collection of tools that we can work with.“ (Team lea - der, one-on-one interview) Team leaders said that when it comes to training, they would like to acquire more advanced knowledge in particular, meaning they want to learn about interac - tive, creative and playful methods that go beyond the basics. As one team leader said, “Of course I’d say that you need to learn how to use the tools, but maybe not the classic tools that everyone knows, but something new and unusual. It would also be good to learn new methods, especial - ly ones that go beyond the stuff that everyone alrea - dy knows. Of course we realise that you can also go ahead and do the same standard things as always, because they work. But they’ve already been done to death (…)“ (Team leader, one-on-one interview) In this context, said the team leaders, any training course should offer ample opportunity for participants to try out online tools themselves. They also asked for more opportunities for networking and exchanging ex - periences with colleagues from the international youth work community. Finally, they said they would appreci - ate more support in regard to data privacy and consent forms in particular. 3.6 Cooperation with partner organi- sations During this part of the study, the researchers examined the impact of digital elements when cooperating with partner organisations. The following questions were as - ked: • How do digital elements change the way that part - ner organisations cooperate? • How does the host principle work in online set - tings? • How does an uneven playing field among partner organisations impact on the running of a digital project? It emerged that the use of digital elements can have a positive impact on cooperation between partner organisations; for instance, it makes it easier for them to communicate. In particular, preparatory mee - tings are made easier if digital tools are used. The team leaders said that the process of preparing for a project felt more personal because they were able to see as well as hear each other on a videoconferencing plat-
form. Some interviewees also said that they had met up more often with their colleagues in the partner countries than they would have before the pandemic, when they would not have used new forms of digital communica - tion. Contact between the partner organisations was hence not just easier and more personal, it was also more intense. As for the host principle, a whole new approach is needed when working with digital settings. One of the challenges is the need to maintain “country neutra - lity”, a key aspect of the host principle that is central to international youth work. To explain: in an in-person ex - change, one youth group is hosted by the other group. But in online projects, everyone is a guest. It was not evident that any of the projects examined in this study succeeded in either re-creating the host principle or in making conscious use of this new setting. If the host principle is to be applied also in online settings, new methods will have to be developed. That being said, the country-neutral nature of an online space offers op - portunities for levelling the playing field without having to assign “host” and “guest” roles. There is potential here for giving greater attention to the country-unspeci - fic, personal aspects of the exchange and to focus on similar as well as differing backgrounds. What also emerged during the study was that the partner organisations were not equally equipped to run a digital project. For instance, there were diffe- rences in terms of technical equipment and the pre - sence of a stable internet connection among the orga - nisations for which data was available. Youth clubs or educational facilities in rural areas, in particular, often lack the internet bandwidth required for complex video - conferencing sessions. Differences also emerged in re - gard to data privacy attitudes, which made cooperation across international teams more complicated. Finally, team leaders felt challenged by differing opinions in the partner countries on how to structure an online session. For instance, there were differences in opinion regar- ding how structured the online sessions should be (ran - ging from extremely structured to more free time and more breaks), and how much opportunity participants should get to work on their own (ranging from leaving them to “get on with it” to strong intervention from team leaders).
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