Let’s be honest: working with young people in the world of TikTok, gaming, notifications and endless scrolling is a different sport than it was just a few years ago. Traditional methods? We all know them. But today, even the best-designed workshop can lose to a single Instagram reel.
That’s exactly why “Level App” was created — a training course designed to help youth workers level up. Not only technologically, but mentally as well.
From 28 January to 5 February 2022, twenty participants from Armenia, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Greece and Moldova gathered in Rzeszów. All of them experienced youth workers. All of them aware that if they want to truly reach young people, they need to understand the language of their world.
It wasn’t about turning everyone into influencers overnight. It was about understanding how young people think and what they are actually looking for in digital spaces. If young people spend most of their time in apps, then that’s where youth work needs to meet them — not to compete with the internet, but to use it wisely.
There was no dry theory during this training — just plenty of practice, testing tools, discussions and honest conversations about what works and what simply doesn’t. Participants shared real experiences from their organisations: small victories, failed attempts, experiments that didn’t go as planned. Many admitted they had already tried different approaches, but meeting in such an international group gave them a fresh perspective.
For a full week, they experimented with interactive learning methods, online tools and new ways to make education more dynamic, relevant and — above all — engaging for young people. Everyone returned home with new ideas, but also with the reassurance that they are not alone in facing this challenge. Because working with young people means constantly learning — including learning from them.
“Level App” proved something important: in the digital age, technology doesn’t have to be intimidating. It simply needs to be understood and used intentionally. And when that happens, working with young people doesn’t just become easier — it becomes genuinely rewarding.
The project was funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme.