Meet'In EuroMed 17 - Dossier "EuroMed Trainers' Platform"

SALTO-YOUTH EuroMed & Good Practices RC has been created – in 2000 – the major objective has been oriented to and for the trainers: those are willing to become trainers and those who are already active; without them is no development, neither quantitative nor qualitative above all. I called this strategy “the lift”. First of all, it runs “bottom-top”, the “top” part reaches an official recognition of the competences and of the acquired experiences as trainers.Thus, latter will transfer their knowledge to the “bottom” in order to allow others to follow the same paths in a movement that could be, ideally, continual.

Training of trainers is the most important tool because, otherwise, how can we elop and disseminate the “seeds”?

When the SALTO-YOUTH EuroMed & Good Practices Resource Centre started its work the lack of trainers in this field, especially from the southern shores of the Mediterranean, quickly became evident.

The strategy implemented at that stage aimed to have at least one trainer in each country involved in the Barcelona process. Training is an essential component of the diffusion of the EuroMed program.

Moreover there is a specificity of training within the EuroMed context, which has to do with the meeting of two civilisations, the encounter of three different religions, the different role that non-formal education plays in EU and in MEDA countries, the political relevance of this moment in history of the program itself, the use of the training venues, and much more. It is therefore of paramount importance - in order to ensure quality - to have trainers well prepared to face the specific challenges related to training activities within EuroMed.

SALTO-YOUTH EuroMed & Good Practices Resource Centre, in TOTEM (Training of Trainers in EuroMed) defines a trainer as a:

•             Designer: ability to develop a concept of his/her own to answer the learning needs of the group;

•             Animator:The trainer gives the spirit of the training to the group to create an atmosphere favorable to the learning process and the group dynamic;

•             Expert: skillful in at least one specific topic tackled in the training.

Three roles that any trainer in EuroMed should have and therefore could be considered the first steps towards a minimum quality standard profile, as defined by SALTO EuroMed.

The magazine you are reading is proposing a journey we would like to propose and to share with you into the world of EuroMed trainers: please enjoy!

 

By Bernard Abrignani, coordinator of Salto-Youth Euromed