TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Bo Maria Daskalova
The International Youth Seminar aimed to explore how youth disability groups and NGOs can play a significant role in promoting inter-generational dialogue and solidarity between people with disabilities in Europe.
Seminar objectives were:
o To provide a platform for European young people with disabilities for a face-to-face dialogue with representatives with civil society organizations of elderly people.
o To discuss the role of youth work in inter-generational cooperation for inclusion of people with disabilities.
o To exchange ideas, concepts and and recommendations from participants of all ages and to seek the support of decision-makers to address the concerns and issues presented.
o To promote the concept of inter-generational solidarity between European people with disabilities that honors the voices of elders, adults, and youth and lobbies for social inclusion of European people with disabilities of all generations.
o To promote the concept that all generations of people with disabilities have a valuable experience to share and unique skills to support each other and work together for inclusion of European people with disabitlites.
Participants worked together on issues such as European youth work response to discrimination against people with disabilities of all ages in Europe; sharing personal feelings and perceptions about disability and about living with disability; discussing the role of youth work for inter-generational dialogue as a cathalyst for inclusion of people with disabilities of all generations.
The International youth seminar "The Role of Youth Work in Promoting Inter-generational Dialogue and Solidarity between People with Disabilities in Europe" brought together 35 youth workers and activists from senior civic organizations from Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Austria, Sweden, Ukraine, Portugal - and Sweden.
In accordance with the topic of our event, this time our participants were not only young people but also four senior activists, who have long history of being involved in disability rights activism and shared their valuable experience with their young colleagues, already showing in practice how precious can inter-generational diolague for all disability rights activists and youth workers in Europe.
International Team of Trainers:
Borislava Daskalova - Uk
Nenad Markovki - Macedonia
Luca Paleano - Italy
The International Youth Seminar used the following working methods: Non-formal education, based on the principles of dialogue, seeking to understand and learn from one another. The principles of intercultural learning and human rights education were achieved via the use of the CoE manual COMPASS. The principles of non-formal education were based on participatory and inclusive non-formal education, creative and open to the needs of all participants. The non-formal learning methodology was designed in a way that all seminar participants of all ages, indiscriminately of their (dis)ability could actively take part in the entire learning process.
Coming from variety of social, economic and cultural backgrounds, the participants in the International seminar had the wonderful opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas, to be exposed to different cultural approaches to disability and perception of youth and old age; to debate, to share, to compare and to learn from each other and work together on developing concrete youth action to promote inter0genrerational dialogue for the benefit of all Europeans with disabilities.
Full time trainer; Design of program modules. Design of publication materials.