TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Alexandra Nikolova
Working with queer youth is a very sensitive topic that requires especially careful approaches and methods which can provide a safe space for young people to express their problems and needs without a fear of being judged or misunderstood. In vast majority of cases marginalised youngsters are facing various discriminations and challenges in their daily lives, hence there is a great need to give them an opportunity to talk and reflect on the emotions and problems they are going through, and at the same time to encourage them to focus on expressing themselves and exploring their identity. Although the majority of the organisations active in the field fully acknowledge the importance of the above described problem, in many cases they are still lacking proper tools and methods to tackle the issue in a more innovative and creative manner that could bring greater benefits to the young people they work with.
‘Digitale’ aimed at gathering 24 youth workers and young leaders from various European countries (France, Poland, Denmark, Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal and Germany) and presenting them the concept of digital storytelling. Participants had the chance to explore the positive impact it can have when used as a method of working with queer youth and the general audience, to promote diversity and inclusion. Digital storytelling is based on the assumption that every person has a unique story to be told and shared with the others. It is a modern extension of the art of storytelling that has been an important part of social interactions since the very birth of humanity. However, in the modern world where we people are constantly exposed to the flood of information, we tend to forget how reflecting on personal experiences and sharing them with others can be beneficial for one’s personal development. Digital storytelling is the concept that combines two crucial aspects – the power of creating personal narratives and our modern need to “go digital”, giving people a chance to tell their stories in a creative way that involves using their digital skills.
Therefore, ‘Digitale’ was to offer alternative sources of expression for queer youth by exploring digital storytelling with youth workers using photo, video, sound design, editing, script writing, storytelling and social media strategies.
Our trainers team consisted experienced facilitators from 3 countries: Signe Sander from Denmark, Kasia Kowalska from Poland, Alexandra Nikolova from Bulgaria and Karolina Ufa from Poland.
The group included 24 youth workers and educators from various European countries: France, Poland, Denmark, Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal and Germany.
During the workshop we dived into the process of digital storytelling and created our own stories – personal, emotional and also powerful and definitely many people will find themselves in those videos.
In the first part of the TC we used non-formal educational methods to create a good group dynamics and to help the participants to find a story to tell. Then, for 3 days they were part of a creative process to edit and share their videos.
In the second part of the TC we worked on the basics to facilitate such a method (training for trainers). Participants did role and case-based activities, discussed ethics etc. Finally, they worked on follow-up ideas how to implement DS in their work with young people.
Every participant created a story, and we published the ones' who agreed to share them with the world here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYnag6dYYCQVCKPnJvK16cJ7PDx3UooHA
We also created an educational booklet with creative activities: https://bit.ly/digitale-booklet?fbclid=IwAR0xFRfgdRM65veGuftNxeP_GAdmHo0MxT_8-qXaot4HIKrtZl4_pljP5PI
All materials from the TC are published here: http://nomadways.eu/digitale-2018-france/
As a trainer, part of the team, I was involved in organising the whole project (as a coordinator), work on the programme design and implementation during the training course.