Pedagogy with a vision
ways to integration

Pedagogy with a vision
ways to integration

IJS e.V. develops and promotes individual offers for children, youths and young adults. In addition to its own projects, the association supports educational specialists, youth welfare organizations, initiatives and foundations by developing concepts and exchanging experiences.

Furthermore, IJS e.V. is keen to promote and spread the concept of Individualized Social Pedagogy in many different ways, e.g. through training courses, and the production of short animated explanatory films which illuminate various aspects of Individualized Social Pedagogy in theory and practice.

News

Projects in Southeast Asia

Since 2024, IJS e.V. has expanded its activities according to its guiding principle of “spreading the idea of Individualised social pedagogy”. The aim was and is to support children and young people in Southeast Asia. This is achieved in particular through individualised pedagocical approaches that aim to promote their personal and scholastic development in a sustainable manner. The focus is on measures to improve their general individual education and the development of educational opportunities, to ensure a healthy diet and to develop prospects for each individual child and youth in an often difficult social environment, with often traumatic biographical experiences.

Initial contacts with individuals were made years ago, and in 2024, promising partnerships were established with the following non-profit organisations in Thailand:

Child’s Dream Foundation, Chiang Mai
Founded in 2003, this foundation is dedicated to improve the living conditions of children and youths in the Mekong regions – particularly in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Northern Thailand. Child’s Dream builds schools, promotes health projects and awards scholarships to disadvantaged young people. Its work is characterised by a high degree of transparency, local roots and sustainable impact.

Volunteers Without Borders, Mae Aei, Chiang Mai Province
This organisation is committed to education, environmental awareness and the development of rural communities in Northern Thailand. In close cooperation with local schools and authorities, Volunteers Without Borders supports disadvantaged children and organises volunteer projects with schools in the surrounding areas. The charity also runs Thomas House, a project where up to 20 children, including those with multiple disabilities, are cared for and educated.

Yuvabadhana Foundation, Bangkok
The Yuvabadhana Foundation was founded in 1993 and focuses on promoting education and social integration for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in Thailand. The foundation works closely with public schools and awards scholarships that enable young people to pursue scholastic or vocational training.

Food for Good
In addition to educational activities, the Yuvabadhana Foundation also offers the “Food for Good” nutrition programme. This programme focuses on providing access to nutritious meals and individual training for each child. Since ist foundation in 2014, “Food for Good” has changed the lives of 23,790 children in 252 schools in 61 provinces of Thailand.

Cooperation contracts have been concluded with all three organisations. The aim of these partnerships is to support existing projects and to introduce new educational initiatives, such as the development of individualised social pedagogy programmes tailored to local conditions in Thailand.

A team from IJS e.V. travelled to Thailand in December 2024 to strengthen the partnerships on site, establish new contacts with those responsible and develop a collaborative process of cooperation. In-depth insights into the project work were gained and trust was strengthened through direct contacts.

In addition to professional networking, the trip also served to analyse needs and develop communication structures.

Individualized Social Pedagogy – a real alternative

Children and young people sometimes suffer from family or social circumstances. They lack support and encouragement, reliable ties and role models. They become conspicuous and avoid the contact to adults. The youth welfare offices and public agencies offer a range of support services, but for some young people these traditional offers are not appropriate or they refuse to accept them. These young people are in danger of slipping out of the system and breaking out. At this point, Individualized Social Pedagoy has repeatedly shown itself to be a valuable alternative, as each care concept is geared to the needs of the young people, with a view to existing resources with high relationship continuity and resilience.

Projects

Day Active

An integration project

Since November 2017, IJS e.V. has established projects for children and young people with a migration background in a municipal building for refugee families.

Every weekday, these partly traumatized young people are worked with by a team of artists and social workers:
With music, art and play programs. Short excursions into the surrounding area are a part of the programme as well as homework help and needs-based support services for the participants and their families.

BeeBob Hilft e.V.

A child and youth care project in Cambodia

Since 2010, the Meerbusch-based association BeeBob Hilft e.V. has been supporting children in a small village on the banks of the Mekong River in northern Cambodia. They live on their property in two large houses with their house parents.

Before BeeBob was founded ten years ago, the children lived alone and without support in a hovel in the forest. They did not go to classes, had no running water and not enough food. IJS e.V. has been cooperating with BeeBob Hilft e.V. since 2021 and supports the project.

More about BeeBob Hilft e.V.

