A year and a half ago, two new youth centers were established under the Tartu Youth Work Center, targeting young people aged 7-11. Affectionately, the youth centers were nicknamed Anneke and Lilleke, because they are located in the very buildings where the Anne and Lille youth centers, intended for an older target group, previously operated. These affectionate names have now become the official names of the centers.
We interviewed Elina and Gerda, youth workers from Annelinn and Lilleke, and youngsters Arabella, Kaide-Ly, and Marcus, to learn more about the daily life of their youth centers.
Elina and Gerda, why are youth centers aimed at a younger target group special?
Elina: What makes youth centers for the younger target group special is their focus on creativity and movement: there are few days when people are passive, and they always try to undertake something active together. Additionally, there's the openness of the youth workers – young people are given opportunities to think and create for themselves, without excessive conditions or limits.
Gerda: Always the young people themselves! And my sufficiently childlike colleagues who want to offer the best to young people!
Who are the youth center workers for the younger target group?
Elina: Youth workers for the younger target group are creative and playful. They give young people space to be themselves and create an environment and activities that make their eyes light up.
Gerda: Workers for the younger target group are, of course, multi-talented! They always put themselves in their target group's shoes, despite their own childhood being 15-20 years ago. They are warm-hearted, caring, and wise, supporting young people in their endeavors and encouraging them to think boldly.
Tell us about an interesting/funny/nice incident that has happened in the youth room…
Elina: The first fond memory is when we created a mural in Lilleke's anteroom. Although we drew the initial sketch on the wall ourselves, all the young people were very active during the painting and enthusiastically joined in – the final result was a wonderful collaborative creation that truly embodies Lillekesed.
Secondly, I vividly remember two overnight stays organized in Lillekese, during which young people were able to stay at the youth center overnight and spend more time together in the evening: this was very well received by all the young people!
Gerda: I was just in the youth room with a girl. She was telling me how many boyfriends her friends had had. I then asked if she had a boyfriend too, and the 10-year-old girl replied: “Oh, I had one clumsy one, but you know how those clumsy ones are!”
What are Annekese and Lillekese's future plans?
Elina: Lilleke's main goal is to engage more new young people. To achieve this, we aim to develop stronger cooperation with schools and social pedagogues to raise awareness of youth centers and the opportunities available to young people visiting a youth room for the younger age group. The second goal is to further encourage young people to be active and initiate their own projects: for example, organizing various events or designing the youth room according to their exciting ideas.
Gerda: We have indeed made commitments for this year, but my personal goal is to get young people moving more and to continue sharing science-based education. I studied pedagogy, and in several subjects, we had movement breaks during lectures; the same should apply in the workplace. The statistics are quite alarming when considering that the 2-3 hours of movement per week, which has become common today, is clearly too little, and a young person should be active for 60 minutes a day. I am very glad that the physical education curriculum became less numbers-oriented, prioritizing the well-being derived from sports. I experienced this as a student at the University of Tartu's sports science building when we analyzed the curriculum changes. Therefore, I likely feel a greater responsibility to support contributing to students' movement habits at school.
Arabella (10), Kaide-Ly (12), and Marcus (11), what useful things have you gained from visiting the youth center?
Arabella: Visiting the youth center has mostly given me new knowledge and experiences; for example, I have learned many new words and hands-on activities here. It's interesting here every day, different activities take place, and all sorts of exciting ideas emerge when working with others.
Kaide-Ly: It has taught me how to get along well with other children and how to politely ask others for things, instead of just taking their belongings.
Marcus: Going to the youth center has also taught me how to communicate and get along better with others. And how to solve things with words instead of violence.
Why do you even come to the youth center?
Arabella: Mainly because of Angela, Liisu, and Elina!
Kaide-Ly: Because there are cool youth workers here, and if you ask something, they respond kindly right away. They also help with studies, and you can initiate your own activities here, for example, cooking together with others.
Marcus: Because you can play and craft here... The youth center is a cool place. And here at Anneke, there's a climbing room where you can go sometimes.
Tell us about an interesting/funny/nice incident that has happened in the youth room...
Arabella: Among the great experiences, learning to sew and baste is the first thing that comes to mind. And of course, the cooking clubs; we make such interesting dishes here together: all kinds of cookies, muffins, and cupcakes, and for savory dishes, lasagna and various pastas. A great memory is also when Nintendos arrived in the youth room, and all the children went wild with excitement.
Kaide-Ly: The first thing that comes to mind is when we went on a trip to Elva with the 'Lillekesed' group. It was an overnight trip, and we went swimming, just hung out, and hiked around the lake. It was a really cool trip.
Marcus: I can't even describe it right away... All the outings, the crafting. In the summer, for example, we went to the nearby playground together.
Previously, children's centres operated in Tartu for a younger target group, but in the autumn of 2021, it became clear that few young people participated in these centres, and they were not sufficiently accessible to the target group. At the time, Helen Siska, head of youth work at Tartu City Government, explained the reorganization as follows: “To improve the quality of youth work and provide diverse support for young people, it made sense to integrate the existing children's centres with the already operating youth centres. We aimed for a holistic approach to offer better services to children and young people.” Thus, the goal of the reorganization was to ensure access to services for young people and a place where they could go with friends after school, receive necessary support, and have opportunities for diverse development.
The Annekese Youth Center is located on the second floor of the Anne Youth Center (Uus 56, Tartu), with the entrance through the E-building door. The Lillekese Youth Center is located on the first floor of the Lille Youth Center (Lille 9, Tartu). Both youth centers are open Monday through Friday from 12:00 to 18:00.
Also join Annekese and Lilleke's Facebook group HERE.
Additional information from the head of the youth centers:
Keitli Ainson
+372 5854 4046
Keitli.Ainson@tartu.ee
