County Youth Office trained prospective youth leaders The Youth Leader Card as a foundation for volunteer youth leaders.

Oberbergischer Kreis. The work of volunteer youth leaders is very diverse. Whether planning their own group sessions, organizing and leading a holiday camp, or supporting open work in youth centers.

To navigate confidently in the field of child and youth work, a foundation of knowledge from various disciplines is required. In addition to organizational aspects, this includes basic knowledge in the areas of pedagogy, child protection, legal and insurance issues, and much more.

To impart this knowledge, the district youth office regularly offers training sessions for volunteers. This training is a prerequisite for obtaining the so-called Youth Leader Card (short: Juleica).

The Juleica is the nationwide standardized ID card for volunteer staff in youth work. It serves as a means of legitimation and as a qualification certificate for its holders. Additionally, the Juleica is intended to express social recognition for voluntary engagement.

This year's training took place over two weekends at the Wipperfürth Youth Hostel. Under conditions similar to those of a holiday camp, including overnight stays in shared rooms, the participants successfully completed the event over two weekends.

Represented were aspiring youth leaders from the areas of open, associational, and church-based child and youth work, youth fire brigades, as well as cultural youth work.

The training was led by Helen Köstering, Jörg Brück, and Regina Borchert from the district youth office. The training program was supplemented by external speakers in the fields of child protection, experiential education, and inclusion.

“We are pleased that our training received such a positive response within the given framework. The participants are wholeheartedly committed to the cause. It's wonderful to see.”, reports district youth worker Helen Köstering. “For well-functioning child and youth work in the Oberbergischer Kreis, the commitment of volunteer staff is indispensable.”

All 24 participants of this year's youth leader training successfully completed the six-day course.

Further information about the youth leader training of the district youth office and the Juleica can be found at www.obk.de/juleica.