operations, marketing and startups/innovations. Each course contains 5 steps: a short course description, business concept, technology skills, survey and additional resources on the topic. The pace of studying a course is according to the desire of the participant. Once you have completed all 5 steps (100%) the course is successfully completed. For each completed course you receive an electronic certificate in your e-mail with specified information about the specific course, what was learned in it, the date of study and the signature of the Deputy Director of the HP Foundation. Each course is taught individually at the YMCA in the Youth Center with full technical equipment from our side. Alternatively, there is the possibility of conducting the courses in the premises of the educational institutions in Bitola. The participant has no obligation to bring equipment or to have special prior knowledge of a certain topic or conditions for studying a certain number of courses. The courses have open dates where EVERYONE can SIGN UP, and reserved dates are offered for groups/institutions that work with young people. Groups are limited up to 10 participants per course. The courses are: completely free for anyone with a functional email, intermediate knowledge of the English language and a desire to learn and upgrade their knowledge. The courses are held in the premises of the Youth Center – Bitola, on Krushevo Street 5 in the local community of Veljko Vlahovic. Read here to learn more about this project
Natasha’s story from the Training Course “Youth work in Green entrepreneurs”
Latest News Natasha’s story from the Training Course “Youth work in Green entrepreneurs” By Natasha Darkov In the period May 1-7 in Struga, Macedonia, the SEGA Coalition of Youth Organizations within the Erasmus + program conducted the international training course “Youth work in Green entrepreneurs” which included youth workers from Macedonia, Slovakia and Turkey. I am happy that I participated as a representative of the YMCA and gained new knowledge and competencies in the field of green entrepreneurship. Considering the small number of participants, we had a chance for a larger discussion and the opportunity to receive better mentoring support from the organizers. The topic was elaborated in detail with basic information about entrepreneurship and of course green business ideas and their development. Each participant had to develop a detailed business plan for their idea with a special emphasis on green entrepreneurship. The training course was based on an innovative approach to green entrepreneurship as a sustainable business model by preserving the environment and raising youth employability. Starting from the basics of entrepreneurship (definitions, skills and competencies) through the basic factors for a successful business (clear goals, business idea, organization, marketing, SWOT analysis) we quickly reached the stage of planning our green business while taking into account our environment (family, friends, acquaintances, institutions, banks) who and how could help us. Green business ideas were analyzed and evaluated if they are profitable, innovative, realistic, etc. Next came the stage of developing a marketing plan for our ideas after which we finalized them by creating a financial plan for the business ideas. On the last day with concepts developed in this way, we presented green ideas and solutions in an interesting and interactive way which was followed by the selection of the best business idea.
