
I had never travelled, let alone travelled for work alone so that was a big step for me
Kiera, Head of Dance for Achieve More Scotland has taken part in a youth worker training in Macedonia. In 2017 Kiera attended a 5-day training course with 30 other youth workers from across Europe to explore using dance to support young people at risk of offending. Kiera puts her Erasmus+ experience down to her growing maturity in her youth work practice that supports over 1000 girls and young women across the City of Glasgow each week. Since then, Kiera has supported 4 young women to take up Erasmus+ in the last 2 years, ensuring they use the experience to overcome homelessness, vulnerability and low self-esteem.
“The highlights for me was meeting different people in a different country and exploring our shared youth work practice and backgrounds. I had never travelled, let alone travelled for work alone so that was a big step for me. I became more confident in my ability to present and highlight my youth work successes which helped me to find myself as a youth worker and become more confident in my every day job. I realised during this experience that I was a good youth worker and realised the potential I had as a youth worker to shape young people’s lives for the better. The course did more for me that I expected. If there is no Erasmus+ to continue after Brexit then there has to be a conversation about alternative funds for it. It would be a real shame to lose something so valuable to youth work in Scotland.”
Kiera is one example of youth workers across Scotland who can exchange best practice with other youth workers across Europe to positively impact the lives of young people whom are vulnerable, at risk of offending and whom require mental health support