ESC: Salesian youth work to raise the quality of life

The Salesian Youth Center Celje (SMC Celje) is an increasingly recognizable place for gathering, meeting and educating young people. It is located in the block of flats of Celje - Hudinja (northern part of the city), which is characterized by diverse socio-economic and family issues and cultural and ethical diversity. The youth center tries to respond to the needs in which the young people here live and grow up. The SMC Celje association was founded on the initiative of young people who wanted to do something for their peers in the beginning of 2006. The association employs many animators and volunteers under the auspices of qualified youth leaders who organize non-profit activities through the Boscos preventive educational method. The main motto of the work is to "be with" young people. An important goal of our work is to encourage young people to participate responsibly in the life and activities of the environment in which they are (family, friends, oratory, city district). Through various activities, we try to attract and involve young people and children so that they do not become left to the streets. Many of them belong to vulnerable groups in society. We strive to provide quality activities for everyone to spend their free time safely and usefully, to offer learning opportunities, and to help them become an active part of society, regardless of their religious, cultural or ethnic affiliation. There are many regular activities for young people and children in SMC Celje throughout the year. The main activity is t.t. assistance. As part of SMC Celje, we have a playroom-club space, as well as many outdoor playgrounds where young people and children (target groups) can gather. Preventive presence, which enables a safe environment, is important. We also organize various creative workshops and other activities for quality time. A very important element is the inclusion of target groups (children and young people) in various closed groups, such as music, sports, debate, dance, circus, etc.… Among the most important groups is a group of volunteer animators who, in addition to the leader and employee and are an important element in the animation itself. Within the youth center, there is also an office as a space for information, counseling and personal monitoring. We organize monthly lectures for parents (led by the Bližina Family Institute), and occasionally we also prepare trips for young people, birthday celebrations, cultural events and occasional events (eg Hudija je zakon). Holidays are a very important time, when we organize 2 weeks of oratory and holidays at sea in the summer. The target group of the program are children and young people from the local environment (as well as from other municipalities near Celje). All young people are included, regardless of their social status, gender, age or religion, especially young people with fewer opportunities - single-parent families, those with low socio-economic status, immigrants, adolescents with social integration difficulties, socially excluded.