TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Leilani van Rheenen
"Volunteers of the Future" aimed to provide the space, opportunity and motivation for youngsters to explore the opportunities available to them with the EVS program as well as to motivate organizations that are working with EVS or considering working with EVS to provide the highest quality opportunities possible for the volunteers in their organization. It also aimed to explore concepts necessary for a successful volunteering experience both from the perspective of the organization and from the volunteer. These topics included volunteerism, non-formal education, learning, Youth in Action, meeting EVS volunteers and visiting their projects, communication, intercultural adaptation, challenges in EVS, Youthpass and other topics that were important when considering the needs of such a varied group.
The trainers team consisted of 3 Turkish trainers and 1 Dutch trainer. Participants were from Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, France, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Luxembourg, Romania and Italy.
The training methods used included discussions in small and large groups, input, role play, simulation, open space, case studies, presentations and reflection groups.
The training activity achieved the goal of providing participants with basic understanding of EVS and/or ideas of how to improve the quality of their EVS experience and/or the experiences of the EVS volunteers in their organization. The group dynamic was very strong and as is the way for non-formal education each participant had an individual learning achievement from the TC. 95% were extremely satisfied with how far it had met/exceeded their expectations.
Apart from stimulating the group dynamic and creating a safe environment for participants to freely express themselves my specific tasks in this TC included planning and implementing sessions on non-formal education, learning, Youth in Action, communication, challenges in EVS, open space and evaluation.