Momentums Creative Director Paul Oxborough, is also a Director for Progressive Consultancy Services (PCS) this is an educational youth work provider which uses state of the art technology to engage staff and young people in dynamic youth based projects.

PCS is working on a number of regional Youth Work programmes, but since late 2007 it is primarily UK based, any international work is now directed through Momentum.

“The reason I have joined the Momentum Team is that the goal of being able to reach hundreds, maybe even thousands of young people through bigger partnerships is very exciting. Historically PCS has worked with much smaller groups over a longer period, so although the impact is high quality it is relatively small. Another real advantage is the access to a dynamic management team who believe in the impact young people can have on society”

PCS will continue to work at a local/regional level keeping in touch with current trends of young people, however now has the wider benefit of being affiliated to an international organisation

For more information about Progressive Consultancy Services please visit the website by clicking here

There was a time in my life, which now seems so far away. It was the time when I believed people cannot change. I was not satisfied with the education I was receiving and myself as a person. I had been relatively passive in getting involved in any sort of extracurricular activities, I felt quite insecure about myself and my communication with others. But here I am now, four years later, and my life has completely been turned around. I’ve become an active citizen, faced many of my prejudices, discovered my passion for film and media, met a Prince and traveled abroad. Most importantly, now I do believe that people can change for the better and I know from my own experiences that they just need to be challenged.

The experiences I have had with both Cre8ive8 Youth Media Production and the Blue Sky Youth Network made it possible for me to grow in such a way. I found myself slowly taking on various responsibilities, doing things I’d never even imagine of doing. Soon, challenge after challenge, I found myself working with young people abroad and this international experience was a key element for my transformation. For the first time, I got the chance to see and experience things first hand. In 2005, when I went to Albania, I had to face my own stereotypes and prejudices I had of growing up in an environment full of misconceptions about people with different religious or ethnic backgrounds. It was a wonderful moment in my life because by overcoming these prejudices, not only did this make me a more open-minded individual, it also helped me to grow into a more independent and active young person.

A year later I found myself working in UK, challenging my views again, and trying to become a better team player. As a result of how valuable all of these international experiences have truly been, a year ago I decided to challenge myself again and found the strength to apply for a one-year undergraduate exchange program. So, today I get to write these couple of paragraphs while living and studying in the US, which has definitely been one of the biggest adventures I’ve had so far.

Today, when I look back on how things happened, for me and many other people, I realize the power informal education can have. It has offered me so much more than my time spent in the classroom. Being treated and approached as an adult instead of as a child, makes all the different in having a more comfortable environment for people to learn, share and communicate more easily. In addition, getting honest feedback from the people around always motivates and inspires people to do better next time and gives them the space to reflect on their feelings and experiences. Having realized how positive and effective informal education is, I no longer feel caught in or limited by the constraints of our educational system. Thus, I now see a lot career opportunities for myself and I am aiming high because I now know that nothing is impossible.

I was born in 1983 and I am from the UK. I am a white British female. I lived in a small town in South Yorkshire; I went to an almost entirely White British school. In fact at the time there were only two non-white British students. A lot of the people in the town where I lived had little ambition or desire to learn about different cultures. There was, and still is, a lot of racial intolerance. I did not really fit in at school and was bullied because of my interests and appearance. I was always open minded though about people of different cultures and races and I knew I wanted to learn and be successful in the future. However I had never left the UK until I went on my first international exchange. I had been a very shy person and although my involvement in performing arts had made me slightly more outgoing I was very nervous about meeting new people.

My first international experience came when I was in year 12, two weeks after my 16^th birthday. I was offered the chance to take part in an exchange with a formerly Bedouin Arab community in Israel. I jumped at the chance. My parents were very concerned about me, my diabetes and lack of travel experience worried them and they did not want me to go. I persuaded them (eventually) though. I’m not sure why I wanted to go I just thought it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I loved every minute of being there, we are still in contact now 10 years later.

I was eager to do more and in subsequent years attended international camps, Youth Action Week and Blue Sky 05 in Macedonia. My only regret is that I didn’t get the opportunity to do more! I am much more confident now and I am even able to speak publicly. It is hard to specify exactly what I learned through these experiences. Of course I developed leadership, diplomacy, communication and problem solving skills along with the ability to go for huge amounts of time with little or no sleep!

I believe that my international experiences brought me out of my shell and gave me a passion for working with young people. It has also given me an interesting C.V., not many people can say that they have edited articles on a website for young people across Southeast Europe and the UK, or attended summer schools in Macedonia.

I look at some of the people I went to school with, and the students I work with now and recognise the fear of the unknown I used to see in the students we took on our international trips. I know that they lead very insular lives and I would love to show them a wealth of other cultures and experiences, to show them what is really out there in the world. Young people who take part in these trips always have something to say, something to talk about, and they seem to know that their opinion counts. I believe that it sets you apart from the crowds as you have done something quite scary, but brilliant, worthwhile and different at the same time.

I am now working with young people who are excluded from school. I teach students who no one else will have in their classroom due to their behavioural problems. I decided to do this because as I said my favourite moments during Blue Sky especially was getting to know the young people, listening to them and trying to do my best to help them any way I could.

