Amsterdam: Initial Observations & Learning

I was anxious about going to Amsterdam, not knowing what to expect

Once I arrived I felt like I was just in a different part of London 

Meeting youth workers over here was exciting and I was keen to here about what kind of situations they were involved in, they relate to us so much

In the evening session we discussed why were fantastic youth workers and it was amazing to see such passion in everyone's response, especially when discussing what we bring to youth work

Everyone seems so dedicated to their role but in a way where it seemed more heartfelt in comparison to SOME youth workers in the UK

Visiting the Red Light District was a really different experience to see how it was so blatant that sex workers are actively working and people are aware of it

Seeing the reaction of other people in the group didn't surprise me, due to the nature of their work

Many of them were appalled by the girls in the windows and wanted to "save them" - I wonder what youth workers in Amsterdam feel towards this issue

And do we automatically assume all prostitutes are working against their will?

Black Heritage Tour

We had tour guides from Surinam who informed us about slave owners who took products from Africa and sold it down the canal.

What I was interested in was how much young black people know about the symbols that represent slavery on the buildings in Amsterdam

Teaching African history to young people..

This seems to create knowledge and encourage young people to have an opinion on themselves and view themselves differently within society

Knowledge creates a passion inside of them and it is important to inform young people about what great things their ancestors invented and created

One of the tour guides didn't know her history and grew insecure about looks, skin colour, body type, hair and didn't appreciate it

After looking into her history of her ancestors starting with slavery and discovering strengths 

She looked at the strengths of Africa, because she didn't hear about it previously, she was none the wiser

Nobody looked like her

By looking at her own people she found true love in herself as she could see herself in them

This can build self esteem in young people

It was interesting to see slavery and the gates of freedom statue and interesting to hear thoughts of residents not agreeing with it being created by non black artists and the location of the statue 

It being in a park means it's not possible for tourists to see it, why not put it in the city?

Do they want this piece to be hidden? 

Uni Visit

We were informed that it is less likely to be people of colour that are managers within an academic institute, which is surprising as I have only ever experienced course leaders as people of colour in this particular subject (Youth Work)

Working class kids are more likely to use youth clubs in Amsterdam rather than middle class no matter their ethnic background 

The middle class tend to create their own activities (private) rather than be involved in community schemes but why is this?

The lecturer informed us that youth work is a lot cheaper than other services that are put in place to rehabilitate young people e.g. Social work/services & prison

The questions I have drawn from the visits have encouraged me to find the answers and develop my learning further...

Best Practice

This was a very interesting discussion for everyone to gather their ideas on best practice

We discussed what we thought would be best practice for youth workers dealing with violence and crime involving the young people in their organisations 

Following this we come up with some of the most important factors to deliver best practice:

• The ability to relate to the young people and be a positive role model within their community

• Being able to promote empowerment 

• Having consistency in order to gain trust and respect

• The ability to maintain boundaries

• Being able to communicate effectively in ways that the young people understand

Encouraging creative expression is a major tool I practice as it allows young people to have an outlet in a way that they feel most comfortable and acts as a form of counselling 

I believe the main role of a youth worker is to be an advocate of the young people they work with

We are the role models, if we show that we aren't afraid to challenge problems within society then it will encourage our young people to follow in our foot steps

It will be interesting to see in Holland the differences between youth work management and youth work practice, hopefully we will also be able to evaluate if best practice is being delivered in the organisations we visit