TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Karen Pong
The activity aimed to explore, through non-formal learning, Human Rights Education as a powerful tool to prevent gender discrimination particularly amongst young people.
The objectives are:
- To introduce, to develop and deepen participants' knowledge, on the concept of gender and gender-based violence (GBV);
- To share experiences of gender-based discrimination and violence;
- To look into the nature and extent of specific types of GBV across different European and Mediterranean cultures, countries and regions;
- To develop participants’ skills on how to apply a rights-based approach to their work.
- To motivate participants to multiply the knowledge and skills obtained during the Study Session among their organisations and communities
- To enhance youth dialogue and cooperation in the Euro region and promote intercultural dialogue and youth participation;
- To build the capacity of, and to support, EMCCCD members working on human rights education, to address gender equality issues and
prevent gender-based violence;
The topic of this activity was among the central issues of the EuroMed Human Rights Education Laboratory and EuroMed Initiative for Gender Equality in the Euro sense. The project was organised in accordance with the EMCCCD bi-Annual Action Plan for 2013 - 2014, adopted in 2012, which stressed the important role of youth work in addressing the problems of gender-based discrimination and gender-based violence.
The activity involved 31 participants coming from 26 countries in Europe and Euro-Med region (Italy, Spain, Serbia, Turkey, Russia, Macedonia, Palestine, Poland, Belgium, Georgia, The Netherlands, Egypt, Belarus, Armenia, Moldova, Greece, Slovenia, France, Germany, Malta, Jordan, The UK, Tunisia, Ukraine, Morocco, Portugal).
Profile of participants:
European and Mediterranean youth leaders, activists, volunteers, workers aged 18 -30.
Youth activists and multipliers, interested in studying on the topic of gender-based
discrimination and gender-based violence;
Motivated to promote youth human rights education for gender equality;
Committed to actively take part in the entire event and preparation for the event;
Motivated to develop and realise joint youth projects on the using human rights education as a tool to prevent gender-based discrimination and gender-based violence.
Motivated to multiply the knowledge and skills obtained at this StS in their sending organizations and communities;
Have a working knowledge of English language (minimum understanding of English language)
The working methods were based on non-formal human rights education, delivered in a youth-friendly and culturally-sensitive manner. Sessions were interactive and inclusive, providing new information, developing communication and networking skills, team management skills, human rights education skills and positive attitudes towards gender equality and an attitude of international youth solidarity in preventing gender-based discrimination and gender-based violence.
The activity used the human rights education methods, developed by the YDS at the CoE (namely COMPASS and GENDER MATTERS) as well as various methods of intercultural learning, youth conflict prevention and conflict transformation.
There were important outcomes both for the personal and professional development of the participants and the further development of the EMCCCD network.
In the case of the participants, it should be mentioned that though some of them were actively involved in work with women in different aspects (for example women in conflicts, women and disabilities) they had very limited experience of gender issues in its wider concept. According to the feedback of a part of the group the diversity and complexity of the gender-related issues was new for them. In this context, the StS provided to those participants a possibility to get interested in new aspects of gender-related issues and to integrate it in their daily work.
As the participants were from the CoE member states and from Mediterranean region, the StS was a unique space for knowing different realities and cultural aspects of gender issues in different countries.
Thanks to the fact that the group itself was quite diverse in its experience and interests there were a lot of moments for sharing knowledge and discussing not only common problems but also possible solutions in combating gender-based violence and gender-based discrimination on local and international levels.
One of the important outcomes of the StS for the EMCCCD was the fact that new organisations found out different aspects of the work of the network and decided to join the EMCCCD and to get involved in common projects and actions.
A number of new project ideas were developed in the frame of the network itself.
Junior trainer. Plan, organise, implement and report - recruitment, screening and selection of participants, prepared inputs including the Infopack and daily programme/session outlines, facilitation of workshops, final evaluation - drafting the project report.