Jewish Community of Rome

Youth Office Educational Department

The Youth Office is a Non-Formal Education agency that operates within the Jewish Community of Rome and is a fundamental resource not only for growth, but also for the social, emotional and intellectual development of the individual.

The decision to create an Educational Department rather than a recreational center was dictated by this consideration and by the desire not to make it subject to fashions, as often happens with projects that have the exclusive purpose of social exchanges and interactions.
The aim is also to offer continuous support and respond to the information, orientation and training needs of users. Otherwise it would be difficult to satisfy, within a single place, the requests of all users, different in terms of interests, age, as well as cultural and social origins.

We respond to these needs by developing ourselves as a support structure and strengthening our local roots, providing young people and those engaged in non-formal or formal educational contexts with a progressively more reliable service.

A staff trained in the socio-educational field and directly involved in specific intervention sectors operates within the Youth Office Educational Department.

In particular, the Youth Office Educational Department organizes the daily work dealing with:

Design and planning

Planning and management of play-educational spaces and services aimed at childhood, pre-adolescence and adolescence, conceived and organized to be flexible and able to adapt over time to different needs.
The realization of these projects aims to transmit Jewish culture and identity and at the same time stimulate integration and the development of new relationships.
Children and teenagers are the real protagonists of the proposed activities, always in constant evolution, susceptible to change both by the creators of the initiatives and by the users themselves.
The various professionals involved are moved by the belief that for the realization of one’s own personality, for the affirmation of the self, of the child or young person, one must have an environment that can contain and support him, to allow him to experience it materially and emotionally.

Observation of behavior

The playful-didactic activity that takes place within our projects gives the possibility of observing a vast field of attitudes that are particularly relevant, precisely because they arise in a spontaneous context.
Observation in such circumstances can provide insight into the needs and potential discomforts of the participants.
Our goal is to propose an integration adapted to their needs and to guide the educators in their interaction and in the proposals of the most effective activities.

Monitoring and evaluation

The monitoring process of services aimed at childhood, pre-adolescence, adolescence and families is aimed at verifying the achievement of objectives, at ascertaining the progress of the service both from a quantitative and qualitative point of view.

Parental listening

Listening space aimed at families, inserted in the context of the projects, in moments of effectiveness or difficulty in the relationship with the children: receive feedback on the internal dynamics observed in the context of the activities by the educators, in which their children or kids are involved, it helps parents to focus on areas to be strengthened in their relationships.
Parents, in addition to having space for individual interviews, have the opportunity to discuss in groups with other parents, stimulated by their active participation.

Work staff supervision

In doing so, the educator is supported by an action strategy, based on direct observation of the relationship between him and the group and his own with reference to the organizational context.
The staff are in group supervision through weekly meetings, to favor a work that is the result of the contribution and resources of each member.
This favors the easing of emotional tensions, which inevitably emerge in the relationship with users and staff members.

Formazione

Organization of training courses aimed at young animators and educators, who can be engaged in work in youth movements, in educational contexts, in temples, etc. with a broad and complete preparation.
The courses deal with various topics, trying to stimulate curiosity and favoring the exchange of ideas between peers; it is an opportunity for individual growth developed in a group, which enriches the personality, through the experiential approach and the knowledge of those who undertake the journey.
In this way we lay the foundations for the training of competent educators, who will guarantee the community the growth of future activists and the transmission of a Jewish identity and education.