Bullying Inside, Conflict Aside

Aims & objectives

- raise awareness and reflect upon the differences and similarities of bullying issues in 10 different countries, among 27 participants

- explore emotional intelligence aspects through non-formal methods and its links with violent behaviors in different contexts (school, family, neighborhood)

- to empower the participants with conflict management skills and tools, in order to enhance empathy and develop non-violent approaches, regarding bullying matters

- To acknowledge the participants with therapeutically education methods and creative workshops, as alternative ways of transforming the tension of violent young people when bullying

- To set up safe scenarios in which participants will experience bullying, in order to enhance self-confidence and to foster active participation at local level, through performing arts and video-making

- To put the bases of an international network of organizations meant to collaborate and generate new thematic initiatives for 2018 and 2019

Target group & international/intercultural composition of the group & team

27 youth workers, representing 10 organization from European Union, from:
- Italy
- Romania
- Spain
- Bulgaria
- Czech Republic
- Croatia
- Lithuania
- Estonia
- Belgium
- Greece

Training methods used & main activities

The non-formal methodology included:
- ice breakers and team-building
- role plays and simulation regarding the role of young people, youth workers, teachers, parents and friends in bullying context
- crafting of an ideal school and creation of policies for preventing and fighting bullying
- theater exercises and empathy workshops to get into the roles of the oppressors and the oppressed
- NGO fair and spaces for networking
- Lecture and exercise on emotional intelligence and conflict management
- meeting with experts and stakeholders
- 3 main workshops: clown, theater of the oppressed, video-making
- presentation of the results to the local community

Outcomes of the activity

The main outcomes and results of the project were:
- photography, theater masks, art installation, drawings, mind maps created during the working groups
- a thematic group clown performance, a short video and a forum theater play delivered to the local community, generating open debates and informal discussions
- an article in the regional newspaper about how non-formal education can help preventing bullying (including testimonials from the youth workers and the organizers)

Your tasks and responsibilities within the team

- Project design
- Selection and communication with the partners
- Creation of visibility and promotional materials
- Facilitation of the non-formal workshops, including 2 days forum theater workshop with 9 of the participants
- Daily evaluation guidance
- Feedback gathering and reporting

I worked on this training for 8 days as a full time trainer.