TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Aleksandr Post
The "Hidden Jewels" training course aimed to empower youth workers and leaders by providing training focused on the tourism sector, specifically addressing youth unemployment within this field. The project's goals included fostering economic growth through tourism, promoting cultural exchange, and developing skills necessary for sustainable tourism practices. A key component was exploring hidden or underrated landmarks in the participants' countries, identifying promotional advantages, and understanding factors contributing to their previous obscurity.
Specific objectives included equipping youth workers and leaders with the ability to:
- Empower and engage young people in the context of tourism and cultural heritage.
- Foster youth entrepreneurship linked to cultural heritage.
- Enhance young people's readiness for tourism careers.
- Guide youth in utilizing tourism resources effectively.
- Motivate youth and facilitate positive change.
- Develop cultural awareness and networking skills relevant to tourism.
- Foster innovation, creativity, strategic thinking, and planning within the tourism sector.
- Understand and teach how to prevent negative impacts of tourism.
The training addressed the need to combat youth unemployment by providing youth workers with specific skills and knowledge relevant to the tourism industry. It also focused on the need to promote sustainable tourism and unlock the potential of underutilized cultural heritage and landmarks as resources for economic growth and youth engagement.
The project supported the goals of participating organisations by enhancing the competences of their youth workers and leaders in the growing fields of sustainable tourism, cultural heritage promotion, and youth entrepreneurship within this sector. This capacity building enabled the organisations to better support young people seeking careers or opportunities related to tourism and culture.
The target group comprised youth workers and youth leaders aged 18 years and older. The course welcomed beginners and those interested in entrepreneurial learning applied to tourism and culture. Participants were required to communicate effectively in English, be motivated to acquire new skills, and commit to sharing these skills as multipliers and coaches within their local communities and youth work practice. An active, positive, proactive mindset and interest in tourism education and cultural heritage were desired qualities. Gender balance among participants was considered important.
The training course brought together participants from 12 countries: Armenia (Host), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Romania, Spain, Sweden, The Republic of North Macedonia, and Tunisia.
This Training Course focused on empowering youth workers and leaders with skills related to tourism, cultural heritage, and entrepreneurship. The learning journey involved sessions covering topics such as youth engagement in tourism, entrepreneurship linked to heritage, sustainable tourism practices, utilizing tourism resources, youth motivation, cultural awareness, networking, innovation, and strategic planning. Activities facilitated the exploration and promotion of "hidden jewels" or underrated landmarks.
The training utilized non-formal education approaches to equip participants with practical skills and foster competences applicable to their youth work in the tourism and cultural sectors.
Participants (youth workers and leaders) developed skills and competences enabling them to:
- Empower and engage youth effectively within the tourism sector.
- Foster youth entrepreneurship connected to cultural heritage.
- Enhance young people's readiness for tourism careers.
- Guide youth in utilizing tourism resources sustainably and effectively.
- Apply methods for motivating youth towards positive change.
- Increase their own cultural awareness and build relevant networks.
- Apply innovation, creativity, strategic thinking, and planning to tourism initiatives.
- Identify, analyze, and promote "hidden" cultural or natural landmarks.
- Understand and promote sustainable tourism practices. - Participants committed to acting as multipliers and coaches, transferring their acquired skills to young people in their communities.
Success could be determined by the participants' enhanced ability to integrate tourism, cultural heritage, and entrepreneurship themes into their youth work, their capacity to coach young people in these areas, and their active role as multipliers disseminating the learned concepts and skills.
- Designing and facilitating sessions based on the project's learning journey, covering topics like youth empowerment in tourism, cultural heritage entrepreneurship, sustainable tourism, resource management, youth motivation, networking, innovation, and strategic planning.
- Equipping participants with practical tools and non-formal education methods to enhance their youth work practice in the context of tourism and cultural heritage.
- Guiding activities focused on identifying, analyzing, and developing promotional strategies for "hidden" or underrated cultural/natural landmarks.
- Leading sessions designed to stimulate entrepreneurial thinking linked specifically to cultural heritage and tourism resources.
- Integrating principles and practices of sustainable tourism throughout the training content and activities.
- Preparing and motivating participants to effectively transfer their knowledge and skills to young people in their communities, acting as coaches and multipliers.
- Facilitating group dynamics, encouraging active participation and peer learning, managing reflection processes, and adapting sessions to the group's needs.