As a Social Business it’s dedicated to fill in the educational gaps and become a place for innovative approaches in the field of education. We share a good relationship with several European organizations like GIZ, Deutscher Volkshochschulverband and ÖSD, but are an independent organization. We finance our operative costs through a balance of formal classes, service fees as hosting agency to cross
finance youth work, community learning and informal education. Our core team of 20 fixed staff, connects with around 8 - 10 independent youth workers, trainers and activists, engaged on a project basis with VHS and is more or less permanently supported by 2 – 3 interns and volunteers. VHS Bhaktapur not only works in the field of German Language in bigger picture VHS Bhaktapur is holding community programs, cultural events, Trainings, workshops , Nepali Language classes and Cultural workshop for foreigners. Beside that VHS Bhaktapur is continuously engaged on development of new curriculum for workshops and new programs. Youth mobility is always a motto of VHS Bhaktapur. VHS Bhaktapur has successfully engaged in various Erasmus+ youth mobility projects together with European, African and Asian youth Organizations to foster the youth ability in terms of informal and nonformal learning possibility. Since 2013 we develop a project on counseling and career guidance standards for the youth. (www.careerdishanepal.org) In a co-operation with experts from FU Berlin we were analysing the situation of youth in regard of their job perspectives, developed an interest based career-counseling tool (assessment.careerdishanepal.org) combining the experience of European system with the different context of Nepal. The innovative aspect of this tool is that we are currently bringing all of it online, to be able to provide this as certain quality standards and guidelines into the work of youth workers from all over the country and make it thereby also accessible to students from the rural areas. Our objective is to equipping youth workers with various tools which help them in their work and set nationwide standards for this field. From a macro perspective the career counselling tools shall also promote merit jobs in the market. Many of the jobs which would be highly needed for a good development of the country (plumber, nurse etc.) are not ‘attractive’ in the current society as many perceive them as ‘jobs for illiterate’ Formalizing skills and showing the non-formal skills can help to raise the perception of these job categories among the society.
