Training of Trainers (ToT) for European Youth in Action Projects

The major aim of this training course is to train trainers who have the competences and the motivation to contribute to the improvement of the quality of projects within the Youth in Action Programme of the European Union.

Specific objectives with respect to the trainees of the training course are to further develop and improve the following competences of participants:
- The competence to design and implement training activities for youth workers and other actors involved in the development and implementation of projects within the European Youth in Action Programme;
- The competence to co-operate in international teams of trainers/facilitators;
- The competence to deal with ambiguity and change;
- Intercultural competence;
- The competence to understand and facilitate learning of others;
- The competence to direct ones own learning.

Furthermore:
- To increase participants' understanding of the educational context (i.e. Non-Formal Education, Life-Long Learning) in which this training course is placed;
- To encourage participants to further develop and make explicit their personal training approach

Participants are expected
- To have been involved at least three times in a team of trainers designing, implementing and evaluating a training course in the framework of Non-Formal Education.
- To have international experience with a function of responsibility (not only as a participant) in the field of Youth in Action projects/Youth work (such as Youth Exchanges, EVS-projects, etc.).
- To have the potential and need to develop training competences and act after the course as a trainer for European YOUTH IN ACTION projects and/or for Training courses organised by the National Agencies of the YOUTH IN ACTION programme.
- To show initiative and willingness to self-direct his/her own learning process.
- To be prepared to reflect on and question own beliefs and approaches as a trainer.
- To develop, implement and evaluate an international training project (in the framework of YOUTH IN ACTION programme) together with other course participants as part of this training course.
- To be able to run training courses in English.

The course is offered once a year and is organised in three seminars and one practical project being implemented by the trainees between seminar 2 and 3. The course is delivered by a European trainers team consisting of Hazel Low, Paul Kloosterman and Peter Hofmann (as trainer and co-ordinator). The participating National Agencies for Youth in Action recruit, delegate, and finance the participants from their countries.

The dates for the three residential seminars of the ToT 2010-2011 are:

• Seminar 1: September 17th-26th, 2010 in Switzerland
• Seminar 2: January 13th-23rd, 2011 in Sweden
• Seminar 3: June 23rd-July 2nd, 2011 in Finland

Participants apply once for the whole duration of the long term training course and are expected to attend all the three residential seminars.

Participants have to be recruited and paid for by one of the National Agencies for the YOUTH IN ACTION programme. The ToT 2010-2011 involves trainers living in the following countries: Austria, the French speaking community of Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.

The application deadline for the ToT 2010-2011 was May 31st, 2010. The call for the ToT 2011-2012 will be published here in the beginning of 2011.