PoikaZone is Setlementti Puijola’s project to develop youth work that focuses on boys’ needs and experiences. Together with young people and local professionals, we are developing gender-sensitive, culturally sensitive and anti-racist youth work in North Savo.
The activities are for young people aged 10–20 who are boys, identify as boys, or are exploring what being a boy or a young man means to them.
What happens at PoikaZone?
PoikaZone is about connecting with others, doing things together and belonging to a community. We are creating activities where everyone has the opportunity to be seen and heard as themselves.
Activities are planned together with young people. They may include community activities, small groups, themed evenings, events, outings and other activities based on young people’s interests and wishes. We also meet young people in the places where they spend their everyday lives.
The activities provide space to explore issues that matter to young people. These may include friendships and relationships, emotions, personal strengths, loneliness, identity, expectations around being a boy or a young man, equality, racism, and the influence of social media and the online world.
Our activities aim to strengthen young people’s:
- self-esteem and ability to recognise their own strengths
- emotional and interpersonal skills
- participation and opportunities to influence decisions
- sense of belonging to a community
- safe, supportive relationships with others, including peers.
PoikaZone is a development project, so not everything has been decided in advance. We want to hear directly from young people about the activities they need, where they would like them to take place and what matters to them.
Young people help plan, deliver and evaluate the activities. Our aim is to develop an approach based on their actual needs and experiences.
Why youth work focused on boys?
Gender, and being a boy or a young man, comes with a range of expectations and social norms. These can affect which emotions feel easy to express, which subjects feel safe to talk about, and when and how young people seek help.
Youth work focused on boys provides a safe space to explore these issues without assuming there is only one right way to be a boy or a young man.
PoikaZone aims to help young people grow into themselves and find their place in a community. A safe community can be especially important for young people who experience loneliness, exclusion, discrimination or racism, or who otherwise struggle to find a community where they feel they belong.
Developing youth work practice
PoikaZone is about more than activities for young people. The project also develops the skills of professionals who work with young people and builds cooperation with local youth services, educational institutions, non-profit organisations and others working with young people.
Our aim is to develop a model for youth work in North Savo that focuses on boys’ needs and experiences and is gender-sensitive, culturally sensitive and anti-racist. The model will be available for use in youth work beyond the project.
Get involved!
PoikaZone is just getting started. If you are a young person in our target group and would like to take part or help shape PoikaZone, we would love to hear from you.
Professionals working with young people and organisations interested in working with us are also welcome to get in touch.
Antti Tastula
Project Coordinator, PoikaZone
antti.tastula@puijola.net
Tel. +358 50 308 9617
The PoikaZone project is run by Setlementti Puijola and funded by the Finnish Supervisory Agency.