TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Alenka Oblak
- To lower the threshold and make it easier. To show that Erasmus+ Youth and European Solidarity Corps for them too and to make it digestible.
- To build capacities and offer the tools (give them a toolbox).
- How to find right partners and build partnerships for the inclusion projects (but it’s not a PBA).
- How to address the issues they face on the national level - looking at the barriers/needs and how to address those in order to increase their participation (could be link to the national preparation activities).
- To share good practices and showcase local examples, show results/impact
- To support them to convince the others: their institutions, colleagues and their target group
- To focus on certain actions, like (short term) volunteering and youth exchanges
- Support the first step (step by step approach)
The course was for newcomers to both programmes who were directly working with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds (e.g. youth workers, social workers...) and for those that had never organised an international youth project with their target group before and wanted to know what is possible.
There were 20 participants from 10 countries: Albania, Turkey, Estonia, N. Macedonia, Germany, Hungary, Serbia, Cyprus, Portugal, Poland.
The event was based on non-formal learning methods and we used variety as it was meant for participants to learn some of them as well. Methods used were learning by doing, creating and using diary as a self-reflection tool, simulation day (simulation of the process of preparing and writing a project for youth exchange or volunteering), story telling, circle discussion, group work, group discussion, presentation, personal consulting, networking, market of organisations, carousel, next step, individual and group reflection, etc.
Participants gained competences for preparing and applying for an inclusion project in Erasmus+ Youth and European Solidarity Corps, they learned about partner cooperation and broaden their understanding of what inclusion, non-formal education, and youth work are – and that was big eye-opening for majority. Participants started to create projects as partners.
The training course was designed within the team of 4 trainers and representatives of SALTO Inclusion & Diversity and some National Agencies.
We fine-tuned and implemented the training course in a team of 2 trainers and support from representative from SALTO Inclusion & Diversity. We did all steps needed during the training (implementation of the sessions, support for the group processes, daily reflection, adaptation of the programme) and evaluation.