Guide to reflection methods in Youth Participation Activities (YPA)

Hey there and welcome to your Youth Participation Activity Reflection Guide!

You are here because:

  • You're about to take part in Youth Participation Activity, or 
  • You're already in your Youth Participation Activity, or 
  • You've just finalized your Youth Participation Activity. 

And that’s a big deal! You are experiencing, learning and growing in many areas, especially in some that are defined as Citizenship competence, or Cultural competence; also Personal, social and learning to learn competence. You might also develop your Entrepreneurship competence or Digital competence. 

The Youth Participation Activity kind of experiences shape who you are, how you think, and how you show up in your communities. But the real magic happens when you stop for a moment, look at what you’ve done, and understand what you’ve learned. And how your competences developed and you grew. This guide is here to help you do exactly that!

Are you thinking:

  • Why would I need help with understanding what have I learned?
  • And how is reflection helpful?

Well, reflection is like checking your map before, during and after an adventure.

It helps you:

  • Notice what you discovered about yourself
  • Understand new skills you’ve developed
  • Connect your experience to the Key Competences used in Youthpass
  • Celebrate your wins and plan your next steps

Now, how to use this guide?

Inside, you’ll find simple tools, questions, and prompts. There’s no right or wrong answer, and you can complete them at your own pace. Think of this guide as a friendly companion - something that helps you make sense of what you learned, how you grew, and what you want to do next.

This is your learning journey. Take your time. Be honest. Be curious. And most importantly, enjoy discovering more about yourself.

Ready? Let’s dive in.

As you move through your project, your needs will change. Some days you may want structure, other days creativity. Sometimes you may need to process emotions, and other times you may want to understand your contribution or your role in the community. This guide offers different pathways so you can choose what supports you best in each moment. To help you choose the right method when you need it, the guide follows the natural stages of your journey. You can use the following steps to decide what fits best at any given moment.

The 'before', 'during' and 'after' icons show you when is the best time to use this method. For example, if you are looking for methods to support you during preparation, you can use the methods marked with 'before'.

The 'ongoing' icon tells you that this method can be used throughout the project, and also multiple times during your project.

These three icons show you if the method is suitable to be used on your own, with a peer or in a bigger group.

If you see this icon next to a method, it means the method needs to be facilitated, perhaps by a trainer, youth worker, coach or a coordinator.

These six icons show you what you might need for a method: such as colours, pen and paper, a camera to take photos or other digital tools, music or being in the nature.

And finally, this icon shows you how much time you might need for a certain method.