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Events

NETWORKING AND COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE MEETINGS

We focus on building a network of chat-related stakeholders, be it counselors, youth themselves, researchers or board members of chat-organizations. With this growing network we plan to organize six Community of Practice meetings, in which we want to enable European exchange of information about best practices and shortcomings in online chat counseling services for youth. The first Community of Practice meetings have been succesful and left us with much more to talk about.

The future CoP meetings are planned on:

Next to these CoP meetings we will also organize webinars on f.e. training of counselors. Specific dates are not picked yet, but the timeframes in which they will happen are listed below. Finally, we will also organize a Stakeholder symposium in Ghent (Belgium) on the 22nd and 23th of May in 2025.

  • Webinar 2: May 2025 (parallel with symposium in Ghent, Belgium)​
  • Stakeholder symposium: 22-23 May 2025
  • Webinar 3: November/December 2025​

If you wish to learn more about the CoPs or the webinars, feel free to contact Elke Denayer (elke.denayer@ugent.be) with any questions or suggestions.

Dissemination aims to contribute to improving OCCS, and eventually support youth in need as well as youth work, research and policy making.

PAST EVENTS

Past Community of Practice meetings:

The first Community of Practice meeting on the 14th of March 2024 was about exchanging information and expertise. We gave a short update about the CHAT-YOUTH project and heard a presentation about a Finnish chat service.

The second Community of Practice meeting on the 18th of June 2024 was about artificial intelligence and how artificial intelligence can be used in chat services. Before we heard a presentation about AI, we gave a short update about the project. During the discussions participant shared their ideas and thoughts about using AI in the chat services.

The third Community of Practice meeting on the 1st of October 2024 was about suicidality as a phenomenon in the OCCS’s and how counselors should approach the topic.

Past webinar:

Webinar 1: 14th of January 2025: Artificial Intelligence

The sessions addressed ethical challenges, such as transparency, fairness, and the balance between technology and human connection, as we consider the implications of integrating AI into sensitive areas like mental health.

Symposiums:

Kick-off meeting for CHAT-YOUTH partners and experts in Madrid
The hybrid kick-off meeting was arranged on Thursday the 25th of January 2024 in Madrid, Spain.

Helsinki symposium around the theme of Research and Practice

Helsinki CHAT-YOUTH meeting took place on Thursday 22nd of August 2024 at Tieteiden Talo in Helsinki, Finland.

Other events:

CHAT-YOUTH arranged a thematic working group called Do chat services for youth build hope? at the XXII Annual Conference of Youth Studies on 8–9th November 2023 in Helsinki, Finland. 

NYRIS 16th Nordic Youth Research Symposium (Visit an external site. The link opens in a new tab.) June 12-14th, 2024, Tampere, Finland. CHAT-YOUT arranged the thematic working group number 11. CHAT-services as Crisis help and Assistance for youth during challenging Times.

Project team

Alexis Dewaele, Lien Goossens and Elke Denayer, Universiteit Gent, Belgium
Maria Cabello Salmerón and Irati Higuera Lozano, La Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
Katalin Felvinczi, Zsuza Kaló and Mónika Rényi, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary
Tuuli Pitkänen, Siiri Soininvaara, Finnish Youth Research Society, Finland

Tuuli Pitkänen

PhD, Adjunct professor
Research Manager
+358 41 517 8678
tuuli.pitkanen@youthresearch.fi

Profile of the researcher