This VALUE FAIR edition aims to support different stakeholders in the youth field to share, understand and identify clear social changes our NFE work intends to reach, analyse it and plan how NFE can contribute in an efficient and effective manner against the current trend of general radicalisation, with a clear focus on young people. It focuses concretely on how values are approached, translated, promoted and transmitted through Non Formal Education.

European Youth Capital Cascais, Portugal.

This event will take place in the city Cascais, considered ‘the’ place in Portugal where contrasts meet so clearly: ‘(very) rich and (very) poor’, ‘past and future’, ‘history and dreams’, ‘tourism and immigration’.
For this event, we have teamed up with the local team of the city Cascais, re-enforced by an international team of experienced trainers/facilitators and with 2 rural ‘teams’ of good example.
We have chosen 2 examples of good practice of the last years to co-lead the event, based upon their experience in the field. The association H2O from Arrouquelas has proven over the past 20 years to be a high qualitative and active promoter of the Youth in Action Programme, and this in several aspects (YE, EVS, MoYW), while ‘The Rural Centre of Non Formal Education’ in Vila da Marmeleira that started in 2013, has gained international recognition and awards throughout their insistent use of NFE for community building, using E+ as one of their major tools. Local involvement and impact has been a priority in each of their actions. They have transformed NFE in a local stimulator for inclusion and employability.

Over the past year(s), we have seen a growing mistrust between different categories of citizens, resulting in increasing discrimination and rejection, and a return of conservative and withdrawal attitudes towards a series of society issues: rejection of migrants or citizens of migrant origins, of refugees, of homosexuals…
This threatens considerably our living together. At the same time, different phenomena of radicalization have appeared and they cannot be left out of the above social movement.
Many training courses, conferences and fairs have been organised over the past years. Yet, they had mostly a clear focus on exchange of concrete ‘tools’ and ‘methods’.

This VALUE FAIR wishes not to have this specific focus but intends to question more the “why” and “what for” of our work as non formal educator and the potential of social changes it has and/or should have. It focuses on fundamental values.

This event is happening in the city Cascais and combined with the European Youth Capital 2018. Different local stakeholders of Cascais are involved in the organisation of this VALUE FAIR (NGOs, City hall departments, social neighbourhoods etc), guaranteeing a local impact and involvement.

OBJECTIVES
• To understand the positive supportive role of NFE in the current reality marked by growing rejection phenomena and hate behaviors;
• To question and reflect upon the concrete impact and results of NFE aiming at increasing tolerance and a better living together;
• To highlight the current challenge of refugees and inclusion, a higher level than integration;
• To exchange good understanding and practice amongst the present practitioners;
• To look at how to maximize the impact of NFE on individual/organizational/community level
• To stimulate concrete networking between the present actors in order to create qualitative future international projects, also within the Erasmus+ / Youth in Action Programme

PRINCIPLES & FOCUS
• Recognition of NFE: strong involvement of local, regional and national media in order to increase the visibility of the event, hereby contributing to the de-mystification of NFE and the tackled topics.
• Local impact and involvement: several events during the VALUE FAIR are open to/involve the local community, this to enhance mutual learning (based upon the current good practice in the rural villages Vila da Marmeleira and Arrouquelas) and to enlarge the impact as such. Showing the concrete impact of NFE during the event in order to increase understanding and recognition of NFE and its role.

Priority for participants to be selected: concrete NFE practice experience on the field and a genuine interest for networking.
Participants should be at least 18 years old, should have a good level of English.

Click here for more information and registration