ESC: Social youth work and outdoor activities at Villa Elba

Villa Elba is one of the Finnish National Youth Centres supported and observed by the Ministry of Education. We are specialized in youth work and our function is to develop the methods used in the field of youth work, to act as a centre for developing the skills of the youth, and enable young people’s mobility: domestically and abroad. The centres are run under the Finnish Youth Act. The core values ​​of our operations are community spirit, solidarity, equality, equality, multiculturalism, internationality, healthy lifestyles and respect for the environment and life. The goals of our activities are formed on the basis of the goals set for us by the Youth Act, and our task is to support children and growth and development of young people. The activities of our youth center are based on the common vision of the youth centers youth work in a youth center environment. Our knowledge of young people and developmental expertise supports youth participation and aids in their growth towards active citizenship. This knowledge is not only founded on years of experience working with young people, but also successful cooperation with municipalities, schools and various organizations, in addition to our special status as a partner to the Ministry of Education in the administration of government youth policy. We have strong experience in volunteering in a civic society. In 2013, the Youth Center Villa Elba was awarded for the first time and as the first youth center in Finland Council of Europe Youth Center Quality Label. The quality label consists of 15 different criteria assessed by the Council, on the basis of which the quality of the activities of the youth center is assessed. Villa Elba's strategy focuses on the goals of the Youth Act: - we promote the inclusion of young people - we support the growth and well-beeing of young people - we support the possibility for young people to develop into active actors in civil society - our activities are open to all young people and groups, and we actively seek to involve the disadvantaged young people in order to achieve the goal of equality. We apply for Quality label in order to develop and continue the work to help local actors to work with international volunteering projects.Through international volunteering projects, we want to bring multiculturalism into the lives of children and young people. In rural and small areas, children and young people do not have many opportunities to make international contacts, so with the help of a volunteer they can have these experiences in their own in their living environment, and thus multiculturalism can be made a natural part of the daily lives of children and young people.