Our Objective:

Prisms is a group of experienced youth workers that in 2008 came together with the aim of creating an NGO that caters for the requirements of young people and those working with young people. Prisms provides to the necessities of the people it works with through innovative non-formal methods of education so as to reach their needs in a holistic manner. Prisms focuses on coaching and mentoring, online tools, mental well-being, inclusion and disability through the following objectives: Young people – Context out: Prisms strives to connect with young people in their environment. Our youth workers reach out to the young people to understand their living situation, at which point they are in their lives and their key relationships with others, – Needs-analysis: At the basis of all of our activities lies a person-centred approach that enables us to connect with a purpose.

Prisms listens to the young people and their life experiences and together with the young person they identify the needs to be addressed, – Empower: Prisms believes that every person has potential and through a positive relationship with the young person, it challenges them to set achievable goals for their growth Youth leaders/workers

Prisms focuses on both the personal and professional development of youth workers. We believe that the general wellbeing of the youth worker is pivotal as they serve as role-models for young people. Developing their intra and inter personal skills enable the youth worker to engage better with the young people they work with. Prisms provides tools to the youth workers to be more self-reflective and identify areas for growth, – Linked with the above, on a professional level, Prisms offers innovative tools and methods on how the youth workers can reach, connect, engage and empower young people

Our Mission Statment:

Prisms aims to empower young people and those working with young people with the skills, tools, information and values necessary for personal growth and to be active participants within society.

Description:

Prisms has two main target groups; –

1) Young people aged between 13 and 35 years old

2) Youth workers, youth leaders and other professionals that work with young people. There is no particular age range for this target group.

Our activities are carried out at a national, European and international level. We work with both young people and youth workers local and foreign. We carry out research, deliver workshops, seminars and training courses. Through the years, Prisms has developed its expertise in online youth work and online tools that provide the opportunity to the youth workers to engage with young people both online and offline.

The successful implementation of our initiatives is also attributable to the fact that Prisms has always sought to create meaningful collaborations and we have thus created national partnerships with the Directorate for Educational Services, San Gorg Preca College and Migrants Learners Unit with the Ministry of Education, ITS, MCAST, the Platform for Human Rights Organisations in Malta, St. Patrick’s School, Karl Vella Foundation, the Commission for the Rights for Persons of Disability, Agenzija Sapport, Agenzija Zghazagh and Fondazzjoni Sebh. On a European level, Prisms is part of international networks such as Mais Cidadinia, PRISMA Network, Anna Lindh Foundation and the International Experiential Learning Network.

Projects Being Run:

The following are projects were are running as applicant organisation and lead partner:
1. Different Drum: Professional youth workers are focusing are mentoring young people in and out of school

2. Autism Friendly Spaces: Strengthening competences of educators and youth workers in the knowledge, attitudes and better inclusion strategies for students/young people with autism and provide better accessibility to public and private spaces, through a Certification System enabling the application for ‘Autism Friendly Spaces’ and a nationwide awareness campaign.

3. Il-Kenur: Providing young people living in residential homes or coming from disadvantaged backgrounds with independent skills including cooking, intra and interpersonal skills through outdoor activities.

4. Explore More: focused on the development of a one stop shop interactive website for career choices targeting all secondary students aged between 11-15: www.exploremoreproject.eu

5. Connect: This youth group is targeted towards young people with disability. Professional youth workers together with the young people plan social activities.

In the following projects, Prisms are a participating organisation:
6. Mosaic: Migration is a pivotal issues in many countries including Malta. At the same time, education can provide opportunities to these challenges. For this to happen educators need to be equipped with innovative tools through which they can reach the learners beyond language. Through the Mosaic platform; www.mosaicplatform.eu, educators have access to online modules, a toolbox as well as wellbeing activities. The platform includes also a section for parents containing information about the education system in the host country as well as support services and informative videos. This information has been translated in the languages mostly spoken by refugees and migrants in this host country.

7. Project Reconnect: This project has three main targets; 1. making better use of digital technology for teaching and learning, 2. developing relevant digital competencies and skills for the digital transformation and 3. increasing students’ media literacy.

8. Positive Mindset: The project focuses on the prevention or mitigation of the occurrence of violent/aggressive speech and bullying on the internet with the education and promotion of a positive mindset. We will provide our youth workers, leaders and young adults with the methods, tools, and guidance necessary to achieve our objective

9. Dialogue for the Future: Aims to foster social inclusion of young people by developing their skills of the future and promoting intergenerational dialogue skills to help them feel confident in a changing world and find common ground with peers, family, different representatives of their community, other countries and cultures, as well as build cooperation for positive social influence in the context of the COVID-19 challenges.

How to Volunteer:

Interested volunteers can get in touch with us either through Facebook: Prisms Malta, by email prisms.malta@gmail.com or through our website: www.prismsmalta.com

Opportunities:

1. Hands-on activities with young people
2. Getting involved in project writing and management
3. Enhancing skills and knowledge by attending training courses locally and abroad