So what would I say to young people thinking about doing something similar … ? Take a deep breath, close your eyes and go for it!! You will never regret the experience and the more you put in the more you will get out. Everything worth having is worth working hard for and international activities are just the same. I would not be the person I am now without mine, instead of fighting with unruly teenagers, arguing with schools for resources and trying to change outside and inside perceptions and attitudes I would be in a lab on my own completing my research and as worthy as that would be I don’t feel I would be as passionate or stimulated by it and I can’t wait to do even more. It is my dream to take a group of students like mine on an international camp – I can’t imagine the impact it would have on them!

My name is Olsi !’m a 19 year old male who lives in Albania. I am currently studying Computer Science at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Tirana (2^nd year).

Before….I was locked in every day’s routine of waking up, going to school, coming back home, studying, going out with my friends and then waiting for the next day. This was pretty much what a normal day looked like when I didn’t have the chance to meet other cultures or people from all over Europe. In this monotony the only expectations I had were having a normal quiet life and getting into a good university, and I think was all the others expected from me. No false illusions! But… things changed!

I was only 16 when I first went abroad and the activity that I was part of was the AMAZING Blue Sky Summer School 2006 in Macedonia. I was participating as a Team Leader and I had the possibility to meet some extraordinary people there. It was totally a new experience for me from which I could benefit a lot. The sessions and the creative trainings changed my way of thinking and acting. Actually I think I was inspired! Inspired to see things in a different prospective and being positive J In the summer school I meet many youngsters from Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Montenegro and the UK and each one of them is still on my contact list. We talk, we share ideas, discuss and remember the fun we had back then.

Before meeting all other participants I was afraid that being a team leader would not be the best way to present myself considering that I had to wake them up every morning at 7.00 AM but as it turned out, they helped me wake up sometimes J

This very first experience as a leader improved my abilities to talk to people and express them what I was thinking in all the forthcoming activities like: Let’s Meet Our Neighbours And The World – Seminar in France where I learned so much about different countries all around Europe. Then the Youth Exchange in Ohrid, Macedonia that is one of the best memories I’ve got. I can go on like this for years J but words just aren’t enough to express all I experienced in these international activities.

The result of all the activities I’ve been part of is an opened mind. Now I think in a new level, something I definitively didn’t do before. The topics we discussed are now part of my daily conversations with friends and family. Also I want to travel the world, see how other countries work and develop. I want to gain a general knowledge and be prepared for the career I am going to choose. This knowledge will not help only me but all those around me and my country too.

Don’t be afraid of applying everywhere you want to go! Don’t be ashamed of who you are! Don’t ever think you’re not interesting! Follow every possibility that comes in your way and meet different people and cultures all over the world. You’ll be happy with yourself and you’ll have many things to talk about and many photos to post on Facebook J

I am currently 19 years old, I was born in Sheffield United Kingdom, male, white, I am currently in full time education (university)

Before I wasn’t 100% confident on meeting new people from other countries there wasn’t any reason I think it was mainly because I thought there would be a language barrier however I was completely wrong. I can’t wait to meet new people now and thanks to blue sky it gives me this opportunity to do that. Another area of my personality that has changed is that I really do respect what I have more than before. There countries up to now which I have been to have are truly amazing and we have worked together as a group to help the surrounding areas to try and promote the preservation of these areas so that not only we enjoy them but also others can as well.

First of all we have had lots of group bonding sessions, which have been really good as it was a good way to get to know people quickly. The reason I wanted to take part in it was the knowledge that I may gain valuable experience in more ways than one and I didn’t want to miss out on this amazing opportunity. It has changed me considerably as I have also been on a leadership course so that I am able to not only participate in these events but also help organise and run the event. The advantages that I have gained from this experience is the knowledge that where ever you go in the world there are people like you who have the same ambitions in life and by knowing that it makes me feel a lot better about the people in the world.

After these events I have changed as I now try to make learning more active and to make it more fun so that it is not only easier to understand but it helps to make it more interesting. I also now know that in order to achieve a common goal the use of a group is much more efficient. I am hoping to continue as much as possible to help and promote youth work as we are the future and so if I can help people achieve their ambitions and hopefully the ambitions of blue sky I will know that all that I have learnt and what my friends from blue sky have learnt will not have gone to waste. I think overall I am a much more considerate person now I have been to countries with a lot worse conditions of living than I do and so I value things more. The friends I have made from blue sky are some of the best people I have ever met. We are constantly in touch and the people from the UK we meet up regularly and so we all feel the same way in that this has been and still is one of the best experiences we have ever had in our entire lives up to now.

If I were to give advice to any young person advice today about these projects the first thing I would say is if you don’t do something like this you could regret it for the rest of your life. This is experience has not only enabled me to travel places I would never have imagined going to, it has also helped me meet lots and lots of new people who are extremely friendly and fun to be with but it also has opened many windows in which would allow me to participate in events like this in the future but it has also allowed me to possibly even run events to these places due to the contacts I have made. So overall this experience isn’t just a one off, it can be for life and I know now if I had turned down this offer I would have regretted it.