AI4YouthWork -Focus Group, May 2024, Romania

On 23rd May, TEAM4Excellence organised a focus group as part of the AI4YouthWork project. The event took place at the Maritime University of Constanta and was attended by 40 youth workers from 8 organizations, with and without experience in Artificial Intelligence. The aim of the focus group was to assess the usage of AI tools in youth work.

The focus group started with an icebreaker to make the people relax and connect with each other. After the brief introduction of the project and of participants, the facilitator invited them to a brainstorming session. She launched the scenario question “If you could automate one part of your daily routine with AI, what would it be and why?”. During the discussion, participants demonstrated various levels of AI knowledge. They suggested few AI tools that they already use. Mainly, they mentioned that they would like to use AI to create educational content and learning materials and for administrative tasks like scheduling, lessons planning.

Then, the facilitator and project manager from Team4Excellence presented the scope of the project. The Focus group continued with the 5 questions which were addressed by facilitator and the responses were collected on small post-its and advertised on a flipchart paper. The activity continued with discussions about AI tools and participants presented the benefits and challenges. In the continuation of the discussions, they identified the skills needed and a set of activities that can lead to development of the competencies.

Concluding the event, participants’ feedback underscored essential insights. Notably, they deepened their understanding of AI tools relevant to youth work. Additionally, they discovered new AI tools and practical tips for implementing AI, enhancing the understanding of AI tools in education.

Location: Constanta, Romania

Date: 23rd of May 2024