As a participant in the project – ‘Reinforcement of Non-formal Education and the Social Participation of Youth in Youth Centres’ – EQ has undertaken to explore the theme of ‘Institutions and organisations of the European Union’ in the context of devising and piloting the implementation of a methodology in informal education.
This methodology is geared towards the fulfilment of the project aims expressed in the following terms in the Memorandum of Agreement jointly signed by EQ and ARSIS – Association for the Social Support of Youth –
“…strengthening of competencies of youth in danger, the improvement of their self-image and self-appreciation with the ultimate goal of prevent(ing) social marginalization and combating school drop-out.”
EQ’s methodology was designed in response to the educational environment in which we find ourselves and in reaction to a Balkan child welfare paradigm characterized by an agonizingly slow departure from the traditional approach of coercion and containment directed at children who are socially disadvantaged and / or educationally handicapped. We are a long way from seeing a desire to maximize the potential of every child imbedded in institutional culture.