Training of Trainers dealing with multicultural Youth Work in the field of Youth Participation

BACKGROUND: Youth work dealing with youth participation faces many challenges and comes in many different experiences. Often young people's great participative potential is excluded from the decision making processes, due to the inexistence of standard conditions or even institutional prejudice. The lack of investment on youth participation frames up the picture where young people feel powerlessly excluded, and where not only Europe is losing it's main potential resource for positive change. AIM: To qualify trainers in the field of youth participation at local/regional level, by developing their competences in a multicultural setting and motivating them to contribute actively on making positive change in their environments. OBJECTIVES: - Provide participants with standard theory, skills and tools to design, implement and evaluate effective educational programmes in order to generate optimum learning outcomes and improved performance. - Exchange experiences, practices, opinions, educational tools and materials related to youth participation. - Increase participants understanding of the importance of youth participation in its different dimensions: decision making, youth policy lobbying, NGYO’s programmes & activities, transformational leadership and civil society in general, as a Human Right. - Explore youth participation common obstacles and problems, while formulating corresponding – and eventually innovative – solutions in the frame of youth work and non-formal education. - Experience typical difficulties of a multicultural work setting, developing participants intercultural competences and their positive approach towards diversity. - Provide an opportunity for participants to create an educational project aimed to youth participation and to develop an envisaged educational tool, while strengthening the network between the involved partner NGYO’s. - Introduce a series of resources and funding opportunities that can be useful for bringing participants projects to reality, including Council of Europe and European Youth Foundation programmes. SETTING & CONTENT The group will be accommodated in the historical UNESCO village of Sintra in shared double rooms with bathrooms. Trainers will follow non-formal education methodologies, based in peer learning, experiential learning; participative methods will be used – participants shall expect to be very active along the whole programme. Everything will happen in English language. Topics addressed include: non-formal education, learning, intercultural learning, communication/presentation skills, group dynamics, methods & methodology, youth participation, conflict transformation, educational project design, team work, etc. This is an ideal opportunity to learn with your international peers and to initiate (or further develop) your own youth participation project, internationally or locally. PARTICIPANTS PROFILE: Before you apply, make sure you meet the following participant profile: - Full availability to attend the training (from 03 to 11.09.2011); - Active youth workers/leaders/trainers; - Influence in decision making on their NGO’s; - Able to communicate in English language; - All participants are expected to have some experience youth participation; When selecting participants, priority will be given to - those who will be involved in a youth participation project in the next 12 months (especially projects that have a strong multicultural component); - Whether you have limited expertise in this, or have been leading projects for a long time, there is space for every level of learning; - Age 18-30 (CoE funding rule: projects to "...be attended by participants of whom at least 75% are under the age of 30...");