Three open youth rooms for young people, youth work camp, excursions, training courses, local and international projects, volunteer work, and support for youth initiatives.
These are the opportunities that the Tartu Youth Work Center offers to young people active in the city of Tartu.
Along with the administrative reform, much has changed for young people, in addition to the city's physical borders. As of this year, Ilmatsalu Youth Center is one of Tartu city's open youth centers, and engaging the local youth there has been a challenge for youth workers. Nevertheless, visitor statistics show a clear interest among local youth in the youth center's activities, and the motivation of youth workers has also brought young people to Ilmatsalu from surrounding areas and the city.
Nevertheless, changes in youth work are daily, and youth workers often find themselves racing against them. Free county-wide transport brings an increasing number of young people to the centers from surrounding municipalities. With the implementation of street youth work and the change of seasons, more and more young people find their way from urban spaces to centers to escape the weather. The interests and desires of young people also change faster than the weather and seasons.
The Tartu Youth Work Centre was established in May 2018 as a sub-institution of the city government, succeeding the former Lille Maja and Anne Youth Centre, and today, the founders of the institution have acknowledged the correctness of their decision. The Centre has successfully established itself, with each activity location finding its own direction, thereby significantly reducing the duplication of activities and competition for numbers.
At Lille Youth Centre, the focus is on youth health, approaching it as holistically as possible through various components: mental, environmental, physical, social, spiritual, and emotional. Anne Youth Centre follows its own path in youth employment, coordinating Tartu's youth work camp. In addition to gaining initial work experience, young people at Anne Youth Centre acquire broader knowledge about career and working life topics. The excellent opportunities for outdoor activities located in the immediate vicinity of Ilmatsalu Youth Centre have greatly provided motivation and opportunities for launching the centre's nature education focus area. Adventurous survival camps, hikes, and daily recreational activities have successfully launched the youth centre with a nature education focus. Thus, each centre, when viewed from the side, follows its own path, yet all centres operate as a unified whole based on teamwork, offering diverse opportunities for young people with different interests.
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