TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
http://trainers.salto-youth.net/IliaToshkin/
Ilia Toshkin
In my work as a facilitator, I aim to harness the potential of imagination and creativity in different educational contexts, using it as means to personalize, amplify and integrate different content for participants. With my interdisciplinary approach, I create tailor-made activities using the poetics of the human senses and the power of creative expression to create invaluable systemic insight. Seeking Erasmus adventures to spark imaginative revolutions in youth exchanges and beyond!
Ilia Toshkin has 4 references for past work as a trainer.
Contact details
Trainer connections
Current occupation
Freelance Artist, Facilitator & Researcher
Work experience
I am an author and facilitator of different creative workshops that aim to harness the power of imagination for development of personal insight, environmental consciousness and social competences for different festivals and organizations. Recently, I founded and manage The Integral Art Foundation, leading cultural projects, grant applications, and student recruitment for immersive theater and artistic research initiatives. As a contract trainer in construction technology companies, I have delivered different soft skills workshops in corporate context and I have also held contract teaching positions in school context. Currently, I plan to expand foundation programs aligning with Erasmus+ priorities like social entrepreneurship and intercultural learning, while pursuing further trainer roles in youth exchanges and capacity building. Along with a colleague facilitator who is also a researcher at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, I have published a peer-reviewed article in Sociological Problems (No. 57, Issue 1, 2025) on psychodrama as a method to teach philosophy in schools. The most important project of my Foundation, called ‘Images of Social Tension’ blends group facilitation and artistic research to create a multimodal art installation on the base of a 3-year long group creative process through the so called cross-modal method that I adapted for this process myself.
Educational pathway
Formally, I hold a BA in German Studies, BA in Philosophy, MA in Artistic Psychosocial Practices, and MA in Art Therapy, providing a strong foundation in intercultural communication, philosophical inquiry, and creative facilitation. I have been an Erasmus student twice – in Sweden and Germany. The latter was during my first MA and was very important for me as I learned how to use the systemic approach in my work as a socially engaged artist and facilitator. I have undergone different non-formal educational activities for immersive approaches in theatre, among which I can name the Poetics of the Senses course at Teatro de los Sentidos in Barcelona, Spain. These experiences integrate my academic expertise in psychosocial practices and art therapy with EU non-formal education, enabling me to empower diverse learners—youth, professionals, and marginalized groups—in Erasmus contexts like youth participation, social inclusion, and personal empowerment. They fuel my passion for innovative, empathy-driven pedagogies that foster intercultural competence and transformative growth.
Fields of training expertise
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Animation -
Coaching & Mentoring
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Communication Skills
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Creativity & Art -
Drama & Theatre
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Environment & Ecology -
Gender Awareness & Mainstreaming
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Group Dynamics & Motivation -
Intercultural Learning
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Leadership Development
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Open Space Technology
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Outdoor & Experiential Training
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Social Inclusion & Exclusion
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Storytelling & Humour
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Training of Trainers
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Youth Exchanges
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Youth Information Work
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Youth Participation & Initiatives
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Youth Worker Training
Knowledge about institutions and programmes
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Erasmus+ (KA1) Youth Exchanges
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Erasmus+ (KA1) Training & Networking
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Erasmus+ (KA2) Transnational Youth Initiatives
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Erasmus+ (KA2) Strategic Partnerships
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European Solidarity Corps Volunteering
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Erasmus+ (lifelong learning, non-youth)
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European Institutions
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Private Foundations
Working with specific target groups
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Children
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Gay, Lesbian, Bi & Transgender work
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Intercultural Teams
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Men's Issues & Groups
Experience with specific geographical regions
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Eastern Europe and Caucasus
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South East Europe
Other skills
Cooking, Karate - I. Dan, Snowboard Instructor
Language Skills
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Bulgarian -
English
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German
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Russian -
Spanish
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Swedish
Other languages
Serbian, Italian
Trainer references
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Better Future through Youth Empowerment (now)!
Validated (2025-12-27)Reference person
Georgi Filipov
(organizer)If you want to contact reference persons, you have to be signed in. -
Youth Worker - the Modern Profession
Validated (2025-12-30)Reference person
Georgi Filipov
(organizer)If you want to contact reference persons, you have to be signed in. -
Green Summit
Validated (2026-01-05)Reference person
Aleko Karlovski
(organizer)If you want to contact reference persons, you have to be signed in. -
Factors in Collective Imagination @ The Imaginary Institute, CLEA, VUB
Validated (2026-02-06)Reference person
Orion Maxted
(artist-in-residence at CLEA)If you want to contact reference persons, you have to be signed in.
This profile was last modified on 2026-03-14