Keep It Real! in Tallinn!

What does it actually make to have a REAL youth exchange? What is YOUR REALITY of youth exchange projects? You probably had some experience, was it good enough? Or if you are about to experience your first youth exchange, what are you challenges, plans and expectations? We want to help you with finding tips&tricks to raise quality of the future youth exchange. „Keep it REAL!“ training course will offer space to explore what does it take to have a REAL Youth Exchange. The course is mainly aimed at those who have no or only some experience of organizing an international Youth Exchange – either you have just recently implemented a project and thinking of possible follow-up exchange or you have freshly „joined the club“of beneficiaries by receiving a grant. The main aim of this training is to support youth exchange organizers to increase main quality aspects in various phases of the project. The approach of this TC is based on combination of inputs and practice to let participants put hands on real experiences – explore problem solving, share advices, deal with issues which really matters. There are many quality criteria when it comes to Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges, this training course will concentrate on certain aspects that most of organizers are struggling with: equal partnership, dimension of non-formal learning, intercultural learning, YouthPass process, youth participation, seeing the whole project as a long-term learning process and dealing with possible risks. NB! This training course is created in close co-operation between Estonian and Lithuanian National Agencies. An added value of this special feature is a fact of having similar national realities and contexts of international youth work, so, it is easier to create a safe learning environment and foster mutual understanding among participants. Practical bonus: if needed more language support can be facilitated through group works. We are inviting one representative per project, aged 16 to 30, who is or was actively involved in organizing a youth exchange. In the training course we are expecting 10 participants from each country (Lithuania and Estonia). „Keep it REAL!“ daily programme lasts for 5 days including arrival day on Wednesday, 2nd of November and departure day on Sunday, 6th of November, 2016. Team: Laimonas Ragauskas and Umberto Dorus Geerts, who will bring their long years of experience as youth work practitioners (both local & international), as learning facilitators and in running various activities related to quality of youth exchanges. Also representatives of National Agency will join the training to support the process, share some technical aspects of youth exchange projects, get into direct contact with participants and share real examples from the field.