TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Meriç Tahan
The main aim of the training course is to improve youth workers ́ ability to effectively use different marketing and communication methods, which will help their organizations to better promote their activities and projects, improve the image of youth organizations in their society, build relationships with their target audiences and stakeholders and increase the visibility of Erasmus+ program in its projects.
The main objectives of the training course are:
- Improving youth worker ́s key competencies and skills regarding communication, marketing, PR, and social media;
- introducing new and cost-effective ways of communication,
- exploring ways to build a positive image and raise awareness of youth organizations in their societies;
- developing ways to increase the visibility of Erasmus+ program and its projects;
- improving the skills needed for effective dissemination of project results;
- sharing best practices in the field of marketing communication from partner NGOs;
- enhancing the cooperation between the partner countries and organizations;
- promoting diversity, intercultural and inter-religious dialogue.
Participants of this training course were youth workers who are directly involved in the promotional activities in their organizations, who are working on the organization of the youth projects, who are in charge of marketing and media communication, or who want to take part in promotional and marketing activities in their youth organizations in the future. The training course will equip these participants with skills regarding media and marketing communication, PR, and other skills, which they will be able to put into practice in their work in NGOs and improve the quality of their communication, visibility of projects and also the Erasmus+ programme itself.
There were three main activities planned: preparation, implementation, and evaluation/follow-up of the project. The preparation phase of the project involved preparing the agenda, preparing materials and presentations for the training course, selection of participants, preparation of participants, and other preparatory activities, which needed to be done to ensure the quality of the project. During the preparation phase, once the participants from each country are selected, they worked in nationality groups in order to prepare for mobility. Their task was to make research in their home countries, to prepare for their intercultural nights and most importantly, to prepare a presentation about their organization and their communication and marketing methods, which they will share with other participants during the implementation phase. The training activities were based on nonformal education methods, mainly simulation activities. Our work was based on 5 key values:
- together is better (collaboration with all sectors, intercultural exchange)
- development of mentoring culture (be a mentor, ask for a mentor, reach for help) - be approachable (promote, disseminate, be open-minded)
- be responsible and authentic (synchronize your thoughts, words and actions) - challenge yourself to be a better human (learn, teach, help, train, exercise...)
During the project, we collected all of the key and most important learning outcomes, know-how, and tips regarding marketing communication, PR and promotion for non-profit organizations (from both workshops and best practices of partner organizations) and we created an e-book named “Marketing communication guide for youth organizations”. Thanks to this e-book, our project can have an impact not only on participating partner organizations and youth workers but any youth organization and youth worker from all over the world can benefit from it and learn new practices, which they can use in their work. This e-book is widely shared especially by online media channels (social media, blogs, websites, e-mail, etc.) by both partner organizations and participants themselves. The main target group is non-profit organizations and youth workers.
I was primarily responsible for implementing the content of these activities, ensuring that the planned educational objectives were effectively delivered to the participants. My role involved leading simulation sessions aimed at enhancing Public Relations (PR) management skills for NGOs. These sessions were designed to provide practical and hands-on experience, allowing the participants to develop effective PR strategies for their respective organizations. I took on the responsibility of managing the evaluation and assessment process for the educational contents. This involved gathering feedback from the participants and assessing the impact and effectiveness of the educational activities. By conducting thorough evaluations, I could identify areas of improvement and make necessary adjustments to enhance the learning experience for the participants.