ASOCIACIÍN CULTURAL SOCIAL Y EDUCATIVA SEGUNDAS OPORTUNIDADES

National Network
Spain
Address

CALLE NÉSTOR ÁLAMO 6.8
SAN GREGORIO
35200 TELDE
Spain

Telephone
0034651304588
E-Mail
DANIEL.DIXON@ACSESO.ORG
E-Mail (2)
INFO@ACSESO.ORG
E-Mail (3)
MEDIA@ACSESO.ORG
Organisation Type
Non-Governmental Organization
Year of Establishment
2013
Fields of Activity
  1. Democracy and community development
  2. Gender
  3. International/Cultural relations
  4. Media
  5. Research
  6. Youth and education
General Information
The Asociación Cultural Social Educativa Segundas Oportunidades is a non profit organisation working in the outermost region of the EU, The Canary Islands.   Target group/s We organise and implement different initiatives throughout the year, aimed towards young people aged 14-30 to provide them with non formal learning opportunities.  The majority of our members face financial, geographical and employment obstacles due to our location in the Canary Islands being an outermost region and most income and available employment being from the tourist industry.  As we have developed our services over the last 6 years, and adapted to the needs of young people, we have been able to provide more services and with more ways to connect, such as local events, international projects and virtual support and projects.  Type  Non profit association Size  12 staff & volunteers, 450 members Scope of work A.C.S.E.S.O’s purpose is to provide opportunities to young people to access education opportunities outside of the formal education system by providing training courses, workshops, events and debates. We also run various programmes targeting youth at risk of exclusion and with fewer opportunities.  Souces of funding Our funding comes from Erasmus+ projects, fund raising and the sale of services to the community,  Main Partners We work with multiple youth organisations and universities through Erasmus+ projects.
Mission and Objectives

A.C.S.E.S.O’s main aim is to support the community to improve their skills, competencies and curriculum, with the final aim to improve their employability at a local, national and European level. 
We have several youth programs and also programs for adults and regularly provide workshops, events and training courses.
We also widen our reach by providing virtual youth work as many of the young people we support may come from other islands, or the mainland and more recently, we have been supporting young people in other countries through various virtual activities. The most recent being Keeping Yourself Safe from Cyberbullying through Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange Project. 

Main Projects / Activities

A.C.S.E.S.O has several on-going projects, apart from regular events and trainings that take place all year long:
 
“NosVoz Program” is a media program that was started to give support and training to young prospective media professionals. The program gives a space for young people to write publicly in a blog, work with social media, and learn skills around the media industry. A lot of the workshops and articles produced in this project are related to migration, social cohesion, equality and more recently, the programme is working on a local project about the problems with “post-truth” journalism, and the links to xenophobia. We plan for it to develop into a street paper eventually supporting homeless/unemployed/migrant citizens to find work and gain experience. Within this program we have a youth led magazine called NOSVOZ that has a very wide readership. 
Mobility Today. This program continued following an Erasmus youth exchange “We’ve More in Common Than in Difference” and A.C.S.E.S.O continues to coordinate this with international youth. The project includes podcasts, blog and E-zines and is a way for young people to connect with others, learn about different cultures, and learn about opportunities for youth. www.mobilitytoday.eu
 
The English Project which aims at allowing citizens with fewer opportunities in the local community and migrant groups to learn English in a different learning environment based on the Montessori methods with children, teenagers and adults, and mainly on the results of the MOMA project (http://www.momaproject.eu/), Positive Youth Development (PYD) with youth, and Positive Adult Development (PAD). 
 
The European Youth Hub is a space for adolescents to meet and take part in various activities including training and development, performing arts, cultural activities and social events.The European Youth Hub is run by young people for young people and is managed through a democratic process. The youth organise debates and events for young people and the program follows the principles of positive youth development (PYD). This space is attended by many migrant  and local youth as a space to learn new skills, meet new people and contribute to the community through volunteering. Within The European Youth Hub, we also provide support for young people accessing European Voluntary Service. A.C.S.E.S.O is accredited as EVS sending and coordination body and organises workshops and events throughout the year promoting EVS and preparing young people. We have a weekly drop in session for young people to get information about EVS and support in applying for projects.
 
A.C.S.E.S.O Events regularly organises intercultural events in order to allow people living in Gran Canaria (locals and migrants) to meet, practice languages, and learn from each other’s cultures through educational games, informal discussions and organised debates. Many of our events are designed to support immigrants to assimilate and learn the local language, about the culture and to socialise
 
Migrant Youth Empowerment Programme (MYEP) supports young people seeking asylum and migrants under the age of 30 to increase their participation and engagement with the broader community through employment, education and opportunities to connect through social outings and recreation. The youth take part in various activities including training and development, performing arts, cultural activities and social events.The program aims to establish a proactive, engaged group of young people who make lasting friendships and gain confidence and leadership skills to thrive in Europe.The goal is for graduates of the program to move forward to successful jobs in their chosen fields, become leaders in their communities, inspirational speakers and also mentors for other young people who also share a lived experience of seeking asylum.
CONNECTING YOUTH is a programme that provides youth activities for young people with fewer opportunities and is youth led. 
Upstanders Project is a youth led project of young people working together to prevent bullying, racism and hate. 
Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange Project. Several of A.C.S.E.S.O’s team have become trained dialogue facilitators through this project as we see this project as invaluable to our work. In addition to this, several of our team have also taken part in youth training provided by this project and the team have since gone on to write and manage a Transnational Exchange Project called Keep Yourself Safe From Cyberbullying, and are developing 6 other Transnational Exchange Projects that will be delivered throughout 2019. 

How can you contribute to the Network in your country?

A.C.S.E.S.O is based in The Canary Islands, and outermost region of the EU off the coast of Morroco and an area with high levels of youth unemployment and social issues. As a youth organisation, we are very involved in intercultural dialoge and have run several succesful projects and youth exchanges in this area. As part of the network, we can bring our expertise in youth work, especially regarding hard to reach youth. We are also increasing our virtual youth program to reach young people in other countries to encourage dialogue and have been supported by Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange to do this. 

Why do you want to join the ALF Network?

Our transational work with young people has encouraged the promtion of dialoge between young people in The Canary Islands and the Southern Mediteranean and we see this as an exremely important part of our work with young people. We found out about Anna Lindh Foundation through our work with Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange and after reading through your website, see that your netwrok alligns with our lans and believe that us being part of the network represnting The Canary Islands will also benefit the work that you do. 

Contact (1) Full Name
DANIEL DIXON
Job Title
PRESIDENT
Head of the organisation
DANIEL DIXON
Contact (2) Full Name
PAULA BOLAÑOS
Job Title (2)
VICE PRESIDENT