TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Stéphanie Fritz
The training was anounced as a partner dialogue within the voluntary service worldwards to discuss and work on the topic how to make the voluntary service worldwards inclusive. This worldwards programme is a volunteering opportunity for youth and young adults (from 17-28 years of age) and is supposed to target all youth and young adults, also so called marginalized or discriminated youth.
All hosting organisations in African countries were invited to join, especially those who already had experience with volunteers with disabilities or those who were open to work with youth/young adults with disabilities.
The aim was first to share perspectives on volunteering, youth-work and inclusion, also in an international context (cultural perspectives, legal perspectives, working approaches). In a next step, the question was how the volunteering places in the different hosting organisations and the German voluntary service worldwards as such needs to be adapted to be inclusive. Nevertheless networking and peer counceling were also part of the training.
The target group included all members of volunteer receiving organisations, if possible, especially their pedagogical staff and mentors that work with youth/young adults. The participants came from Ghana, Togo, Cameroon, Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya. Two participants were deaf, that's why sign language interpreters from Ghana and Cameroon were involved too. Some participants used wheelchair or walking sticks, one participants was visualy impaired, that's why the venue and the methods needed to be barrier-free.
The training team was composed by myself (at that time project coordinator at bezev) and a colleague of mine (also working for bezev). We worked together with the staff members of Voiceghana, a disabled-peoples-organisation based in Ghana.
During the training we used several methods, e.g.: Presentation with computer and on posters, group work, Open Space, world cafe, theater, field-trip, fish bowl, peer councelling, interviews
The training achieved the following:
- participants share a common understanding of disability and inclusion
- participants share experiences and challenges with young volunteers (youth/ young adults with and without disabilities)
- pre-conditions and to-do's for making the voluntary programme worldwards inclusive are clear, needed support is adressed to ministry and German sending organisations.
Summaries of the outcome can be found online in English, French, Spanish, German here:
https://www.bezev.de/de/home/beratung-zu-auslandsengagement-freiwilligendienst/info-fuer-organisationen/partnerworkshops/
The training was evaluated as a success by the participants themselves during the last day of the workshop.
My role was - besides moderating parts during the 5 days - to prepare, guide and document the following sessions:
*youth and young adults and their motivation(s) to volunteer
*Fish bowl discussion about receiving/ sending young volunteers with disabilities
*is my volunteer post fit for receiving volunteers with disability? (individual case studies)
*networking market place (interviews)
*requirements and claims for an inclusive voluntary service