Short Films

The new series of documentary short films lets caregivers, former youths in care, coordinators, directors, thought leaders and pioneers have their say. Individualized Social Pedagogy is presented in a multi-faceted and comprehensive way across all institutions. The aim is not to erect a monument to anyone, but to create an overall picture which is realistic with the necessary distance. But we also want to show clearly that Individualized Social Pedagogy is a meaningful alternative.

Episode 3: Aus der Spur gekommen

The federal government has passed an amendment to the SGB VIII (Social Code Book – Child and Youth Services). At its core, the changes are welcomed, but when we look at the details, it becomes clear that this reform comes with significant disadvantages for individual pedagogical work. A film involving the participation of Prof. Dr. Michael Macsenaere (IKJ), Michael Karkuth (AIM), Peter Pesch (WIR Kinder- und Jugendhilfe), Jens Dreger (be), Christine van der Koelen (Trotzdem e.V.) addresses these concerns.

We offer the film for free use to all youth welfare organizations and dedicated professionals who are dealing with or must deal with the amendment to the SGB VIII.

Episode 2: Antoine

The young Antoine got into a downward spiral at a young age. In his hopeless situation, he was able to get involved with a Youth Welfare Service. In the film, the young person describes his experiences.

Episode 1: Das muss alles perfekt sein

Our first filmic look is directed at social education worker Hanna Brinkert who, together with her husband, looks after young people. She worked for many years as a coordinator in youth welfare and is a second-generation social worker in the Individualized Social Pedagogy.

Explanatory films

„Systemsprenger“ is great cinema, but how does the real work look like?

Individualized Social Pedagogy is an established form of help with the aim of developing personal perspectives for transition to a safe and stable place to live. The professional pedagogical framework is characterised by flexibility, perseverance, experience and empathy. But what does this mean exactly and how can the idea be implemented in practice? Answers to these questions are provided by our animated explanatory films, which illuminate and explain the work of our colleagues from a wide variety of perspectives.

With a great deal of pioneering spirit and enthusiasm, we brought about a sense of renewal in the field of youth welfare in the 1990s, charting new and unconventional paths with the idea of individual pedagogy. Today, independent studies confirm the tremendous success of this approach, both in terms of pedagogy and economics.

Over time, individual pedagogy has faced various challenges, such as amendments to the SGB VIII (Social Code Book – Child and Youth Services), calls for greater transparency and control, as well as changes in personnel and society. All of these influences require the continuous development of the content and concepts of youth welfare organizations. To provide cross-organizational support to our colleagues and the interested public, we are presenting four explanatory films that shed light on aspects of individual pedagogy in theory and practice. The IJS e.V. has set up its own YouTube channel for this purpose. Additionally, the short films can be downloaded free of charge from our website.

These films can be used for recruiting caregivers, presentations, or training, as well as for students as an introduction to individual pedagogy and for in-depth discussions.

We hope that through our collaborative efforts, many children and adolescents will have the opportunity to develop their individual life perspectives, unfold their potential, and stand on their own feet.

View brochure

Individual education – a real alternative

What opportunities does the profession offer for educational professionals?

Individual educational aids for upbringing in practice

How are the processes in terms of steering, control and quality assurance?

Tools for coordinators

What role do the coordinators play in child and youth care?

New Perspectives

Why do adolescents engage in individual pedagogical support in their home country or abroad?

Youth welfare organisations, foundations, initiatives or committed private individuals are invited to use these films free of charge for training, recruiting, publications etc.

Partnerships

IJS e.V. has established a youth care organization in cooperation with phöinix e.V..: ensemble gGmbH. This organizaton is a charity and works in Germany and in countries of the European Community.

ensemble gGmbH, based in Germany and Luxembourg, offers young people support according to their needs. Most of the youths who lived in their family of origin or in regular youth welfare measures can no longer be reached by traditional offers. The main focus of the organization is on long-term stationary placements with specialized carers as well as follow-up measures after the care project.

In Australia, Individualized Social Pedagogy has long been an unknown form of youth care. Thanks to its international network, IJS e.V. was able to find partners in Australia who understood and internalised this specific basic attitude, in order to found the youth welfare organization PIC Ltd with it´s headquarter in New South Wales in 2016. IJS. e.V. provided the initial financing and contributed the know-how, advises and supports the organization on site, organizes training trips, work experience programs and workshops for the colleagues from Downunder in Germany.

Partners

phöinix e.V.