🇪🇸 Erasmus+ Training Course in Spain 💻 Navigating Digital Competences in Youth Work 🧭

Description

Participants will deepen their understanding of digital competence and digital learning within NFL, explore practical tools and methods for developing digital competences, and gain skills to design local-level digital learning activities.

This training course offers youth workers the opportunity to deepen their understanding of digital competence within youth work and non-formal education contexts, and to strengthen their capacity to design and facilitate practical digital learning experiences for young people. Through non-formal education and experiential learning approaches, participants will explore key concepts from the DigComp 3.0 framework - including information search and evaluation, communication and collaboration, content creation, safety and wellbeing, and problem identification and solving - while building practical tools and methods that promote responsible and confident digital engagement among youth.

The course places strong emphasis on the role of youth workers as facilitators of digital learning processes. Participants will examine how educational activities can be designed and facilitated in an engaging and empowering way, with particular attention to building digital confidence, encouraging critical and responsible use of digital technologies, supporting young people in recognising digital opportunities and risks, and connecting digital competences to real-life youth work contexts. By combining theoretical input with structured reflection and peer exchange, the training supports participants in critically examining their own facilitation styles, professional practices, and the digital realities in their home countries.

Going beyond theory, the training course is highly participatory and practice-oriented. Participants will engage in interactive workshops, small-group design sessions, and hands-on activities focused on applying DigComp 3.0 principles in youth work, culminating in a practical activity development phase in which participants identify real digital problems and co-create creative, applicable solutions. Special focus will be placed on developing concrete educational activities and local-level session designs that integrate digital competence into everyday youth work practice. By the end of the course, participants will have strengthened their facilitation competences, developed practical activity concepts, and gained tools and strategies to foster critical thinking, creativity, and responsible digital engagement among young people in their communities.

The training course is developed in line with Youth Goal 8: Quality Learning, and contributes to:

Ensuring that young people and youth workers have access to adequately funded, recognised and validated non-formal education that equips them with transferable digital skills for an ever-changing 21st century.

Incorporating personalised, participative and learner-centered methods that develop critical and analytical thinking, creativity and digital learning skills among young people.

The training course is grounded in non-formal education principles and experiential learning approaches. The programme is designed to equip participants with the knowledge, skills, and practical tools needed to understand digital competence, apply the DigComp 3.0 framework in youth work contexts, and design and facilitate digital competence learning activities for young people.

The initial phase of the training focuses on building a safe and supportive learning environment, fostering trust among participants, and creating a strong sense of group cohesion. During the first days, participants will engage in activities that explore similarities and differences, group alliance, and shared expectations. They will be introduced to the foundations of non-formal education and digital competence, the DigComp 3.0 framework, and the role of youth workers in fostering critical and responsible digital engagement among young people. This phase also includes reflection on country realities related to youth work and digital education programmes, as well as the Erasmus+ and Youthpass frameworks as tools for recognition and professional development.

As the training progresses, participants will deepen their understanding of the DigComp 3.0 competence areas, including information search, evaluation and management, communication and collaboration, and content creation. Through practical workshops and reflective exercises, they will strengthen their facilitation competences and explore methods for designing engaging digital competence learning experiences. Particular attention is given to empowering critical thinking, supporting young people in navigating digital environments safely and responsibly, and integrating digital competence approaches into everyday non-formal education practice. Participants will also explore local realities through a self-organised activity connected to the training topic, and deepen their understanding of safety, wellbeing and responsible use of digital technologies.

In the later stages of the programme, participants will focus on applying their learning through a hackathon format grounded in problem identification and solving. Working in teams, they will identify real digital problems relevant to youth work and co-create creative, human-centred solutions that integrate DigComp 3.0 competences into practice. Through structured teamwork, peer feedback, and presentation of their solutions, they will refine their ideas and reflect on how to adapt and transfer them to their local youth work contexts.

On the final day, participants will engage in structured reflection and evaluation of their learning journey, develop personal and professional commitment plans for the transfer of digital competence learning into their everyday youth work practice, and have their achievements recognised through the Youthpass ceremony, supporting further professional development.

Objectives:

To introduce participants to key concepts of digital competence within non-formal education (NFE), using the DigComp 3.0 framework as a common reference point.

To explore country realities of youth work and digital education, fostering exchange of experiences and good practices among participants from different contexts.

To develop participants' understanding of the five DigComp 3.0 competence areas - information search and evaluation, communication and collaboration, content creation, safety and wellbeing, and problem identification and solving - and their relevance to youth work practice.

To equip participants with practical NFE methods and tools for designing and facilitating digital competence learning activities with young people at local level.

To strengthen participants' capacity to identify digital problems and co-create creative, human-centred solutions through a hands-on practical activity development format.

To encourage personal and professional reflection through experiential learning, peer exchange, and Youthpass recognition.

Activity details

Activity type

Training Course

Activity dates

2-9 December 2026

Location

Barcelona, Spain

Application deadline

7 November 2026

Selection date

9 November 2026

Participants

35

Recommended for

Youth workers, Trainers, Youth leaders, Youth project managers, Volunteering mentors, Youth coaches

Working language

English

Organiser

Costs

Participation fee

None

Accommodation and food

All costs are covered by organizers and funded within the Erasmus+ program.

Travel reimbursement

-Travel costs will be reimbursed in line with the distance calculator. More info on the reimbursement rules (i.e. taking into consideration eco-friendly types of transportation*) can be checked in the infosheet - which can be downloaded. *Sustainable means of transport (green travel) is defined as the travel that uses low-emissions means of transport for the main part of the travel, such as bus, train or car-pooling. Overview of the amounts for travel reimbursements / by participating country: Germany - 309,00 € / green travel 417,00 € Poland - 309,00 € / green travel 417,00 € Spain - up to 309€ / green travel 417,00 € Portugal - 309,00 € / green travel 417,00 € Italy - 309,00 € / green travel 417,00 €

Looking for participants from

5 countries can apply. The activity takes place in Barcelona, Spain.